Notre Dame Cathedral, Wallonia, Belgium

5kkfriend 5:00 PM Jul 17, 2020

Beautiful despite renovations
Beautiful gothic church, with large stained glass windows and different side chapels. Signage (in Englsh!) describes the history of the cathedral and you can see the remains of the structures that the present church was built on. The treasury is filled with different monstrances and reliquaries and I also was fascinated by the historical timeline that lined the wall that led from the main church to the treasury.

4macedonboy 5:00 PM Sep 3, 2019

Disappointing Visit Because of Restoration Work
This UNESCO World Heritage Site is without doubt one of the best preserved cathedrals in Northern Europe. Unlike its namesake in Paris, this church is built in a mix of Baroque, Gothic and Romanesque. As soon as you enter, the first thing to notice is one of the most impressive Romanesque naves I’ve ever seen, with a beautiful Rose stained glass on one end, but a surprisingly simple Baroque altar on the other. Other than that it’s a bit difficult to know how to rate this visit since much of the building, both inside and out were clad in scaffolding due to an ongoing restoration work which is not scheduled to finish for years. The beautiful stained glass windows behind the current high altar are all hidden by scaffolding. Where it not for the Treasury Museum, some fantastic Gothic stonework and the stained glass windows at the transepts, the visit would’ve been a real disappointment. This church is without question the star attraction of Tournai. Sadly because of the restoration work, it’s not a must see until it’s complete. I did however climb up the Belfry of Tournai and got fantastic views of the Church and it’s easier to see the Romanesque and Gothic parts of the church from high up.