- Vézelay Abbey
Basilica of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine was under repair, so we only saw a part of it. - Château de Chenonceau
Every room had its own fireplace, making the castle rather cosy. This is a detail on the fireplace in Chambre de François Ier. - Château de Chambord
The residences of François Ier include a large wardrobe and closet. They surely dressed ... royally. - Château de Chambord
Wallpaper in the 18th century apartments. - Fountain
A relief on an early Renaissance water basin with the coat-of-arms of the monastery. - Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça
The interior of the church is empty, corresponding to the Cistercian order, but huge! The main nave is 106 m long. - Room of the Kings
Room of the kings is full of statues of kings. The tiles depict the monastery history. - Claustro Real
The royal cloister was built by architect Fernão de Évora in 1448-1477. - Elba aquarium
A sawfish bone - Mosaic
Venice is full of old mosaics. Although some are not as old as the others ... - Palazzo Ducale
Palazzo Ducale, built in 1340 (and extended later). - Basilica di San Marco
Another detail from the Basilica's facade. - Detail on Palazzo Ducale
Palazzo Ducale: a detail on one of the columns (the same column as the Judgment of Solomon). - Palazzo Ducale
Unfortunately, the palace was closed. Not enough tourists? - Porta della Carta
Built in 1438–43, probably by Giovanni and Bartolomeo Bon. Doge Francisco Foscari is kneeling before the Lion. - Piazzetta di San Marco
The Piazzetta between the Doge's Palace and Jacopo Sansovino's Biblioteca with the two columns with Saint Theodore and the winged lion. - Palazzo Ducale
- Ponte dei Sospiri
Prisoners were taken through this bridge to the prison. - Piazza San Marco
Piazza in the times of Covid, wonderfully empty. - Basilica di San Marco
From the 11th century, inspired by Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. - Scuola Grande di San Marco
Originally one of the Scuole Grandi of Venice, now the city's hospital. Finished around 1500 by Pietro Lombardo. - Scuola Grande di San Marco
A trompe-l'oeil archway detail on the facade. - Scuola Grande di San Marco
More great optical illusions on the facade. - Ponte dei Sospiri
The view from this bridge was the last view of Venice that convicts saw before their imprisonment. Even the window bars are made of stone. - Ponte dei Sospiri
The Bridge of Sighs connects the Doge's Palace with the New Prison. - Procuratie Vecchie
The facade is made of Istrian limestone. - Procuratie Vecchie
Built in the beginning of the 16th century. - Ponte di Rialto
The oldest of the main four bridges in Venice. Finished in 1591. - Santi Giovanni e Paolo
Tomb of Jacopo e Lorenzo Tiepolo, two doges, who dies in 1249 and 1275, respectively. - Ca d'oro
Ca d'oro or the Golden house. One of the best examples of Venetian Gothic architecture. It used to be gilded, therefore its name. - History of Lisbon
A complete Lisbon history in one passage. Mural by Nuno Saraiva. Every city should have a mural like this one. - Óbidos
13th century castle, and one can walk on the walls. - Óbidos
View of the town from the castle walls. - Óbidos
Calcada da Misericordia - Fountain Hall
Gothic fountain hall in the cloister. - Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça
Refectory, where the monks had their daily meals. - The kitchen
What a kitchen! Built and covered with tiles in the 18th century. A channel carried water from Alcoa river directly through the kitchen (!) to get fresh water and fish. - Cloister of Silence
This cloister was built under King Dinis I (1261-1325). The Manueline top floor is from early 16th century. - Gargoyle in the cloister
A rather interesting gargoyle. - Chapter House
Statue of S. Gregorivs Magn in the Chapter House. - Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça
Some old inscriptions on the cloister walls. - Cloister of Silence
- Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça
This is the oldest gothic building in Portugal, and still the largest church in the country. - Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça
Founded in 1153 by Afonso Henriques and built in 1178-1252. The facade was added later, of course. - Monastery of Saint Mary of the Victory
The monastery was built to celebrate the 1385 victory over the Castilians. The church was built between 1386 and 1517. - Founder's Chapel
The chapel was built in 1426-1434 by Huguet to become the first royal pantheon in Portugal. - Monastery of Saint Mary of the Victory
