Top 10 European Cathedrals and Churches to Visit in Christmas

Christmas Tour is always unique than any other wandering throughout the year. It’s unique in the sense of a happy journey for your pilgrim soul. Along with the religious people, everyone wants to be a part of the festival around the Shrine of God.

So Cathedrals and Churches become the center point of attraction at this time. There are many types of Cathedrals you can see around Europe. Such as Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, etc. Here is the best choice of European Cathedrals and Churches to make your Christmas Big and Sacred this year.

1.Notre Dame in Paris, France

Notre Dame, Paris, France

In French, Notre Dame Means ‘’Our Lady’’ is the best example of French Gothic architecture constructed from 1163 to 1345. This is one of the first buildings in the world where arched exterior supports called flying buttress is used. But they were not in the initial design. When the work was in progress, and the thinner walls of popular Gothic style grew higher, needed support from outside, which leads the Cathedral to its present form.

2.Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain

Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain

Can you imagine a Church not complete but included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Yes, Sagrada Familia is such an amazing one, designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi. The construction started in 1882, but at the time of Gaudi’s death in 1926, a quarter of the project was not complete. In 2010 it passed the mid-point and supposed to be completed in 2026, the centennial of the designer’s death. After completion, it will surely become the tallest church building in the world.

3.Santa Maria Del Fiore in Florence, Italy

Santa Maria Del Fiore in Florence, Italy

Santa Maria del Fiore is the main church of Florence, constructed as a basilica from 1296 to 1436. Filippo Brunelleschi, a renowned architect-engineer from the Italian Renaissance, planned it but did not produce any complete documents to maintain control over the builders. It results in a fantastic Latin cross in shape. The proportion of the building and the massive dome is spectacular.

4.Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Istanbul, Turkey

Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Istanbul, Turkey

Hagia Sophia Cathedral is one of the most excellent existing examples of Byzantine architecture, which was built as an Orthodox patriarchal basilica but converted into a mosque later and now stands as a museum with a long and complicated history. Since 1985 Hagia Sophia has been a UNESCO World Heritage site.

5.Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany

Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany

The tallest Cathedral of Europe today was the tallest of the world from 1880 to 1884. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1996. But included in the list of ‘’World Heritage in Danger’’ in 2004. In the time of 2nd World War, the Cathedral faced several attacks, and the renovations are not completed yet.

6.Santiago de Compostela Cathedral in Galicia, Spain

Santiago de Compostela Cathedral

Since the Middle Ages, the Cathedral is included among the significant pilgrimage because it is the famous Burial-Place of Saint James the Greater, one of the apostles of Jesus Christ. The mixture of Romanesque, Baroque, and Gothic architecture is built between 1075 and 1211.

7.Saint Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow, Russia

Saint Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow, Russia

The Russian Orthodox Church converted into a museum was created within 1555 to1561 on the Red Square of Moscow and shaped as a flame of fire. The building, unlike any Russian architecture, is officially known as the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990.

8.Seville Cathedral in Seville, Spain

Seville Cathedral

The ‘Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See’ or the Seville Cathedral is the third-largest church in the world, built between 1401 and 1528. The enormous construction with more than 1000 figures covered with gold leaf portrays the life of Jesus. The tomb of Christopher Columbus is the main tourist attraction of this Cathedral.

9.Westminster Abbey in London, England

Westminster Abbey in London, England

The Westminster Abbey, formally titled ‘Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster,’ a magnificent Gothic church, is among the most famous icons of London. For English, it is a traditional place of coronation and a Burial site. Today the building is neither an abbey nor a Church, but it still holds the status of a Church of England ‘Royal Peculiar’.

10.St Mark’s Basilica in Venice, Italy

st marks square

The most famous church in Venice is the best example of Italian-Byzantine architecture. It is a Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark, commonly known as Saint Mark’s Basilica. For its affluent design, gold ground mosaics and its status made it a symbol of Venetian wealth and power.