Europe’s most dazzling cathedrals

Centuries-old, architecturally striking and in many cases symbols of resistance, cathedrals dominate cityscapes around the world. Little wonder, then, that they’re often top of travellers’ must-see lists at each new city they visit, with millions flocking yearly to admire their grand façades and interiors. So what makes them so special?

“Cathedrals draw us in, metaphorically and literally,” explains architectural and ecclesiastical historian Dr Emma J Wells. “They’re feats of engineering with unprecedented architecture. In an increasingly secular society, cathedrals are a place of solitude and solace, away from the hustle and bustle. They are with us on every occasion in our lives – from our first breath to our last. At the same time, they are expressions of civilisations, of society, encapsulated within mortar, stone and brick. They are key ingredients of life.”

Is there a best way to admire them? “Inspect the glass windows,” says Dr Wells. “These kaleidoscopes of colours are filled with stories to interpret. Then, spot the mediaeval and Victorian graffiti where people have congregated. You’ll almost always find mason’s marks in the naves. Start looking and you’ll never stop finding them.”

Inspired to visit some of Europe’s most spectacular cathedrals? Here’s where to go first…

Notre-Dame de Paris, France

Three 13th-century rose windows, flying buttresses in Rayonnant style and two early Gothic towers crowning the Western façade are just some of the standout features that make up this masterpiece of Gothic architecture. The cathedral is set to reopen on 8 December, five years after it was damaged by a fire.

A new perspective
From now until April 2025, there are more than 15 events to celebrate the reopening. See the reconstruction of Notre-Dame through a VR headset, browse never-before-seen stained glass in an exhibition or join a seminar about the cathedral’s preservation.

Take off to Paris 

Duomo di Milano, Italy

A tableau of white Candoglia marble, flying buttresses and pinnacles, with a roof bursting with spires, gargoyles and marble statues, the largest cathedral in Italy took 600 years to complete. More than 3,400 statues, 135 gargoyles and 700 figures are housed in the niches and walls – that’s more statuary than any other building in the world.

A new perspective
“Visiting in golden light – when the morning or evening sun hits the marble façade – is like a solemn awakening,” says architecture photographer Maik Waeschle. “The countless statues come alive. Inside, light and shadows mix with the colourful windows. You’ll spend hours discovering new details.”

Take off to Milan

York Minster, England

A blend of Romanesque, Gothic and Perpendicular Gothic styles, York Minster (opening image and above) is the largest cathedral completed during the Gothic period and is today the second largest Gothic cathedral in northern Europe, behind Cologne. The famous Five Sisters Window is in the north transept, while the intricate Great East Window is home to the largest expanse of mediaeval stained glass in the world.

A new perspective
“Head to The Pilgrimage Window,” Dr Wells advises. “In the borders are monkeys holding vials of urine during the mock funeral of Virgin Mary – an apocryphal tale from the Bible. The monkeys are mocking human behaviour and the medical field. In the mediaeval era, medical advances were seen as something to question as Christ was seen as the true doctor.”

Take off to Manchester

Notre-Dame de Reims, France

The site of 25 coronations of the kings of France, Reims cathedral dates from the 13th century and is adorned with more than 2,300 statues, including Anges au Sourire (Smiling Angel) and statues of angels with open wings.

A new perspective
“The two rose windows – one 13th-century-original, another restored after damage during World War I – above the main portal shine with an incomparable intensity, as if revealing the soul of the building,” explains Maik Waeschle. “The Chagall windows (painted in the 1970s) give the room a modern splendour while preserving the mediaeval aura. This contrast is pure poetry. For me, the cathedral is not just a monument, but a canvas on which old and new stories come to life in light and colour.”

Take off to Paris

St Paul’s Cathedral, England

The site of four churches since 600AD, the present cathedral completed in 1710, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, combines Neoclassical, Gothic and English Baroque elements and is home to the largest crypt in Western Europe. The famous dome has dominated London’s skyline for more than 300 years.

A new perspective
“While St Paul’s is famous for its grand dome, take time to inspect the Quire ceiling mosaic by Sir William Blake Richmond,” says architecture photographer Peter Li. “Crafted with millions of pieces of glass and gold leaf tesserae, it beautifully depicts The Creation of the Birds, The Creation of the Fishes and The Creation of the Beasts.”

Take off to London

Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Italy

An ornate green, red and white marble façade, collections of Renaissance paintings and frescoes and Brunelleschi’s dome – the largest masonry vault in the world – are highlights of this 13th-century-constructed cathedral.

A new perspective
“The Duomo – as the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore is commonly known – is almost too huge to appreciate from ground level,” says Florence-based Phoebe Hunt, co-author of Florence like a Local. “To get eye-to-eye with Brunelleschi’s terracotta dome and really comprehend its scale, climb the narrow stairs of Giotto’s Bell Tower, completed 665 years ago.”

Take off to Florence

Cologne Cathedral, Germany

Ribbed vaults, flying buttresses and two immense twin towers make up the largest Gothic cathedral in northern Europe (above). Constructed between 1248 and 1880, it has more than 10,000sqm of windows, and is home to the Bible Window, the cathedral’s oldest stained-glass window, dating to 1260.

A new perspective
Don’t miss the colossal nave, the details in the presbytery and the windows that transform into an array of colours. “As a photographer, I find it fascinating how the sunlight brings the stories of the centuries to life,” says Waeschle. “It feels like walking through a journey through time, with each stone revealing a deep past.”

Take off to Cologne

Seville Cathedral, Spain

A forest of crenelations, pinnacles and flying buttresses, and housing notable 17th-century Golden Age artwork, the largest Gothic cathedral in the world was built between 1434 and 1517 over the remains of the city’s mosque. The original mosque’s minaret, the 104m-high La Giralda (bell tower), can be climbed via ramps (to allow horses through) rather than steps.

A new perspective
Navigator Christopher Columbus’ remains were transferred from Cuba to Seville Cathedral in 1898, after Spain lost control of Cuba following the Spanish-American War. His monument is adorned with a bronze tomb carried by four figures symbolising the kingdoms of Castile, León, Aragon and Navarre.

Take off to Seville

Heaven on Earth: The lives and legacies of the world’s greatest cathedrals

“Each cathedral holds a lens to the lives of those who created it, who worshipped in it, who passed through it, who were laid to rest in it. Cathedrals encompass people as much as mortar and stone, for these visions of Heaven on Earth were raised by mere mortals subject to every virtue and every vice. But the story of cathedral building is also one of patrons and princes, toil and trouble, war and peace, greed, overweening ambition, envy, fame and notoriety, lust for power, hubris, plague, retribution, revolution and even murder. It is a story with countless twists and turns, peopled by a cast of thousands. We can argue, quite plausibly, then, that buildings are books without words – and through their stones the dead may speak.”

An excerpt from Heaven on Earth: The lives and legacies of the world’s greatest cathedrals by Emma J Wells (£40, Apollo, Bloomsbury)

Other photography: York Minster by Peter Li; Cologne Cathedral by Maik Waeschle