Historic Site of Lyon

The long history of Lyons, which was founded by the Romans in the 1st century B.C. as the capital of the Three Gauls and has continued to play a major role in Europe's political, cultural and economic development ever since, is vividly illustrated by its urban fabric and the many fine historic buildings from all periods.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/872

Lyon has been a flourishing trading city since Roman times. It owes that continuous prosperity to its strategic location at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers. The city was known especially for the silk trade, but it also held important financial institutions and an early printing industry.

Lyon was founded as Lugdunum in 43 BC. Under Roman rule it was connected by a network of roads, and it even held the headquarters of the Imperial government.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, Lyon subsequently became part of Lotharingia, Burgundy, the Holy Roman Empire and (the Kingdom of) France respectively. From the 16th century onwards the city expanded beyond its traditional quarters at the Croix-Rousse and Fourvière hills.

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/site.php?id=872

Provins, Town of Medieval Fairs

The fortified medieval town of Provins is situated in the former territory of the powerful Counts of Champagne. It bears witness to early developments in the organization of international trading fairs and the wool industry. The urban structure of Provins, which was built specifically to host the fairs and related activities, has been well preserved.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/873

Provins, Town of Medieval Fairs, is the best preserved example of a town developed for fairs in the Champagne region. It was home to fairs from 1120, and served as a model for later fair traditions in for example Brugge and the Hanseatic cities. Provins was a veritable crossroads. Its international fairs aimed at merchants and dealers were held three times a year. They attracted traders from all over Europe and the Orient.

The nominated area consists of the Upper Town and the Lower Town. Provins originated from the Castle, which was fortified in the 11th and 12th centuries. The settlement soon grew outside it, and was then enclosed within a defensive wall. In the 13th century the town was expanded again, to include the river valley area (Lower Town). Remains in the Upper Town include small houses built in stone and timber-framed construction and the Tour de César with its remarkable donjon. In the Lower Town there are several churches, storage areas for use during the fairs, mills, wash basins, tanneries related to the textile handicraft and a sophisticated water management system of canals.

Provins was a political and military stronghold for the Counts of Champagne. The Counts understood the economic possibilities of the fairs. They reduced tolls to encourage merchants to use their roads and also implemented a "safe-conduct" escort system for those attending the fairs to protect people and goods en route. They also usurped the right to mint money themselves: the Provins denier was one of the few currencies accepted widely throughout the continent of Europe at the time. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/site.php?id=873

Fortifications of Vauban

Fortifications of Vauban consists of 12 groups of fortified buildings and sites along the western, northern and eastern borders of France. They represent the finest examples of the work of Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban (1633-1707), a military engineer of King Louis XIV. The serial property includes towns built from scratch by Vauban, citadels, urban bastion walls and bastion towers. There are also mountain forts, sea forts, a mountain battery and two mountain communication structures. This property is inscribed as bearing witness to the peak of classic fortifications, typical of western military architecture. Vauban also played a major role in the history of fortification in Europe and on other continents until the mid-19th century.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1283

The Fortifications of Vauban are twelve groups of fortified buildings that form a defensive ring around France. They were constructed by Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban (1633-1707), military engineer of King Louis XIV and influential far beyond the French borders. The remaining sites include both fortifications and various kinds of military buildings. 

The 12 sites selected to be part of the World Heritage are:

- Arras: citadel 

- Besançon: citadel, city walls and Fort Griffon (on the postcard)

- Blaye-Cussac-Fort-Médoc: citadel of Blaye, city walls, Fort Paté and Fort Médoc 

- Briançon: city walls, Redoute des Salettes, Fort des Trois-Têtes, Fort du Randouillet, ouvrage de la communication Y and the Asfeld Bridge 

- Camaret-sur-Mer: Tour dorée (lit. "Golden Tower") aka. Tour Vauban 

- Longwy: ville neuve 

- Mont-Dauphin: place forte 

- Mont-Louis: citadel and city walls 

- Neuf-Brisach: ville neuve/Breisach (Germany): gateway of the Rhine 

- Saint-Martin-de-Ré: city walls and citadel 

- Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue/Tatihou: watchtowers 

- Villefranche-de-Conflent: city walls, Fort Libéria and Cova Bastera 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/site.php?id=1283

