Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela

You smell the incense before you see the cathedral's full facade. If you arrive on foot — the way most pilgrims have for a thousand years — you come into the Praza do Obradoiro and the Baroque west front fills your entire field of vision. Pilgrims sit on the stones of the plaza, some crying, some laughing, many just staring. Inside, the Romanesque bones of the building are still there beneath the later additions: thick round arches, solid stone pillars. The Pórtico de la Gloria, the 12th-century carved entrance by Master Mateo, is one of the great works of medieval art. The high altar glitters with gold and silver, and behind it, a staircase lets you embrace the statue of St. James — an odd, intimate gesture in such a grand setting. Below the altar, in the crypt, a silver casket holds what tradition says are the apostle's remains. On certain feast days, the Botafumeiro — a massive incense censer — swings in a wide arc through the transept, nearly touching the ceiling. The whole building seems to breathe.

Diocese: Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela

Style: Romanesque core with Baroque facade