Nakrotor

Top Ten French Gothic Cathedrals France is the birthplace of the Gothic style. Its cathedrals run the full gamut of the style – from the simplicity of early Gothic through to Flamboyant decadence. 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! Laon is one of the earliest Gothic cathedrals, but its architect created marvellous effects of transparence and depth in the faade 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 understa...