Cathédrale Ste-Croix

Cathédrale Ste-Croix Review

The Cathédrale Ste-Croix is a riot of pinnacles and gargoyles, both Gothic and pseudo-Gothic, embellished with 18th-century wedding-cake towers. After most of the cathedral was destroyed in the 16th century during the Wars of Religion, Henry IV and his successors rebuilt it. Novelist Marcel Proust (1871-1922) called it France's ugliest church, but most find it impressive. Inside are dramatic stained glass and 18th-century wood carvings, plus the modern Chapelle de Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc Chapel), with plaques in memory of British and American war dead.