Seville Cathedral

Seville's cathedral is the largest Gothic church in the world by volume, raised over the mosque that stood here when the city was Muslim. Its bell tower, the Giralda, was the mosque's minaret, kept and crowned with bells, and you climb it by ramps built wide enough for a man on horseback.

It is first a working cathedral, but it doubles as one of the great picture galleries of Spain. The sacristies and chapterhouse hold paintings by Murillo, who was born in Seville and buried in one of its churches, along with Zurbarán, Goya's image of the local martyrs Justa and Rufina, and the carved altarpieces and processional silver of the Spanish Baroque.

Near the south door stands a raised tomb held up by four bronze pallbearers. It holds remains long said to be those of Christopher Columbus, brought back from Havana in 1898, a claim argued for years until DNA testing supported it.