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Latest Coutances hotel reviews
Mikebond Says: There is a nice garden close to the cathedral. Look at the beautiful flowers and the artistic flowerbeds. The French are specialists in arranging gardens.
Cathédrale - inside: the windows
Mikebond Says: The cathedral of Celje is known for its beautiful windows. The most famous are the three windows of the Last Judgement, in the Southern transept. They were painted in the second half of the 15th century. Unfortunately, my father didn't photograph them...The first window in...
Cathédrale - inside: the architecture
Mikebond Says: The interior of the Coutances cathedral consists of a nave with two aisles and a transept. The windows in the transept were restored after WWII. Worth remarking among them are a 13th-century window depicting three martyrs and another with the Last Judgement dating of 16th...
Mikebond Says: The Gothic Cathedral was built between 1251 and 1274 over the remains of a Romanesque church destroyed in 1218. The façade shows two imposing towers, each of which has smaller pinnacles. Remark the typical "Norman tower" in the middle, where the transept crosses the nave....
hquittner Says: The 14C axial chapel of the chevet is the Lady Chapel. Fittingly, it has sained glass windows and contains a revered Madonna and Child statue extracted from the church of St.-Nicolas.
hquittner Says: When the chancel of a church is elaborated so that the apse contains many projecting chapels, usually preceded internally by one or more ambulatories, so that it presents a rounded and shapely exterior, the French call it a "chevet". This prominence of the East end had its...
Enter and Study the Church Structure
hquittner Says: The Cathedral is moderately large, 93m long and 23m high with sturdy wide-arched arcades. The traceried aisle windows are tall and wide as well and require minimal buttressing. The support ribbings of the vault run unimpeded along the columns all the way to the ground...
Notre Dame Cathedral: Start at the West Front
hquittner Says: The Early Gothic cathedral at Coutances is one of our favorite churches. We prefer the late Romanesque which this one was before it was destroyed in the early 13C. It was rebuilt (1235-50) as Chartres was being finished. The West Facade is illustrative of what we like best...
Admire the Great Central Tower (& Transepts)
hquittner Says: When Sebastien le Pretre de Vauban (1633-1707), the great military architect visited Notre Dame, he ordered that a blanket be placed under the crossing and that he not be disturbed. He spread out under the tower and studied the sight for an hour, proclaiming finally that it...
sue_stone Says: The cathedral in Coutances is quite spectacular. You can't help but notice it at the top of the hill, towering over the town.It is a 13th century Gothic cathedral, with soaring towers and beautiful arches.Inside is some beautiful stained glass, set off by the bright...
La Taverne du Parvis: great lunch option
sue_stone Says: When we visited Coutances we were in need of some lunch. The restaurant I had hoped to eat at was closed (it was a Monday), but we liked the look of La Taverne du Parvis and decided to give it a try.The restaurant's décor was old fashioned, but nice, with a lovely tiled...
sue_stone Says: In June/July 2006 we had a 9 day driving holiday in France. We caught a car ferry from Dover to Calais, drove down through Normandy, popped into Brittany and then caught the ferry back to Dover from Boulogne-sur-Mer.We chose to take our own car over, as the cost of the ferry...
hquittner Says: The Hotel de Ville in old towns is frequently established in a fine old building. This seems to apply in Coutance but I could not find its provenance. It is on the Place du Parvis before the Cathedral. Right behind it are other old rich buildings and a city garden that was...
Notice the Church of St.-Pierre
hquittner Says: The Church of St.-Pierre is down the rue G. de Montbray about 2 blocks South toward where we parked, so it is really not off the beaten path. It was rebuilt in the 15-16C and has a lantern Renaissance tower over its crossing. On the west side is an interesting Gothic tower.
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Plan a Coutances vacation with reviews, tips and photos posted by real travelers and Coutances locals
The 14C axial chapel of the chevet is the Lady Chapel. Fittingly, it has sained glass windows and contains a revered Madonna and Child statue extracted from the...
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1
Coutances - Medieval Hill Town
Located 77km south of Cherbourg, Coutances is a medieval hilltop town with a magnificent cathedral. We dropped in to have a quick look around town and to have some lunch.
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I've got some interesting experiences in Coutances. I'd love to share with you the 4 tips I've written, the 5 photos uploaded, and 0 travelogues I've created.
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Home of a Most Splendid Cathedral
Coutances (pop. 12K) has what we consider as one of the finest of the early Gothic Cathedrals. It is our favorite, the equal (not counting the windows) of Chartres and Laon.(We are not alone in this...
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the cathedrale notre-dame here is considered to be one of the best gothic building in this part of france.
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COUTANES - Town of Art and History
I've got some interesting experiences in Coutances. I'd love to share with you the 0 tips I've written, the 19 photos uploaded, and 2 travelogues I've created.
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