The Gothic style originated in France; the Ile de France and Picardy are dotted with fine cathedrals.These ten cathedrals represent the heights of the Gothic style. But warning; if you get addicted, you’re going to want to search out the others too – Sens and Senlis, Soissons, Noyon, Mantes… you might never stop!
1. Laon is one of the earliest Gothic cathedrals, but its architect created marvellous effects of transparence and depth in the façade and the famous towers. At the top of the towers are the famous bulls of Laon, said to be statues of the oxen which dragged the stone from the quarries up the hill to the cathedral. The church is filled with light, and the pristine simplicity of the architecture makes this little visited cathedral an obligatory stop for any traveller who wants to understand the aspirations of the early Gothic.
2. Chartres cathedral rises on a hill above the river Eure and the cornfields of Beauce. This is Gothic style at its most classic and powerful. The west front and transept porches are finely carved with figures of prophets and saints, and much of the original stained glass survives. The little figures of the donors at the bottoms of the windows, all exercising their trades – furriers, carpenters, bakers – are worth seeking out for an unusually realistic view of medieval life.
3. Notre Dame, Paris is perhaps not the finest of the Gothic cathedrals, and lost most of its furnishings in the French Revolution. But the façade, an almost square, monumental form, shows perfectly how the Gothic style uses geometrical proportions to create strongly articulated architecture.
4. Bourges is the most visionary of French cathedrals – a single, huge, open space without transept or narthex to break the pattern. Its double aisles are arranged so that the central aisle is a miniature copy of the nave of the church, with its own triforium and clerestory – as if the cathedral had been sliced in two and a new one inserted into the middle. As at Chartres, the stained glass is original – and since much of it is in the side chapels, close-up viewing is possible.
5. Amiens cathedral is massive – the biggest Gothic cathedral in France. And it’s a very pure Gothic style – simple, light, serene. The west front is full of carved detail, including symbols of the labours of the months and the virtues and vices as well as Biblical personages and local saints.
6. Reims cathedral was where the French kings were crowned; royal patronage made it a wealthy and strikingly beautiful building. The statues of the west façade – particularly the ‘smiling angel’ – have a grace and plasticity that make them the summit of the Gothic style in sculpture. Inside, the sheer height of the church is amazing.
7. Strasbourg cathedral’s lace like façade is a marvel, particularly when the setting sun brings out the redness of the sandstone. Inside, the famous astronomical clock provides a kitsch counterpoint to the glories of the Gothic nave.
8. Beauvais was the most ambitious of the Gothic cathedrals. Pride becomes before a fall, though, and after two separate vault collapses, the masons just gave up – the building was never finished. Even the stub of the church, though, is impressive – the highest and lightest work that the Gothic ever produced.
9. Albi cathedral is very different from any of the northern cathedrals. Its southern Gothic style is massive and ponderous, not light and transparent, and as if to stress the difference, it’s built in brick, not stone. But though the exterior looks like a fortress, inside it’s a treasure house of art, including fine frescoes, a painted vault, and a rood screen covered in painted statues.
10. The little-known Saint-Bertrand de Comminges isn’t one of the architectural masterpieces of France. But with its mixture of Romanesque narthex and Gothic nave, and its fine stained glass and Renaissance choir stalls, it’s one of those delightful places where every age has left its impression and every glance discovers new beauties. And how could you miss out a cathedral with its own stuffed crocodile?

To get away from political unrest in Rome at the turn of the 14th century, Pope Clement V temporarily moved the papacy from Rome to Avignon, a papal territory on the Rhone River. The papal court requiring housing, built a palace.
Between 1309 and 1378, seven popes ruled at Avignon, bringing tremendous wealth and prestige to the town, making it the religious, cultural and political centre of the Christian World.
The Pope’s palace reflects the luxury and cultural influence of the papal court. It was constructed in two stages by two popes: Benedict XII (1334-1342), who built the Old Palace and Clement VI (1342-1352), who built the New Palace. The Courtyard of Honour is the best place to compare the styles of old and new, for it is here that the two palaces meet.
The Old Palace at Avignon
Benedict XII ordered the construction of the Old Palace in 1335. The structure is simple and utilitarian, and in line with Cistercian architecture.
The highlights of the Old Palace include: Saint John’s Chapel, the Grand Tinel, and Saint Martial’s Chapel.
Saint John’s Chapel
This stunning chapel with its mullioned windows, arched vault and intersecting ribs is covered in frescoes by Sienese artist Matteo Giovanetti. The beautifully painted scenes, which depict the lives of John the Baptist and John the Evangelist, are now faded, but by no means does this make it less of a treasure.
The Grand Tinel
It was in this dining room that banquets were held on feast days, such as when a Pope was crowned or a cardinal appointed. This enormous hall, close in size to a football field, is well lit by six windows that open out to a garden. Unfortunately, the décor was destroyed by a fire in the 15th century, along with the frescoes that once adorned the walls.
Saint Martial’s Chapel
Another masterpiece by painter Matteo Giovanetti, this chapel is devoted to Saint Martial, who was from the same French village of Limousin as Clement VI. The walls and vaulted ceiling are beautifully decorated with scenes from the saint’s life, using the expensive lapis-lazuli blue, as well as grey and brown decorated with gold.
The New Palace at Avignon
With the construction of Clement VI’s New Palace underway in 1342, Gothic elegance entered the palace, and the finer stonework reflected the new spirit in decoration and architecture. By the time Clement VI died in 1352, the cost of the New Palace had emptied the financial reserves of the Holy See.
The highlights of the New Palace include: The Pope’s Chamber, the Stag Room, the Great Chapel, and the Great Audience Hall.
The Pope’s Chamber
The Pope’s Chamber is covered in murals of coiled foliage, birds, and other animals on a lovely blue backdrop. It was here that the Pope usually slept with his attendants and sometimes held private audiences.
The Stag Room
The Stag Room was the study of Pope Clement VI and it is nothing short of lavish in its decor. The ceiling is richly decorated and beneath a narrow strip of sky, an entire forest is painted on all four walls, which depict scenes of hunting and fishing.
The Great Chapel
It took almost four years to complete the Great Chapel, dedicated to the apostles Peter and Paul. This massive chapel, 52 metres long, 15 metres wide and 20 metres tall, is covered by seven vaulted bays. This now empty chapel was once the scene of important religious celebrations as well as papal coronations.
The Great Audience Hall
The Great Audience Hall housed the Court of Apostolic Causes, a judicial body under which no appeal was possible. This massive hall has the same dimensions as the Great Chapel, but it is not as high. Unfortunately, most of the fresco on the vaulted ceiling was destroyed in the 19th century, but there remains a beautiful section of Giovannetti’s Prophets, where the figures are arranged on a starry azure background.
While the medieval popes stayed in Avignon for a short time, not even a century, they left behind a luxurious palace, one of the most important and complete examples of medieval Gothic architecture.
The Pope’s Palace is open every day from March to November.