Ways to explore
Churches & cathedrals
Sacred architecture, from basilicas to chapels. 60 picks across 31 destinations.
The best of the best
BarcelonaMontserrat Monastery and Mountain
The saw-toothed mountain an hour from Barcelona, with a Benedictine monastery wedged into its cliffs, the Black Madonna, one of Europe's oldest boys' choirs and trails to summits above the clouds.
BerlinBerlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom)
The great green-domed Protestant cathedral beside Museum Island: a gilded imperial interior, the Hohenzollern royal crypt, reopened in 2026 after renovation, and a walkway around the dome with one of the best views over historic Berlin.
FlorenceFlorence Cathedral & Brunelleschi’s Dome
Florence's soaring cathedral, crowned by Brunelleschi's revolutionary dome — climb its 463 steps for the city's best view, ascend Giotto's bell tower, and see Ghiberti's golden Baptistery doors.
LisbonJerónimos Monastery
The masterpiece of Portugal's golden age — a Manueline monastery of carved ropes, sea creatures and armillary spheres, built on spice-trade money, with Vasco da Gama's tomb in the church and one of Europe's most beautiful cloisters.
LondonWestminster Abbey
The coronation church since 1066 and the resting place of monarchs, poets and scientists — the Coronation Chair, Poets' Corner, Henry VII's fan-vaulted chapel and the Unknown Warrior.
RomeSt Peter's Basilica & Dome
The mother church of Catholicism — Michelangelo's dome, Bernini's bronze canopy and colonnade, and the Pietà — free to enter after security.
VeniceSt Mark's Basilica
Venice's golden church — domes of Byzantine mosaics, the jewelled Pala d'Oro, and the bronze horses that once crowned the facade.
ViennaSt Stephens Cathedral
Vienna's Gothic heart — the patterned tile roof, the 343 steps of the South Tower, the Pummerin bell in the North Tower and the catacombs below.