What an insane attention to detail! - Claustro Real
- Monastery of Saint Mary of the Victory
What a magnificent cathedral! - Capelas Imperfeitas
Insanely beautiful detail. - Capelas Imperfeitas
Ah, the famous Unfinished Chapels, commissioned in 1437 by Dom Duarte. - Capelas Imperfeitas
The portal was originally Gothic and transformed by Mateus Fernandes into Manueline style (1509). - Capelas Imperfeitas
- Capelas Imperfeitas
King Manuel I dedicated this portal to King Edward and the motto "Leauté faray tam yaserei" means "I will always be loyal". - Convento de Cristo in Tomar
The Romanesque round church was built in the second half of the 12th century by the Knights Templar. - Convento de Cristo in Tomar
São Cristóvão - Saint Christopher (1484-1500) - Claustro Principal
A very 16th century Renaissance cloister. - Janela do Capítulo
The famous Manueline Window of the Chapter House (1510-1513). - Refectory
Pulpit in the Refectory, which was build in 1535-1536. Royal coat of arms... and some strange faces. - Cistern
One of the many cisterns in the Monastery. - Claustro de Santa Bárbara
And one of the many cloisters in the Monastery, this one was built in the 16th century. - Room of discoveries
Ceiling in the Room of Discoveries by Bernardo António de Oliveira Góis (c. 1770-c. 1820) and Cyrillo Volkmar Machado (1748-1823). - Marble Hallway
- Doors in one of the cloister
I don't quite get these doors, to be honest. - Cloister
What a lovely cloister this is. - Palácio Nacional de Mafra
One of the largest royal palaces, this one was commissioned by João V and built in 1717-1755. And yes, there is wildfire smoke in the background. - Palácio Nacional de Mafra
- Monserrate
In 1846, Francis Cook, the 1st Viscount of Monserrate, built this Gothic-Indian-Moorish-shiny-pretty palace. - Convento dos Capuchos
The Door of Death is the entrance to the monastery. - Convento dos Capuchos
The convent is built around/between boulders, so the interior is very intriguing. - Cascais
Not quite sure what to think of this place. Diverse or messy? Eclectic or mismatched? This certainly was a wonderful place. Now - not so much. - Tapestry
A magnificent almost 8 m long "thousand flowers" tapestry is from the 16th century. What an interesting motif... - Beaune Polyptych
Closed altarpiece shows Nicolas Rolin, Chancellor of Burgundy, and his wife Guigone de Salins, who founded the hospice in 1443. In the center are St. Sebastian and St. Anthony with the Annunciation on top. While the wife has a 'proper' white angel, the red angel of Nicolas looks quite devilish to me. - Basilique Notre-Dame de Beaune
A magnificent stained glass window. But I have no idea how old it is. May be old, but my uneducated guess would say quite recent. - Vézelay Abbey
This Benedictine abbey, which is a well-known pilgrimage church, was constructed between 1120 and 1150. Here stood initially a Roman villa, then two Carolingian convents, then then reformed Benedictine order of Cluny. Built to accommodate pilgrims, and extended to accommodate even more pilgrims... - Vézelay Abbey
- Château de Chenonceau
One of the many chandeliers in the Gallery across the river. - Château de Chenonceau
Another magninficent fireplace, this one is in the Salon Louis XIV. The salamander and the ermine are the symbols of Francis I and his wife Claude of France. - Château de Chenonceau
La tour des Marques The only remaining (and renovated) part of the medieval castle owned by the Marques family. - Château de Chenonceau
What a wonderful black room. And matching white flowers. - Château de Chambord
Chambord is the largest château in the Loire Valley. Built in 1519–1547 as a hunting lodge for François Ier. A hunting lodge! - Château de Chambord
The double-spiral staircase in the centre of the castle. The castle is so wonderfully symmetric, it's quite easy to lose orientation. - Château de Chambord
Louis XIV's ceremonial apartment. While Francoise's bedroom looked cosy, this one is too grand for my liking. - Château de Chambord
The chandelier in the royal ceremonial apartment. - Château de Chambord
The magnificent stairs go all the way up to the castle roof. - Bayeux Cathedral
Here is where the famous Bayeux tapestry was exhibited until 1793. Possibly from 1077. - Bayeux Cathedral
The ceiling in the Bayeux cathedral choir shows various local bishops and saints. The whole cathedral is indeed a stunning place. - Mont Saint-Michel
What a perfect architecture. - Pointe du Grouin
Some art on a WWII bunker.