Religious Sights in La Loire — 13 of Our Favourites

The impressive Gothic cathedral in the centre of Orléans was built in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. It dominates the skyline of the city when viewed from afar. Jean of Arc famously attended mass in the cathedral in 1429 when the city was under siege from the English during the Hundred Years' War. A stained glass window in the cathedral depicts her story. There is a great view of the city from the top of the bell towers.

The cathedral in Angers dates back to the middle of the 12th century and is built in a Romanesque style with some Gothic elements. It has three spires, the highest reaching some 75 metres up towards the sky. Its windows have some excellent stained glass originals dating from the 13th and 14th centuries, notably that of Saint Julian in the transept.

These incredible underground caves were excavated as quarries in the 18th century and were once homes as well as storage locations for the mushrooms which were also grown in the caves. The cathedral-shaped rooms give these caves an impressive resplendent feel. Covering over four acres, some rooms reach up to 50 metres in height.

This vast royal abbey was founded in 1101 by Robert of Arbrissel, a preacher from Brittany. Its monastery buildings are Romanesque in design and were built to house 300 nuns. The abbey church, with its pristine white interior, was not completed until 1160. Having housed royal abbesses, its fortune changed and, from the early 19th century, it was turned into a prison before being donated to the French Ministry of Culture in 1960.

The abbey in St-Benoît-sur-Loire, dates back to the 7th century. It is a well-known Benedictine abbey. The remaining abbey church is one of two originals. The second, dedicated to St Peter, was knocked down in the 18th century. The abbey is thought to contain the remains of St Benedict of Nursia, founder of the Western monastic ways of living, though this is disputed.

Named in honour of Saint Martin of Tours, this site contains an archaeological crypt which was excavated at the turn of the 20th century. The collegiate church and adjacent chapel date to the second half of the 12th century and are mainly Gothic in style. Left to decay for many years, the Collégiale Saint-Martin was subject to an extensive work in the late 20th century and has now been restored to its former glory.

The oratory at Germigny-des-Prés was built in typical Loire light stone in the early 9th century by Bishop Theodulf of Orléans. The Spanish bishop was one of the most significant in Carolingian times. It is one of few Western European churches of its kind still to be in existence. A pretty oratory, now the village church, the most impressive feature is the mosaic on the ceiling of the apse, showing the Ark of the Covenant. It was painted over for a long time, hence its excellent preservation and was only rediscovered in the mid 1800s.

The mastermind behind this most impressive of Gothic cathedrals is unknown, as is so often the case. This UNESCO World Heritage Site was completed in the 13th century, though further work was required in the 14th and 15th centuries to support both towers when the ground was too weak to support them. It is simple in design but has a huge imposing impact on everyone who visits. It still has much of the original stained glass in the windows.

The building of this impressive Roman Catholic cathedral commenced in the 12th century and not completed until the 16th century. It is a national historic monument, in a glorious Gothic style, though it has Romanesque features such as its tower buttresses. It is nearly 100 metres long.

Taking its name from Valois history, the impressive Cléry basilica is of such size because purportedly a farmer dug up a statue of the Virgin Mary which was invested with miraculous powers. As a result, the location attracted the attention of King Philippe IV who funded the basilica's construction. It continued to attract royal patronage over the years and is the burial place of Louis XI.

This 15th century Gothic cathedral was built on the site of an earlier Romanesque cathedral. Taking nearly 500 years to complete, it was immaculately restored following a fire in the 1970s. Its crypt contains the tombs of François II, Duke of Brittany and his wife Marguerite de Foix.

The famous Gothic cathedral in Chartres is thought to be one of the finest of its style and was built over a 60-year period in the late 12th and 13th centuries. It is incredibly well preserved and still contains many of the original stained glass windows. The cathedral has two huge asymmetrical towers, one simple smaller spire from the original construction and a taller, more extravagant spire dating from the 16th century. It has been a pilgrimage site itself since construction because it holds the Sancta Camisa, a shirt, which, according to legend, was worn by the Virgin Mary during the birth of Christ. The relic was a gift from Charles II. It gained UNESCO World Heritage Status in 1979 and attracts a huge number of visitors each year.

Founded in the 11th century, this priory has long been a place where pilgrims took shelter en route to Santiago de Compostela. In the 16th century Pierre de Ronsard, the French Renaissance poet, became the prior - the priory still features the prior's house with de Ronsard's workroom. The rose gardens pay an appropriate homage to the poet who is buried in the church apse.