Durham Cathedral not only has a rich history but also ties to the Harry Potter films
Autumn colours surround Durham Cathedral as the River Wear flows past.(Image: Owen Humphreys/PA)
A North East cathedral has been crowned Europe’s most captivating, fighting off tough competition from the likes of Notre-Dame Cathedral and Siena Cathedral. More than half (58%) of UK travellers said they would journey just to see a cathedral, according to a survey conducted on behalf of Saga Holidays.
Durham Cathedral was crowned a must-visit not only for its rich history but for its ties to the Harry Potter films and its status as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Entry is free, which may be tempting for families this weekend as the cathedral hosts the Durham Cathedral Festival of Remembrance this Saturday.
Saga Holidays’ study analysed visitor sentiment from Google reviews using keywords like “beautiful” and “peaceful” and Google search volume to create a ranking of Europe’s most captivating cathedrals.
To create the ranking, Saga analysed Google reviews for each cathedral, counting how many times visitors referenced the beauty of the cathedral, as well as average search volume and the average sentiment of reviews. These were then combined into a total score of 100.
The breathtaking Durham Cathedral(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)
The beauty of Durham Cathedral was mentioned 20 times, while monthly searches were estimated to be 60,500 and the average sentiment was 95, giving it a total of score of 95 out of 100.
In second place was Strasbourg Cathedral, France followed by Salzburg Cathedral, Austria. Elsewhere in the UK, York Cathedral and Gloucester Cathedral were also ranked in the top 10.
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