Historic Centre of Avignon: Papal Palace, Episcopal Ensemble and Avignon Bridge

In the 14th century, this city in the South of France was the seat of the papacy. The Palais des Papes, an austere-looking fortress lavishly decorated by Simone Martini and Matteo Giovanetti, dominates the city, the surrounding ramparts and the remains of a 12th-century bridge over the Rhone. Beneath this outstanding example of Gothic architecture, the Petit Palais and the Romanesque Cathedral of Notre-Dame-des-Doms complete an exceptional group of monuments that testify to the leading role played by Avignon in 14th-century Christian Europe.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/228

The Historic Centre of Avignon: Papal Palace, Episcopal Ensemble and Avignon Bridge comprises a group of late medieval buildings linked to the Papacy. Here the popes and antipopes lived from 1309-1432 during the Catholic schism. 

The WHS designated historic centre of Avignon lies in the north of the walled city. It includes the following monuments: 

- Place du Palais

- Palais des Papes (on the postcard)

- Cathedral of Notre-Dame des Doms 

- the Petit Palais 

- the Tour des Chiens 

- the Ramparts 

- Saint-Benezet Bridge 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/site.php?id=228

Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Former Abbey of Saint-Rémi and Palace of Tau, Reims

The outstanding handling of new architectural techniques in the 13th century, and the harmonious marriage of sculptural decoration with architecture, has made Notre-Dame in Reims one of the masterpieces of Gothic art. The former abbey still has its beautiful 9th-century nave, in which lie the remains of Archbishop St Rémi (440–533), who instituted the Holy Anointing of the kings of France. The former archiepiscopal palace known as the Tau Palace, which played an important role in religious ceremonies, was almost entirely rebuilt in the 17th century.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/601

The Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Former Abbey of Saint-Remi and Palace of Tau, Reims are renowned for their Gothic art and - as part of the coronation ceremony - are directly linked to the history of the French monarchy.

The cathedral is one of the great French cathedrals of the 13th century and one of the masterpieces of the classical Gothic style (along with the ones inChartres and Amiens). The facade of the Reims cathedral is said to have the best sculptures.

The old archepiscopal Palace of Tau also played an important step role in the coronation ceremony of the French monarchy (the banquet was held there). 

The Former Abbey of Saint-Remi has conserved the relics of Saint Remi (died 553), the Bishop of Reims who converted Clovis, King of the Franks, to Christianity. The abbey church is a magnificent example of mediaeval architecture.

Reims, including these World Heritage monuments, was seriously damaged by the Germans during World War I. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/reims.html

The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes

The Loire Valley is an outstanding cultural landscape of great beauty, containing historic towns and villages, great architectural monuments (the châteaux), and cultivated lands formed by many centuries of interaction between their population and the physical environment, primarily the river Loire itself.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/933

The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes is a cultural landscape symbolic of human interaction with the river Loire. It comprises historic towns and villages, great castles and cultivated lands, mainly tracing back to the Renaissance and the Age of the Enlightenment.

The designated area covers a 200km long, thin stretch of land along the river. It includes the towns of Blois, Chinon, Orléans, Saumur and Tours.

The site is an extension to the Castle of Chambord, which was already a separate WHS since 1981. This is one of the most recognizable châteaux in the world because of its very distinct French Renaissance architecture. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/loirevalley.html

Jurisdiction of Saint-Emilion

Viticulture was introduced to this fertile region of Aquitaine by the Romans, and intensified in the Middle Ages. The Saint-Emilion area benefited from its location on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela and many churches, monasteries and hospices were built there from the 11th century onwards. It was granted the special status of a 'jurisdiction' during the period of English rule in the 12th century. It is an exceptional landscape devoted entirely to wine-growing, with many fine historic monuments in its towns and villages.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/932

The Jurisdiction of Saint-Emilion is a cultural landscape dedicated to winemaking. The Romans planted vineyards in what was to become Saint-Émilion as early as the 2nd century AD. Saint-Émilion is one of the four principal red wine areas of Bordeaux. Most of the vine-related monuments date from the 18th and 19th centuries.

