Cathédrale Sainte-Marie-Majeure de Marseille, Marseille, France

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This monstrosity is Marseille’s cathedral. If it looks a little modern, it’s because it was built during the late-19th century boom.

This was built to signify France’s importance as a powerful trading partner with Asia. Built in eye-catching green and white stone stripes and a mix of Romanesque, Byzantine and Gothic styles, the cathedral oozes prosperity.

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It’s a bit out of the way, next to the old commercial port. I spotted it from afar (well, it’s not easy to miss) and we walked all the way over only to find it closed.

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The interior is supposedly as vast as St Peter’s in Rome. Okay. That’s pretty massive.

The current structure is the third to stand on this site. The first was a 5th-centry paleo-Christian cathedral and the second was 12th-century La Vieille Major.

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