tony1164

Hello. Where in France could the lovieliest gothic cathederals to be found?

Underhill

Chartres, Paris, Autun, Rouen, and many, many more.

PalenQ

Chartres is ubiquitously called the world's finest Gothic cathedral

and it was really the first i believe, thanks to the development of flying buttresses that buttress the walls enough to allow more windows and a higher structure than the flat roofed squat Romanesque cathedrals they succeeded i believe.

Reims is another great Gothic cathedral as is Notre-Dame de Paris and zillions of others in France.

Orleans has one of the biggest and most unique but is often overlooked in any list of French greatest Gothic stone piles

PalenQ

Great Gothic Cathedrals of France

An online sample of Stan Parry's guidebook. Photographs, excerpts, driving and rail directions.
www.frenchgothic.com

laverendrye

Amiens, Reims, Laon, Strasbourg, and many others in addition to those already cited.

Most (but not all) of the great gothic cathedrals in France can be found in the northern and eastern parts of the country.

PalenQ

Yes i think part of the reason southern France seems more quaint are the stubbier Romanesque churches in older towns.

Fra_Diavolo

Stubby?

Most find the Romanesque style to have great harmony and beauty. The abbey at Fontevraud, for example, might change your mind, or perhaps the ruins at Jumieges.

PalenQ

stubby not right word but less tall, more blockish

I am not an art expert, obviously

but Romanesque just looks much older than Gothic to me

BTilke

While Chartres is the most famous, if I were to visit just one, I would go to Bourges.
http://www.ville-bourges.fr/english/.../cathedral.php

It's a fabulous structure located in a wonderful town with far fewer tourists than Chartres. The old town of Bourges is fascinating and in summer months, they do a superb self-guided sound and light walking tour of the old city. It's unlike any other sound and light show I've been to. You walk around the old town and in lovely old courtyards you can watch the multi-media shows set to beautiful music. Free. The old town also has several lively cafes, restaurants, and a few very good museums.
Outside of Bourges, you can visit the famous wine village of Sancerre or go a bit south to visit castles, cloisters, etc. When we visited one castle, Ainay Le Vieil, we had the grounds all to ourselves. My husband took a guided tour of the castle (only three people on the tour) while the cocker and I wandered around the rose gardens and fountains and pretended they were ours.
http://chateau.ainaylevieil.free.fr/

annhig

<<stubby not right word but less tall, more blockish

I am not an art expert, obviously

but Romanesque just looks much older than Gothic to me>>

hi again pal - so far as cathedrals are concerned, a simple rule of thumb is that the rounder the older, the pointier the younger.

tony - her's another vote for reims.

regards, ann

Keren

I liked the one in Metz very much. And the town, too, was lovely.

BTilke

FYI, this link explains the light show summer evenings and includes a slide show of some (but not all) of the sites.
http://www.ville-bourges.fr/english/...re-bourges.php

Vttraveler

I wouldn't say it is one of the "loveliest" but for historical interest St Denis in a suburb of Paris is worth a trip. It is also the burial site of the kings of France

adeben

Over the past twenty years, I have made a number of extended visits to Europe. I have a particular interest in cathedrals, in both an historical and an architectural sense. Here's my list, in order of preference, of the major cathedrals I have visited in France:
1. Coutances
2. Strasbourg
3. Amiens
4. Bourges
5. Chartres
6. Rouen
7. Reims
8. Rodez
9. Sens
10. Albi
11. Beauvais
12. Paris
13. Autun
14. Laon
15. Noyon
16. Metz
17. Auxerre
18. Toulouse
19. Troyes
20. Soissons
21. Le Mans
22. Evreux
23. Nevers
24. Dijon
25. Angers
26. Toul
27. Le Puy-en-Velay
28. Senlis
29. St Nicolas-de-Port
30. Bayeux
31. Quimper
32. Colmar
About 1140, it was realised that the Romanesque arch was limited in the amount of interior space that it could span. For example, the largest extant Romanesque cathedral is St Sernin's in Toulouse, and the nave is only 11 paces wide. Someone unknown decided that a 'pointed' arch might more efficiently direct the weight of the roof onto the side walls, thus allowing for a wider interior nave, and found that this was so. However, as they increased the height of the side walls, the roof weight tended to push the walls out at the top, so buttresses to stop that movement were developed. Buttresses worked well until the walls became absolutely too high, which happened at Beauvais. (In order to stabilise their roofs, many cathedrals now have metal rods and/or trusses running across the nave space, through the side walls to fastenings on the outside, but such technology did not exist in the 1100s.)
The earliest signs of the Gothic style were in 1130 at St Dennis on the outskirts of Paris. The first 'gothic' cathedrals to be built were Sens (1140), Senlis (1151), Noyon (1160), and Laon (1160).
All the cathedrals listed above are well worth a visit, but Coutances in Normandy is a stunner.

Michael

Traditionally the best gothic cathedrals in France are considered to be the ones in and surrounding Paris:
Chartres, Rouen, Amiens, Laon, Reims, Troyes. But Bourges also has an impressive one.

Iowa_Redhead

Tagging for that cathedrals list, thanks Adeben.

seafox

One of our travel "collections" is the desire to collect memories of the great cathedrals of France. We have done a good job over the years, but I must say Adeben's list will now require several more trips to France - it seems we have missed a few - thanks - now I have a reason to return again (like I needed it)

tony1164 - don't limit yourself to the Gothic...you will be amazed at the beauty of all...

PalenQ

adeban

Put Orleans Cathedral, devoted to the town's patron Saint, and France's as well, Jean d'Arc

Not sure if it's pure Gothic or not but one of the most formidable pile of ancient stones in France

I call it wedding cake Gothic for the wedding cake type things topping both its towers.

Lots of folk overlook this cathedral, which bigger than Notre Dame de Paris and one of the biggest in France is awesome in its cavernous size as well

adeben

PalenQ: I was a bit disappointed with Cathedrale Ste-Croix in Orleans, largely because of what you describe as 'wedding cake' style. The church was started in the 13th century, but not finished till the early 16c. Even then, the nave was completely torn down by the Huguenots in the late 16c, and later rebuilt by Henri IV in a style sometimes called 'composite Gothic'. It's a bit of a mish-mash to my eyes, but, as you state, quite impressive in its size. If you're in Orleans, then it's worth a glance. However I agree with the Green Michelin Guide that it is not worth a special trip or significant detour to see. By the way, my favourite church in Europe is not even a cathedral: it is Balthazar Neumann's masterpiece, the pilgrimage church at Vierzehnheiligen in Germany. Now that really is worth a special trip to see!

cybertraveler

BTilke,

I think you just showed me where I'm going on my next trip! Those places look incredible.

Thanks!