The towns in this region hold a number of historic monuments. They include:

- the Pierrefitte menhir

- the Monolithic Church and the Collegiate Church of Saint-Emillion

- various wine chateaus

The area is also on the Pilgrimage Route to Santiago de Compostela, from which it derived great prosperity. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/saintemilion.html

Bordeaux, Port of the Moon

The Port of the Moon, port city of Bordeaux in south-west France, is inscribed as an inhabited historic city, an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble, created in the age of the Enlightenment, whose values continued up to the first half of the 20th century, with more protected buildings than any other French city except Paris. It is also recognized for its historic role as a place of exchange of cultural values over more than 2,000 years, particularly since the 12th century due to commercial links with Britain and the Low Lands. Urban plans and architectural ensembles of the early 18th century onwards place the city as an outstanding example of innovative classical and neoclassical trends and give it an exceptional urban and architectural unity and coherence. Its urban form represents the success of philosophers who wanted to make towns into melting pots of humanism, universality and culture.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1256

Bordeaux, Port of the Moon, encompasses the historic centre of Bordeaux as an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble created in the Age of Enlightenment. A bend in the river Garonne has created a natural harbour here, and because of its shape it's called Port of the Moon.

The most prominent examples of the period of Enlightenement, created from the 1730s, are:

- Place Royale (today Place de la Bourse)

- Allées de Tourny

- Place Dauphine (Gambetta nowadays), Place d'Aquitaine, Place de Bourgogne and Place Tourny

- public garden

- Grand Theatre

- Palais Rohan

- Place des Quinconces

Bordeaux has been a commercial centre for ages, primarily based on its wine export. It was founded as a Roman settlement in 56 B.C. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/bordeaux.html

From the Great Saltworks of Salins-les-Bains to the Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans, the Production of Open-pan Salt

The Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans, near Besançon, was built by Claude Nicolas Ledoux. Its construction, begun in 1775 during the reign of Louis XVI, was the first major achievement of industrial architecture, reflecting the ideal of progress of the Enlightenment. The vast, semicircular complex was designed to permit a rational and hierarchical organization of work and was to have been followed by the building of an ideal city, a project that was never realized.

The Great Saltworks of Salins-les-Bains was active for at least 1200 years until stopping activity in 1962. From 1780 to 1895, its salt water travelled through 21 km of wood pipes to the Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans. It was built near the immense Chaux Forest to ensure its supply of wood for fuel. The Saltworks of Salins shelters an underground gallery from the 13th century including a hydraulic pump from the 19th century that still functions. The boiler house demonstrates the difficulty of the saltworkers’ labour to collect the “White Gold”.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/203

"From the Great Saltworks of Salins-les-Bains to the Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans, the production of open-pan salt" represent the extraction and production of salt from the middle ages to the 20th century. Salins-les-Bains and Arc-et-Senans were connected by a brine pipeline.

Arc-et-Senans is also notable as an early Enlightenment architectural project to rationalize industrial buildings and processes according to a philosophical order. The saltworks' buildings were designed by architect Claude-Nicolas Ledoux. Construction began in 1775 during the reign of Louis XVI. The semicircular complex was planned to reflect a hierarchical organization of work. It was to have been enlarged with the building of an ideal city, but that project was never constructed. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/arcetsenanssaltworks.html

Palace and Park of Versailles

The Palace of Versailles was the principal residence of the French kings from the time of Louis XIV to Louis XVI. Embellished by several generations of architects, sculptors, decorators and landscape architects, it provided Europe with a model of the ideal royal residence for over a century.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/83

The Palace and Park of Versailles have had a large influence on the artistic form of other palaces and gardens in Europe. It is a symbol of the system of absolute monarchy and its court life of the Ancien Régime.

