Girona Cathedral of Saint Mary

Those who climb up to the Cathedral of Saint Mary, at the highest point of Girona, discover on entering something few churches can offer: a single open space almost twenty-three metres wide. Exactly 22.98 metres, in fact, making its nave the widest Gothic nave in the world – a feat best appreciated in silence, gazing up at vaults that seem to defy the logic of medieval building.

The cathedral is also an open book on several centuries of history. Work began in the 11th century in the Romanesque style and, by the 13th century, the project had taken a turn towards Gothic. Even so, the cathedral was not considered finished until the 18th century, so its walls bring together very different periods and tastes, the result of work that stretched across generations.

From that first Romanesque phase, two features have survived to the present day that deserve an unhurried visit. The tower, dated to 1040, is the oldest part of the complex, while the cloister, built in the 12th century, offers a haven of calm and a good opportunity to compare Romanesque restraint with the Gothic spaciousness of the interior.

The city's principal Catholic church and a listed Site of Cultural Interest, the cathedral forms a well-rounded ensemble with the neighbouring building: the former Bishop's Palace, now home to the Girona Art Museum. Visiting both in the same morning rounds off the experience nicely and helps you better understand the weight the Church carried in the life and landscape of this Catalan city.