Cathédrale de Coutances

Notre-Dame de Coutances cathedral, in the Manche, is a great building of Norman Gothic, raised in the thirteenth century on the remains of a Romanesque cathedral. It has been listed as a historic monument since the 1862 list. Beneath the Gothic facing survives the eleventh-century Romanesque structure, which can be observed in the upper parts during guided tours.

Its elevation, marked by verticality and balance, is dominated by the lantern tower that rises above the transept. The building has a double ambulatory and Gothic stained glass, and its high altar, made around 1755 by Antoine and Raphaël Duparc, is among the largest in France.

Guided tours take visitors into the upper galleries of the nave and choir, into the lantern tower and under the roof frames, and let you follow the different stages of construction. The dedication feast is celebrated on 12 July.

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