Vertical emphasis

There is generally a prominent external feature that rises upwards. It may be a dome, a central tower, two western towers or towers at both ends as at Speyer Cathedral. The towers may be finished with pinnacles or spires or a small dome.

Lincoln Cathedral, England, has two west towers and a huge crossing tower topped for 200 years by the world's tallest spire.

Bamberg Cathedral, Germany, has a tower at each corner, topped by spires which rise from gables and are called "rhenish helms".

Florence Cathedral, Italy, has a free-standing campanile and the largest dome built before the 19th century.

  Facade

The facade or "west front" is the most ornate part of the exterior with the processional doors, often three in number, and often richly decorated with sculpture, marble or stone tracery. The facade often has a large window, sometimes a rose window or an impressive sculptural group as its central feature.

In the Western European tradition, there are frequently paired towers framing the facade. These towers have their origin in a tradition practised at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. During Holy Week the faithful would process along the Way of the Cross, leading to the Basilica, which in Early Christian times consisted of a domed shrine over the site of the tomb, and a "porch" which had a staircase on either side, supported by a small tower, by which the procession entered and exitted. These towers were adopted symbolically, particularly in Romanesque architecture, as corner turrets and flourished in Norman and Gothic architecture as large towers, reaching their height of magnificence at Cologne Cathedral, where they were not completed until the late 19th century.

Notre Dame de Paris, has a Gothic west front in which verticals and horizontals are balanced.

The Renaissance facade of Sant'Andrea della Valle, Rome, is a two tiered temple with paired columns.

The Gothic west front of Cologne Cathedral was not completed until the 19th century.

East end

The east end is the part of the building which shows the greatest diversity of architectural form. At the eastern end, internally, lies the sanctuary where the altar of the cathedral is located.

Early Christian and Byzantine- A projecting semi-circular apse.

Romanesque- A rounded end. It may be a lower apse projecting from a higher square end, usual in Italy, Germany and Eastern Europe. In France and England the chancel terminated in a high eastern end of semi-circular form, surrounded by an ambulatory. While common in France, in England this form has only been retained without significant change at Norwich Cathedral.

France, Spain, German and Eastern European Gothic- The eastern end is long and extends into a high vaulted apsidal end. The eastern aisles are continued around this apse, making a lower passage or ambulatory. There may be a group of projecting, radiating chapels called a chevet.

English Gothic- The eastern ends show enormous diversity. Canterbury Cathedral has an apsidal end with ambulatory and projecting chapels. No English Cathedral prior to the 19th century has a fully developed chevet. In the some, notably Lincoln Cathedral, the east end presents a square, cliff-like form while in most this severity is broken by a projecting Lady Chapel. There are also examples of the lower aisle continuing around the square east end.