The old city of Bourges, France is known for its cathedral. This structure, a World Heritage Site, is probably the largest Gothic cathedral ever built. I think five Notre Dames would fit inside. The vast, soaring interior space is amazing, held in place by tiered flying buttresses—and built to emphasize the status of the church of Bourges as representative of the ancient kingdom of Aquitaine.

My first task when I got to Bourges was to find my lodgings, an apartment at the top of the watch tower that guarded one of the palaces in the old town. This was not easy to find in the maze of narrow one-way streets of the old city, but when I did, and I had been handed the key, I was pleased with well furnished chamber and the view of the famous cathedral in the late afternoon light.