Durham Cathedral

Durham's most famous building – and the main reason for visiting unless someone you know is at university here – has earned superlative praise for so long that to add more would be redundant; how can you do better than the 19th-century novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne, who wrote fawningly: 'I never saw so lovely and magnificent a scene, nor (being content with this) do I care to see better'. This may be overstating things a bit but no one can deny that as the definitive structure of the Anglo-Norman Romanesque style, Durham Cathedral is one of the world's greatest places of worship. Unesco certainly thought so when they declared it a World Heritage Site in 1986.

The cathedral is enormous and has a pretty fortified look; this is due to the fact that although it may have been built to pay tribute to God and to house the holy bones of St Cuthbert, it also needed to withstand any potential attack by the pesky Scots and Northumberland tribes who weren't too thrilled by the arrival of the Normans a few years before. Times have changed, but the cathedral remains an overwhelming presence, and modern-day visitors will hardly fail to be impressed by its visual impact.

First up is the main door and the famous (and much-reproduced) Sanctuary Knocker, which medieval felons would strike to gain 37 days asylum within the cathedral before standing trial or leaving the country.

Once inside, things get genuinely spectacular. The superb nave is dominated by massive, powerful piers – every second one round, with an equal height and circumference of 6.6m, and carved with geometric designs. Durham was the first European cathedral to be roofed with stone-ribbed vaulting, which upheld the heavy stone roof and made it possible to build pointed transverse arches – the first in England, and a great architectural achievement. The central tower dates from 1262, but was damaged in a fire caused by lightning in 1429, and was unsatisfactorily patched up until it was entirely rebuilt in 1470. The western towers were added in 1217–26.

Built in 1175 and renovated 300 years later, the Galilee Chapel is one of the most beautiful parts. The northern side's paintings are rare surviving examples of 12th-century wall painting and are thought to feature Sts Cuthbert and Oswald. The chapel also contains the Venerable Bede's tomb. Bede was an 8th-century Northumbrian monk, a great historian and polymath whose work The Ecclesiastical History of the English People is still the prime source of information on the development of early Christian Britain. Among other things, he introduced the numbering of years from the birth of Jesus. He was first buried at Jarrow, but in 1022 a miscreant monk stole his remains and brought them here.

The Bishop's Throne, built over the tomb of Bishop Thomas Hatfield, dates from the mid-14th century. Hatfield's effigy is the only one to have survived another turbulent time: the Reformation. The high altar is separated from St Cuthbert's tomb by the beautiful stone Neville Screen, made around 1372–80. Until the Reformation, the screen included 107 statues of saints.

The cathedral has worthwhile guided tours. Evensong is at 5.15pm from Monday to Saturday and at 3.30pm on Sunday.

The tower provides show-stopping vistas, but you've got to climb 325 steps (and part with a hefty £5) to enjoy them.

Other attractions include the mostly 19th-century Cloisters where you'll find the Monk's Domitory, now a library of 30,000 books and displaying Anglo-Saxon carved stones. There are also audiovisual displays on the building of the cathedral and the life of St Cuthbert.

The Treasures refer to the relics of St Cuthbert, but besides his cross and coffin, there's very little here related to the saint, the collection consisting mostly of religious paraphernalia from later centuries. This exhibition may be moving to another site in coming years.