Spain’s finest cathedrals

Designed by Antoni Gaudí from 1883 onward, the Sagrada Família is the most famous building in Barcelona and perhaps the whole of Spain. At the heart of the Eixample district, discover an extraordinary architectural project: thousands of tree-inspired columns, a central nave bathed in light filtering through multicolored stained glass windows, and hundreds of slender vaults. Three facades adorn the exterior, including the still-unfinished Glory facade.

The Nativity facade, which is the most detailed, is teeming with sculpted figures depicting animals, plants, and saints. The more austere Passion facade portrays the crucifixion with a highly geometric rigor. In the crypt, you can admire Gaudí’s models and gain an understanding of the technical challenges of a project that is scheduled to be completed in 2026.

From Plaza del Rey San Fernando, look up to appreciate the 88 meter-high spires of the cathedral overlooking Burgos, in the province of Castile and León. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this cathedral begun in 1221 illustrates the height of Castilian Gothic style. You enter through a portal decorated with Biblical statues, then come to the nave.

El Cid Campeador and Doña Jimena’s tomb rests under an understated slab in the center of the building. Nearby, the Condestable’s Chapel displays twisted columns, coats of arms, and flamboyant stained-glass windows. Linger in front of the choir stalls, sculpted in the 16^th century, then lift your eyes to admire the rose windows that cast a colored light.

On reaching Plaza del Obradoiro in Santiago de Compostela, you discover a Baroque facade that fills the whole horizon: designed like a theater, it marks the end of the Camino and attracts a crowd of visitors. Its Portico of Glory, a Romanesque masterpiece by Master Mateo made up of over 200 carved figures, tells the story of the Apocalypse.

Inside the cathedral, the layout in the form of a Latin cross is organized around a wide ambulatory, allowing you to make your way to the choir. In the adjoining museum, you can admire Flemish tapestries, medieval sculptures, and models recounting the building’s construction from the 11^th to the 18^th century.

Few places offer this kind of architectural coexistence: constructed by the Umayyads from 785, the Mosque of Córdoba was converted into a church in the 13^th century after the Reconquista. From the entrance, you walk through a forest of 850 marble columns, each topped with a red brick and white stone arch. You then reach the mihrab, a niche covered inmosaics that represents the epitome of Cordovan Caliphate art.

In the center, Renaissance cathedral, inserted in the 16^th century, introduces Baroque chapels and cupolas. You move from an Islamic world into a Christian setting, before exiting to the Courtyard of the Orange Trees, dotted with pools and irrigated like an Andalusian garden. Delightful!

Begun in 1227, Toledo Cathedral reflects the power of Castille and the city’s cosmopolitan feel. Pass through its sacristy, decorated with canvases by El Greco, Titian, and Goya. In the treasury stands Enrique de Arfe’s Custodia, a monumental, gilded silver monstrance measuring 2.5 meters.

You continue via the cloister, decorated with frescoes, before reaching the Transparente, an oculus pierced in the vault in 1721 to let light enter. The juxtaposition of Gothic, Renaissance, and Mudéjar styles reflects Toledo’s multicultural history.

Built in the 13^th century, León Cathedral in the north-west of the country impresses less by its size than its lightness. You can admire the nave illuminated by some 1,700 square meters of medieval stained glass, including a spectacular central rose window flanked by two Gothic towers. This abundance, which is rare in Spain, is reminiscent of great French basilicas.

In the stained glass room, an exhibition guides you through the techniques for assembling and restoring the panes. The adjoining museum conserves illuminated manuscripts, Flemish paintings, and Romanesque sculptures in a more intimate setting.

In Salamanca, you pass from the old Romanesque cathedral to the new one almost without moving. Begun in the 12^th century, the first conserves a painted cupola and a squat tower, nicknamed “Rooster Tower.” To enter the new cathedral dating from 1513, you need simply go through an arch.

High Gothic vaults soar above Renaissance altarpieces. Step outside to examine the meticulously sculpted facade. Added in 1992, one detail catches your eye: an astronaut, which has become an emblem of the city and an unusual nod to the continuity between past and present.