Consecrated in 1072 on a former pagan temple site, the Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame in Vernon, Normandy, showcases France’s architectural evolution in stone. The choir and transept remain Romanesque, while the rest underwent three distinct Gothic phases.

Its crowning musical jewel is the historic organ, built in 1610 by Jean Ourry and gifted by Marie Maignard, daughter of the President of the Parliament of Normandy. Restored in 1979, the instrument now boasts 2,200 pipes across 31 stops, creating a sound still experienced during Sunday masses.

The church reflects France’s turbulent history—once converted into a “Temple of Reason” during the Revolution and damaged in WWII, it was later restored with modern stained glass replacements in the 1970s. Immortalized in Monet’s paintings (1883-1894), this architectural wonder stands as a living monument to nearly a millennium of French spiritual and cultural evolution.