Category

Cathedrals & Basilicas

Stone raised as prayer.

6 destinations

4/5 Significance

Vatican City, Vatican City

St Peter's Basilica

Michelangelo's dome over the tomb of the fisherman — the largest church ever built, and the one that cost the Reformation.

4/5 · Major biblical site

3/5 Significance

Istanbul, Turkey

Hagia Sophia

For nine hundred years the largest cathedral in the world — Justinian's dome, then a mosque, then a museum, then a mosque again.

3/5 · Well attested

3/5 Significance

Chartres, France

Chartres Cathedral

The most complete Gothic cathedral in existence, with 176 medieval windows and a labyrinth walked as pilgrimage.

3/5 · Well attested

3/5 Significance

Cologne, Germany

Cologne Cathedral

Six hundred and thirty-two years under construction, sheltering a gold reliquary said to hold the Magi.

3/5 · Well attested

3/5 Significance

Trondheim, Norway

Nidaros Cathedral

Built over the grave of St Olav, the northernmost medieval cathedral in the world and the end of the Norwegian pilgrim road.

3/5 · Well attested

2/5 Significance

Barcelona, Spain

Sagrada Família

Gaudí's unfinished basilica, where the whole Gospel is carved into stone and the columns are engineered as a forest.

2/5 · Historically linked