It has preserved architecture from the Gallo-Roman period and the Middle Ages. The remnants of the town walls from those times, the Notre-Dame de Senlis Cathedral built in the 12th century - one of the first Gothic cathedrals in France, and several monuments to Anna of Kyiv.
There are no new buildings in the town. The Senlis City Hall does not grant permits for the construction of modern buildings.
The Notre-Dame de Senlis Cathedral is a prime example of French Gothic.
Anna of Kyiv moved to Senlis with her son in 1060 after the death of her husband, Henry I of France, of the Capetian dynasty. She lived in the town for the rest of her life and was also buried there.
Anna of Kyiv, as she was known in Europe, is not well documented. She was reputed to be an unusually beautiful woman with "golden" hair and blue eyes.
The queen was very educated: she knew Greek and Latin and signed herself "Anna-regina" (Queen Anna) at a time when King Henry I would simply mark a cross for his signature.
According to some sources, Anna of Kyiv brought the so-called Reims Gospel, written in Cyrillic and Glagolitic, to France. For several centuries, all subsequent French kings took their coronation oaths on it.
In the 1060s, Anna founded the Abbey of Saint Vincent in Senlis and also opened a small church.
During the French Revolution, the abbey was destroyed but was later restored.
At the entrance to the monastery, a statue of the queen holding a model of the church she founded was erected. The inscription on the pedestal reads: Anne de Kiev - reine de France (Anna of Kyiv - Queen of France)
Today, the abbey's territory hosts a lyceum, and the nearby church was purchased in 2013 by the Ukrainian Eparchy of Saint Volodymyr in Paris.
The church serves as a temple of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. A cultural center dedicated to Anna of Kyiv, representing Ukrainian culture, has been opened there.
Another monument to Queen Anna was gifted to Senlis by Ukraine in 2005. President Viktor Yushchenko participated in its unveiling. At that time, Senlis and the Pechersk district of Kyiv officially became twin towns.