Rouen Cathedral
The church-filled Normandy town of Rouen is known as "the city of a thousand spires," and the tallest spire in all of France is the one atop Rouen Cathedral, which pierces the sky at 490 feet. The cathedral has a 56-bell carillon, statues of many saints lining the interior walls, and a slanted staircase known as the Booksellers’ Stairway. The cathedral was a major inspiration for Impressionist painter Claude Monet, who did several paintings of the church in different kinds of light. Though there are none inside the cathedral, one hangs nearby inside Rouen’s Musée des Beaux-Arts.
