Did you know that the term « Gothic » was coined by an Italian architect in the 16th century as a pejorative to manifest his horror towards the architectural style of the Middle Ages that everybody hated at the time because the only valid reference aesthetically was the classical Greco-Roman style (which persisted until our modern times as they were still using it in the early 20th Century for official buildings like the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.). Thus did the Italians (and the French afterwards) show their disdain of the dark buildings of the Middle Ages by naming the art which preceded them after the Goths, the barbarians whose brutality ended the Roman civilization…

It is true that the Renaissance has left us with some of the most exquisite buildings to visit (go to Italy or, even better for me, go to the Loire Valley, you won’t regret it) but, luckily (and mostly thanks to Victor Hugo's Quasimodo), Notre-Dame was restored and gothic art was re-established at the end of the 19th Century. There even was a gothic revival! The American church and the American cathedral of Paris are two of its best examples.

For me, the ultimate gothic church (even though it has a Romanesque façade), for its architecture and its stained glass, is the Chartres cathedral. Amiens, Bourges, Strasbourg come close but Chartres is closer to Paris and has more stuff of what the dreams are made of... And yes the Sainte-chapelle is a unique and incredible masterpiece but it's limited in space and doesn't provide an experience comparable to Chartres.

And the ultimate gothic castle (near Paris) is the Castle of Pierrefonds.