74 Churches to Explore in France

Also known as the cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres, is a gothic cathedral located in Chartres, France. It was constructed between 1194 and 1220 and is designated as a world heritage site by UNESCO. The vast nave of the church, the porches with fine sculptures, and the stained-glass windows increase the beauty of the church. This church is a milestone in the development of Western architecture because it employs all the structural elements of the new Gothic architecture.

The Church of Notre-Dame is a Roman Catholic church located in Villeneuve-sur-Yonne in France. It is dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption and is a church of the Archdiocese of Sens-Auxerre. The Church was registered in 1862 into Monuments historiques. It is a remarkable example of a Gothic church from the School of Champagne.

The Church of St. Joseph is a church catholic located in the town of Iracoubo in Guyane. The church was built on the initiative of Father Raffray, appointed in 1886. It was entirely decorated by Pierre Huguet, a convict from a camp in Iracoubo. The fresco extends over 400 m 2 and the style is considered naive. The building was classified as a historical monument in 1978. One of the main pilgrimage centers in this area and also a nice tourist destination.

Notre Dame du Haut is a Catholic religious site – near the village of Ronchamp, eastern France – world-renowned for its chapel designed by Le Corbusier in the ’50s. It also comprises a monastery and a gatehouse and a nice bell portico. Since the French Revolution, the property is privately owned by a group of about forty local families. This chapel is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Church of Our Lady of Calais dated xiv th and xvi th centuries. It has been classified as a historical monument since 1913. A rectangular-shaped church with two front towers for the entrance. During the revolution, the church was transformed into a temple dedicated to the cult of Reason and into a warehouse to then be returned to Catholic worship in 1802. Now it is one of the main pilgrimage centers in this area and also a nice tourist attraction.

Notre-Dame-la-Grande is a Romanesque collegiate church located in Poitiers. Characteristic of the Poitevin Romanesque style, its sculpted facade is a unanimously recognized masterpiece of religious art from this period. The interior walls are painted. The 12th-century façade has been restored so that the intricate sculptures display an exquisite example of Poitevin Romanesque Art.

The Eglise Saint-Sulpice is one of the biggest churches in Paris which was built in the 17th century. The building was constructed from the mid-seventeenth century on the site of an earlier Catholic church. Major restoration works have recently been completed to the exterior of the north tower and to the interior of the c. 1730 sacristy. Its neoclassical facade, the forecourt fountain, the Great Organ are some of the main attractions here.

The Church of Saint-Thomas de Strasbourg is located on Place Saint-Thomas in the historic center of the city near the Petite France district. This church is one of the most important in Strasbourg, from the point of view of cultural history and architecture. It is the only example of a hall church in the region. It is also the only Protestant church to have preserved canons and the building has been classified as a historical monument since 1862.

A beautiful Christian Abbey which was found in the 7th century in the town of Saint-Benoît-Sur-Loire. It constitutes a remarkable example of Romanesque art. It was situated on the banks of Loire and is one of the most celebrated Benedictine monasteries of Western Europe. The architecture inside and outside of the church is quite interesting and it is one of the main pilgrimage centres of France.

Fontenay Abbey in Burgundy was founded in 1118 by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, a leading French saint, and is the oldest preserved Cistercian abbey in the world. it was declared World Heritage by Unesco. The Abbey is decorated with a landscaped park which was listed in 2004 as a "Remarkable Garden" by the National Council of Parks and Gardens. The Abbey welcomes 100,000 visitors each year who come to admire the beauty and purity of architecture unspoiled for 900 years.

A large Benedictine monastery founded around 1060 by William the Conqueror and his wife. It is a gem of Romanesque and Gothic architecture. It also houses William the Conqueror’s tomb. Today the buildings have become the seat of the town hall. Together with the recently rehabilitated Place Saint-Sauveur, the Abbaye-aux-Hommes forms a unique heritage complex.

The Madeleine Church, in the center of the Place de la Madeleine in the 8 th arrondissement of Paris, is a church catholic style neoclassical. Having survived all eras and all regimes, this church is very characteristic for its peristyle of 52 columns, directly inspired by the great Roman temples of Antiquity. The church has a fair amount of art pieces and so more. This is the fourth building dedicated to Mary Magdalene built in the city since the 13th century. The church is classified as a his

The Basilica Notre-Dame of Fourvière is the work of the architects Pierre Bossan and Sainte-Marie Perrin. The basilica is at the top of “the hill which prays”. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and is listed as a historical monument, registered to the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Today, considered as the emblem of the city of Lyon, the basilica welcomes over 2.5 million pilgrims and visitors each year. One of the famous tourist and pilgrimage centres in this area.

A beautiful majestic cathedral which was featured with fantastic stained-glass windows and Gothic features, built with yellow Jaumont limestone dates from the 13th century. One of the main pilgrimage centers in this area and also there are so many art collections and so more. It was built on the site of an ancient 5th-century church dedicated to Saint Stephen protomartyr.

Montpellier‘s Cathédrale St-Pierre is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in the heart of one of France’s southern cities. It was commissioned by Pope Urban V in 1364 and was converted into a cathedral in 1536 when the archbishopric was transferred from Maguelone to Montpellier. It suffered extensive damage during the Wars of Religion between Catholics and Protestants in the 16th century, and was subsequently rebuilt in the 17th century.

It is one of France's last Gothic cathedrals and a historic monument situated in the heart of n Nantes city. Its construction was started in 1434, and took 457 years to finish in 1891.

Nice Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in the very heart of the old town of Nice. The cathedral is one of Nice’s major monuments and also it is the seat of the Diocese of Nice.

The Basilica of Notre-Dame de Nice is a Roman Catholic basilica and the largest church in Nice. It was built between 1864 and 1868 in a Neo-Gothic architectural style.

A beautiful and majestic Gothic cathedral which was built in the 19th century was located in the Vieux-Lille district, on the site of a former castle mound. The church was built in honor of the Virgin Mary and takes its name from a 12th-century statue of the saint that has miraculous properties ascribed to it. It was one of the architectural wonders in this area and also it is one of the main pilgrimage centres in this area.

Périgueux Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral. Located in the city centre of Périgueux, it has been classified as a historic monument since 1840 and World Heritage in 1998. It is an imposing historic monument that dominates the skyline of this town in the centre of the Dordogne department in south-west France.