Notre-Dame de Paris is a Gothic cathedral on the Île de la Cité, built mainly between 1163 and 1345. It is famous for its flying buttresses, rose windows and gargoyles. In April 2019 a fire destroyed its roof and spire. After five years of restoration, it reopened in December 2024 with a rebuilt spire and cleaned interior.

Sainte-Chapelle is a royal chapel on the Île de la Cité in Paris, built in the 1240s for King Louis IX to hold relics of Christ's Passion. Its upper chapel has some of the finest stained glass in the world: fifteen windows, each about 15 metres tall, show over a thousand scenes from the Bible. It stands within the Palais de Justice.

Chartres Cathedral is one of the finest Gothic cathedrals in Europe, mostly built between 1194 and 1220. It keeps most of its original stained glass, famous for its deep blue colour. Its two different spires rise over the town. A labyrinth is set into the floor of the nave. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Vézelay Abbey, the Basilica of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, stands on a hill in Burgundy. It was an important pilgrimage site because it was said to hold the relics of Mary Magdalene. It is a masterpiece of Romanesque art, with fine carved capitals and a striped nave. Saint Bernard preached the Second Crusade here in 1146. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Hospices de Beaune is a former hospital in Burgundy, founded in 1443 to care for the poor. Its Hôtel-Dieu has a famous roof of brightly coloured glazed tiles in geometric patterns. Inside, the Great Hall of the Poor still has its beds. The hospital owns vineyards, and its charity wine auction each November is famous.

Le Puy-en-Velay is a town in the Auvergne set among volcanic pinnacles. A statue of the Virgin Mary made from melted cannons stands on one rock, and the chapel of Saint-Michel d'Aiguilhe, built in 962, crowns another, reached by 268 steps. Its cathedral is a starting point of the Way of St James pilgrimage to Santiago.

Rocamadour is a pilgrimage village built into a cliff above the Alzou canyon in the Lot. Its chapels and sanctuaries, stacked on top of each other, include the Chapel of Notre-Dame with a famous Black Madonna. The Grand Staircase of 216 steps was climbed by pilgrims on their knees. A castle crowns the top of the cliff.

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes is one of the most visited Catholic pilgrimage sites in the world. In 1858, a young girl, Bernadette Soubirous, reported visions of the Virgin Mary in the Grotto of Massabielle. Millions of pilgrims come each year to pray at the grotto, bathe in its spring water and join candlelit processions.