One of the tallest Gothic choirs in France, and one of the most unusual: the nave was never built. Construction began in 1272 but stalled in the 14th century when the city refused to demolish part of the Roman wall to extend the building. What remains is the choir alone — 41 metres high, soaring and complete in itself — attached to the Archbishop's Palace on one side and open air on the other. Climb the towers for views over the canal and the surrounding Languedoc plain.
Cathédrale Saint-Just-et-Saint-Pasteur
Unfinished Gothic cathedral with one of France's tallest choirs
A story
The city chose to preserve the Roman fortifications rather than demolish them to extend the cathedral. Construction halted in the 14th century and the nave was never built — making Narbonne's cathedral the only major Gothic church in France to remain permanently unfinished, not through poverty or war but through a municipal argument.