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Familiar through Monet’s paintings, this richly sculpted façade reflects the evolution of the Gothic style. The most elaborate part is Roulland le Roux’s early 16th-century central porch.

Flaubert was famously rude about it, but the people of Rouen have grown fond of this cast-iron spire, the tallest in France. A bold 19th-century design, it matches the height of the hills that surround the city.

Created as a short cut for the local canons, this narrow courtyard is notable for the intricacy of its carvings.

Typical of the early Gothic style, the exquisitely proportioned nave has four storeys: arches, tribunes (in this case, false ones), gallery, and upper windows.

The lantern tower rises a breathtaking 51 m (167 ft) above the transept crossing from floor to keystone, flooding the interior with light. At the base of each of its columns, busts 1 m (3 ft) high, said to represent the tower’s builders, appear to be shouldering its weight.

The fine 13th-century choir is half-circled by tall pillars with vast carved capitals supporting pointed arches. The choir stalls, from the same period, are carved with comic scenes.

The delicate 14th-century Lady Chapel contains the tombs of more than 150 dignitaries, including that of the Cardinals of Amboise by le Roux.

Here are effigies of Rollo, William Long Sword (known for his short stature rather than the length of his sword), and Richard the Lionheart, who ordered that his heart be buried here.

The lower two flights of this superb staircase are the work of Guillaume Pontifs, while the upper two are 18th-century copies. The ogee arch above the wrought-iron door is typically Flamboyant Gothic.

In jewel-like blues and reds, this early 13th-century stained-glass window tells the tragic story of St Julian, who accidentally murdered his parents and founded a hospital in penance.