I'd welcome any recommendations of French Gothic cathedrals I should not miss. I'll fly into Paris in September and first go to Mont S Michel to spend 5 or 6 days on retreat, staying in the monastery with the nuns. I'll then have 2 weeks more in France and would like to focus on Gothic cathedrals. I've been to Chartres (will probably revisit), Notre Dame Paris, Reims, and Strasbourg. I definitely will visit Amiens. And I'll probably ultimately end up in the town of Annecy, flying home from somewhere near there (maybe Geneva?). What are your favorite cathedrals? Thanks.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15784 posts
St. Denis in Paris.
Posted by
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
8293 posts
Laon Cathedral, the first one I ever saw outside of Paris, many years ago.
Posted by
San Antonio TX, United States
2393 posts
Rouen Cathedral
Posted by
Lafayette, LA
224 posts
Chartres is my favorite. But all those you listed are amazing Gothic cathedrals. All are worth visiting and revisiting.
Posted by
Tucson
4183 posts
Here's another vote for St. Denis. P.S. My husband and I loved Annecy.
Posted by
Germany
868 posts
St. Denis in Paris (the first Gothic cathedral) Beauvais (the most ambitious Gothic cathedral) Sainte-Chapelle in Paris (IMHO the most perfect Gothic structure) Rouen
Brou
Posted by
Chicago, IL, USA
435 posts
Have you seen the Sacred Destinations website Sherry? I consider it cathedral porn--you'll find great gothic cathedrals here!
Posted by
Savannah, GA
1382 posts
LOL@ Cathedral Porn. I love the Cathedral in Tours, France. Rick always says that there's nothing to see in Tours, and I always disagree. The towers are Romanesque but the rest is pure Gothic gorgeousness.
Posted by
Olympia, WA, USA
6713 posts
We liked Bourges a lot. Also St-Denis for its historic role and the royal tombs. I've heard that Amiens is also great, the largest in France or maybe Europe. We hope to see it this fall. Another that I haven't seen, but would like to, is Albi in the southwest, built like a fortress.
Posted by
OP
San Jose, CA
1994 posts
Thanks all for some great suggestions! I'll start mapping out routes.
Posted by
San Francisco
14979 posts
Hi, Obviously, Strasbourg...das Straßburger Münster. I like the one in Amiens, impressive, and a very interesting town. That cathedral in Beauvais is worth going to, close to Amiens if you're going to be in that area. You won't see any tourists in Beauvais, also easy to reach from Paris.
Posted by
bethesda, md, us
212 posts
Two of the very very earliest Gothic, Vezelay and Autun. The capitals and the tympanum, especially at Vezelay, incredibly important to art historians. Vezelay shows transition from Romanesque to Gothic as the nave was built, and same thing, so a certain extent, at Autun. (In Autun, don't miss the Roman theatre and arches, as well as the beautiful Temptation of Eve, once on the portico, now in the cathedral museum.)
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10623 posts
My favorite is Autun.