The Palace started out as a small royal hunting lodge. From 1661, King Louis XIV expanded into one of the largest palaces in the world, and moved his court and government to Versailles. Versailles became the unofficial capital where government affairs were conducted during the reigns of the Kings Louis XIV, XV en XVI. It was used intermittently between 1682 and 1789.

After the First World War, Versailles hosted the opening of the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. Germany was blamed for causing the First World War in the Treaty of Versailles which had to be signed in the same room on 28 June 1919. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/versailles.html

Strasbourg, Grande-Île and Neustadt

The initial property, inscribed in 1988 on the World Heritage List, was formed by the Grande-Île, the historic centre of Strasbourg, structured around the cathedral. The extension concerns the Neustadt, new town, designed and built under the German administration (1871-1918). The Neustadt draws the inspiration for its urban layout partially from the Haussmannian model, while adopting an architectural idiom of Germanic inspiration. This dual influence has enabled the creation of an urban space that is specific to Strasbourg, where the perspectives created around the cathedral open to a unified landscape around the rivers and canals.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/495

Strasbourg-Grande Ile is an island which holds the historic centre of Strasbourg including its Cathedral. The Grand Ile started out as the Roman camp of Argentoratum, and developed itself into the free city of Strasbourg. It was an important commercial centre in the Middle Ages. Johannes Gutenberg created the first European moveable type printing press here in the late 15th century. 

The gothic Cathedral was the principal element of the WHS nomination, both for its artistic and technical value. Construction of the Cathedral of Notre Dame started in the late 12th century. A team coming from Chartres suggested a high gothic design. Pink sandstone from the Vosges was used for the construction. It has one 142m high filigree spire (the second one was never built). The height of this spire was unequalled until the 19th century: it was the world's tallest building from 1647 to 1874. The design of the cathedral became very influential in Germany.

The ensemble on the island Grand Ile also consists of several old churches and a network of (post-)medieval streets. Their names reflect the guild movement, from the tonneliers to the tanners. Black and white timber-framed buildings adorn the streets. Among the medieval buildings are the monumental Ancienne Douane (old custom-house) and the renownedMaison Kammerzell. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/strasbourg.html

Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley

The Vézère valley contains 147 prehistoric sites dating from the Palaeolithic and 25 decorated caves. It is particularly interesting from an ethnological and anthropological, as well as an aesthetic point of view because of its cave paintings, especially those of the Lascaux Cave, whose discovery in 1940 was of great importance for the history of prehistoric art. The hunting scenes show some 100 animal figures, which are remarkable for their detail, rich colours and lifelike quality.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/85

Decorated Grottoes of the Vézère Valley is a complex of caves in southwestern France famous for its cave paintings. They contain some of the most well-known (Upper Paleolithic) art, dating back to somewhere between 15,000 and 13,000 BCE. They consist mostly of realistic images of large animals, including aurochs, most of which are known from fossil evidence to have lived in the area at the time. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/vezerevalley.html

Pont du Gard (Roman Aqueduct)

The Pont du Gard was built shortly before the Christian era to allow the aqueduct of Nîmes (which is almost 50 km long) to cross the Gard river. The Roman architects and hydraulic engineers who designed this bridge, which stands almost 50 m high and is on three levels – the longest measuring 275 m – created a technical as well as an artistic masterpiece.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/344

Pont du Gard (Roman Aqueduct) is one of the oldest and most remarkable Roman hydraulic works. The bridge is 48.77m high, has three levels and was built in ca. 20 BC (newer excavations, however, suggest the construction may have taken place between 40 and 60 AD). It crosses the river Gardon near Nimes (south of France). 

