Architecture of France

1077 – Bayeux Cathedral, Basse-Normandie, France

Bayeux is best known to British and French visitors for the Bayeux tapestry, made to commemorate the Norman conquest of England in 1066.

1215 – Notre-Dame of Laon, Aisne, France

The cathedral of Notre-Dame of Laon dates from the 12th and early 13th centuries. The former cathedral burned during the communal insurrection in 1112,

1220 – Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres, France

After the first cathedral of any great substance burnt down in 1020, a glorious new Romanesque basilica, which included a massive crypt,

1290 – Notre-Dame de Reims, Rheims, Champagne-Ardenne, France

The Notre-Dame de Reims is the Cathedral of Reims, where the kings of France were once crowned. It replaces an older church,

1330 – Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris

Sited on an island in the middle of the river Seine, the Cathedral of Notre Dame is an imposing Gothic building.

1350c – St Gatien Cathedral, Tours, Indre-et-Loire, France

The magnificent St Gatien Cathedral was built between the 12th and 16th centuries in a medieval and later renaissance gothic. On the site of Roman Caesarodunum,

13th C. – Eglise St-Julien, Tours, Indre-et-Loire, France

This 13th century church was built on the site of an earlier building – a church dating from the 6th century.

1472 – Chateau de Creully, Basse-Normandie, France

The castle has been modified throughout its history. Around 1050, it did not resemble a defensive fortress but a large agricultural domain.

1490s – Chateau de Gien, Loiret, France

Originally constructed at the end of the 14th century, the only remaining vestige of that era is the square tower on the south facade,

1547 – Chateau de Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France

Architect: Domenico da Cortona

The royal Château de Chambord is the largest castle in the Loire Valley, but was built to serve only as a hunting lodge for King François I,