Churches and other religious/spiritual sites are some of the world’s most important attractions for travelers. The are typically the focal point of a city or village and reflect the culture and values of the region. Churches, especially, are significant architecturally and represent the best efforts of a community to express itself. Lee & I have been to hundreds of churches in our travels. Many of these have become unforgettable memories of a particular place. To actually rank these sites is virtually impossible. How can you choose between amazing sights such as Hagia Sophia, the Pantheon, and Mont-St-Michel? Therefore, I will present my favorite 150 spiritual places in installments of five (5), listed alphabetically. Many of my choices are World Heritage Sites and deserve to be preserved forever. Many are simply charming or may hold some special historical significance. Peruse the list and compare your list to mine. Obviously I have not been to all the spiritual places on Earth, but most of these would probably make the all-time list of the majority of world travelers.

Installment 6 — #’s 26-30

26. Chapel of the transfiguration, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, USA — This adorable, little, log chapel sits along the John D Rockefeller Parkway, at the base of the magnificent Tetons. The setting is truly inspirational!

Chapel of the Transfiguration

27. Chartres Cathedral, Chartres, France — This is one of the world’s most celebrated cathedrals, in particular, because of its very special stained glass. It was built over several centuries which explains the dissimilar towers.

Chartres Cathedral

28. Christ of the Ozarks, Eureka Springs, Arkansas, USA — This very large, prominent statue of Jesus Christ with outstretched arms looks out over a valley and seems to proclaim that “this is the Bible Belt.”

Christ of the Ozarks

29. Church of All Nations, Jerusalem, Israel — This church abuts the Garden of Gethsemane, just outside the walled Old City of Jerusalem. The church was built with cooperation and contributions from many of the countries of the world.

Church of All Nations

30. Church of the Beatitudes, Galilee, Israel — This beautiful house of worship was built on the spot where Christ was thought to have delivered the famous sermon involving the beatitudes, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kindom of heaven……”

Church of the Beatitudes