Bourges Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Étienne)

Bourges Cathedral is one of the great monuments of Gothic architecture in France and a World Heritage site, inscribed by UNESCO in 1992. It stands on a rise in the middle of the old city, in the Berry region, and its huge bulk dominates the roofs around it. Building began in the 1190s, at around the same time as Chartres but with a very different plan, and the work continued through the thirteenth century. The result is a cathedral that was influenced by Notre-Dame in Paris, but that took a path of its own.

The most striking feature is the interior. The nave has no transept, which means that the space runs uninterrupted from the west door to the choir, and it is lined by double aisles on each side that rise in stages. The inner aisles are taller than the outer ones, so the building seems to climb in steps toward the central vessel. The nave is about 120 metres long, and the overall width is about 41 metres. The light fills the space, and the lack of a transept makes the interior feel unusually unified and spacious, an effect that visitors often compare with a forest of columns.

The stained glass is the other great glory. Much of the thirteenth-century glass has survived, and it ranks among the best in France, with scenes from the Bible and the lives of the saints in deep blue and red. The glass is best seen in the light of the morning or the afternoon, and binoculars help to read the small panels. On the west front, the five portals are carved with sculpture, and the central portal shows the Last Judgment. One of the towers, known as the Tour de Beurre, the butter tower, is said to have been financed by payments from those who wanted to be allowed to eat butter during Lent. The crypt, one of the largest in France, and the tower are visited on a guided tour or with a separate ticket, so check the current schedule and rates.

The cathedral is a working church and welcomes worshippers, so be quiet during services. Allow at least an hour for the nave and the glass, and longer if you plan to see the crypt and climb the tower. The cathedral suits architecture lovers, those who are curious about stained glass and anyone who explores the Berry. It is close to the Palais Jacques-Cœur, a fifteenth-century merchant's palace, the Musée du Berry and the Église Saint-Ursin.