The aqueduct originally carried water from a source at the Fontaine d'Eure near Ucetia (Uzès) to a delivery tank or castellum divisorum in Nemausus (Nîmes), from where it was distributed to fountains, baths and private homes around the city. Although the straight-line distance between the two is only about 20 km, the aqueduct takes a winding route measuring around 50 km to avoid the Garrigue hills above Nîmes. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/pontdugard.html

Place Stanislas, Place de la Carrière and Place d'Alliance in Nancy

Nancy, the temporary residence of a king without a kingdom – Stanislas Leszczynski, later to become Duke of Lorraine – is paradoxically the oldest and most typical example of a modern capital where an enlightened monarch proved to be sensitive to the needs of the public. Built between 1752 and 1756 by a brilliant team led by the architect Héré, this was a carefully conceived project that succeeded in creating a capital that not only enhanced the sovereign's prestige but was also functional.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/229

Place Stanislas, Place de la Carrière, and Place d'Alliance in Nancy are 18th century works of urban planning. The three squares and the surrounding monuments sprouted from the brain of the Polish king and duke of Lorraine, Stanislaw Leszczynsk. The responsible architect was Emmanuel Héré. He was assisted by the iron worker Jean Lamour and the sculptors Guibal and Cyfflé. The project was carried out from 1752 to 1756. The squares are embellished with statues, fountains and a triumphal arch. Characteristic are the gilded gates and ornaments.

The squares hold a public function as well: the Opera, the Town Hall, Courts of Law, a library and a botanical garden can be accessed from here. The monuments link the medieval old town of Nancy and the new town built under Charles III in the 17th century. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/nancy.html

Paris, Banks of the Seine

From the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower, from the Place de la Concorde to the Grand and Petit Palais, the evolution of Paris and its history can be seen from the River Seine. The Cathedral of Notre-Dame and the Sainte Chapelle are architectural masterpieces while Haussmann's wide squares and boulevards influenced late 19th- and 20th-century town planning the world over.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/600

Paris on the banks of the Seine stretches from Saint-Chapelle and the Notre Dame in the east to the Eiffel Tower in the west. Along this kilometers long route one can find many of the main treasures of the French capital. 

The Notre Dame is one of the eldest monuments: it's construction dates from the 12th century. Nearby Saint-Chapelle has the same age. Both are on the Ile de la Cité. This little island is linked with the rest of the city via many bridges, of which the Pont Neuf is the most famous. 

In the middle of the route there are the two major museums: the Louvre and the Gare d'Orsay (a former train station). This is also the part where the spacious Place de la Concorde and the Egyptian Obelisk are situated. 

The Eiffel Tower is at the end of the route. Built for the 1897 world fair, it still stands strong as the number one symbol for Paris. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/parisseine.html

Palace and Park of Fontainebleau

Used by the kings of France from the 12th century, the medieval royal hunting lodge of Fontainebleau, standing at the heart of a vast forest in the Ile-de-France, was transformed, enlarged and embellished in the 16th century by François I, who wanted to make a 'New Rome' of it. Surrounded by an immense park, the Italianate palace combines Renaissance and French artistic traditions.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/160

The Palace and Park of Fontainebleau has been influential for its architecture and interior decor made by Italian artists. King Francis I, who reigned from 1515-1547, brought in painters, sculptors and architects from Italy to ornate this palace with its many frescoes and sculptures.

The chateau introduced to France the Italian Mannerist style in interior decoration and in gardens. 

The castle as it is today is the work of many French monarchs, building on the structure of Francis I: from Henri IV to Louis XVI and Napoleon. At Fontainebleau Napoleon bade farewell and went into exile to Elba in 1814. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/fontainebleau.html

Mont-Saint-Michel and its Bay

Perched on a rocky islet in the midst of vast sandbanks exposed to powerful tides between Normandy and Brittany stand the 'Wonder of the West', a Gothic-style Benedictine abbey dedicated to the archangel St Michael, and the village that grew up in the shadow of its great walls. Built between the 11th and 16th centuries, the abbey is a technical and artistic tour de force, having had to adapt to the problems posed by this unique natural site.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/80

Mont-Saint-Michel and its Bay is characterized by the rocky tidal island that holds a 11th century Benedictine abbey and a fortified medieval village. The complex was built at a unique natural location, resulting in an unforgettable silhouette. 

The tides in the Bay can vary greatly, at roughly 14 metres (46 ft) between high and low water marks. The coastal flats have been polderised to create pastureland.

