The cathedral was constructed on the site of a church burned down in 1131 and is a fine example of the transition from Romanesque to Gothic architecture.

The nave consists of eleven bays, including those of the west front, which, in the interior, forms a kind of transept, similar to some narthexes of English churches.

This is altered in the transepts, where there is an aisle arcade, blind triforium, and lower and upper clerestories, and the line of the respond extends all the way to the floor.

With the Choir's reconstruction after the fire reaching completion in 1185, it included the new ideas of height in the Second Stage Gothic with four stories.

[2] A caveau phonocamptique (sound reflecting vault) was installed below the crossing of the Cathedrals arms to modify the acoustic properties of the building.

World War I also caused considerable damage, requiring twenty years of repair work.