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 16 — #’s 76-80
76. Notre Dame Basilica, Montreal, Canada — This is one of the most beautiful churches in the world on the inside. The church is located in Vieux Montreal.
77. Notre Dame Cathedral, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg — This large and imposing cathedral is located near the fortifications of the city.
78. Notre Dame, Bruges, Belgium — This prominent church dominates the skyline of the enchanting town of Bruges. Inside, the cathedral has one of the few Michelangelo sculptures outside of Italy. The Madonna and Child is found in a niche.
79. Notre Dame, Paris, France — The most famous “Notre Dame” in the world is located on an island in the Seine River. The epitome of Gothic cathedrals, Notre Dame was made famous by Victor Hugo in his book, The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
80. Old-New Cathedral, Salamanca, Spain — These two cathedrals blend into one another forming an interesting ensemble just down the street from Salamanca’s wonderful Plaza Mayor (Main Square).