Primatiale St-Jean

With its exterior restored recently to its original creamy glory, this majestic Gothic cathedral is well worth a visit. Built over the foundations of at least five former churches, the current cathedral was built in the Middle Ages. Paintings around the cathedral belonged to Napoleon’s uncle, Cardinal Fesch. A magical time to visit is towards the end of a summer afternoon when the western sun shines through the 14th-century rose window, bathing the nave in an ethereal white light. The most extraordinary feature is a 16th-century astronomical clock whose mechanism includes a perpetual calendar, a religious calendar, and all the saints’ days up until 2019 (a new clock is planned for 2020). It announces the hour daily at noon, 2, and 3pm with rooster crows and angels heralding the event.