The cathedral is one of the rare remaining monuments testifying to the former medieval grandeur of Lisieux, so much of which was destroyed in the wake of the bombing in June 1944. Begun c. 1170, the edifice was finished in the mid-13C. Its raised façade features 3 aligned portals, dominated by two towers (the left one is unfinished). The nave is a picture of homogenous architecture, with its sturdy cylindrical pillars adorned with circular capitals and blind arches.