The monastery was an important place in medieval Christianity. It was dedicated to the archangel St Michael. The first monastic establishment here dates from the 8th century.

The mount is depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry, which commemorates the 1066 Norman conquest of England. Norman ducal patronage financed the spectacular architecture of the abbey in subsequent centuries.

The core zone also includes the Old Windmill of Moidrey, which is located on the top of a hill adjacent to the Bay. The Mill was built in 1806 to produce flour. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/montsaintmichel.html

Historic Fortified City of Carcassonne

Since the pre-Roman period, a fortified settlement has existed on the hill where Carcassonne now stands. In its present form it is an outstanding example of a medieval fortified town, with its massive defences encircling the castle and the surrounding buildings, its streets and its fine Gothic cathedral. Carcassonne is also of exceptional importance because of the lengthy restoration campaign undertaken by Viollet-le-Duc, one of the founders of the modern science of conservation.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/345

The Historic Fortified City of Carcassonne is a medieval town which structure has evolved since the Late Roman period. The site consists of 3km long fortifications, which enclose the castle, medieval town cathedral.

The fortress was thoroughly restored from 1853 by the theorist and architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. This restoration has been strongly criticized, as it was not overly authentic (for example in the use of slates, where local practice was traditionally of tile roofing).

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/carcassonne.html

Episcopal City of Albi

On the banks of the Tarn river in south-west France, the old city of Albi reflects the culmination of a medieval architectural and urban ensemble. Today the Old Bridge (Pont-Vieux), the Saint-Salvi quarter and its church are testimony to its initial development (10th -11th centuries). Following the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathar heretics (13th century) it became a powerful episcopal city. Built in a unique southern French Gothic style from local brick in characteristic red and orange colours, the lofty fortified Cathedral (late 13th century) dominates the city, demonstrating the power regained by the Roman Catholic clergy. Alongside the Cathedral is the vast bishop’s Palais de la Berbie, overlooking the river and surrounded by residential quarters that date back to the Middle Ages. The Episcopal City of Albi forms a coherent and homogeneous ensemble of monuments and quarters that has remained largely unchanged over the centuries.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1337

The Episcopal City of Albi was built around the original cathedral and episcopal group of buildings. Red brick and tiles are the main feature of most of the edifices.

Among the buildings of the town is the Sainte Cécile cathedral, a masterpiece of the Southern Gothic style, built between the 13th and 15th centuries. Built as a statement of the Christian faith after the upheavals of the Cathar heresy , this gigantic brick structure was embellished over the centuries. 

The Palais de la Berbie, formerly the Bishops' Palace of Albi is one of the oldest and best-preserved castles in France. This imposing fortress was completed at the end of the 13th century. 

The Old Bridge (Pont Vieux) is still in use today after almost a millennium of existence. Originally built in stone (in 1035), then clad with brick, it rests on 8 arches and is 151m long. In the 14th century, it was fortified, reinforced with a drawbridge and houses were built on the piers. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/albi.html

Chartres Cathedral

Partly built starting in 1145, and then reconstructed over a 26-year period after the fire of 1194, Chartres Cathedral marks the high point of French Gothic art. The vast nave, in pure ogival style, the porches adorned with fine sculptures from the middle of the 12th century, and the magnificent 12th- and 13th-century stained-glass windows, all in remarkable condition, combine to make it a masterpiece.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/81

Chartres Cathedral is considered the finest example in France of the Gothic style of architecture. The current cathedral was mostly constructed between 1193 and 1250. It is in an exceptional state of preservation. The majority of the original stained glass windows survive intact, while the architecture has seen only minor changes since the early 13th century.

The building's exterior is dominated by heavy flying buttresses. The west end holds two contrasting spires - one, a 105 metre plain pyramid dating from the 1140s, and the other a 113 metre tall early 16th century Flamboyant spire on top of an older tower. Equally notable are the three great facades, each adorned with hundreds of sculpted figures illustrating key theological themes and narratives. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/chartres.html