I mainly want to give an update about the renovations taking place at the cathedral of Tournai. As of December 2023, the scaffoldings on the outside are mostly removed, so the main body of the cathedral can be seen again in all of its gray glory. However, there are still extensive renovation works going on inside the cathedral. Almost half of the interior is blocked off and under scaffolding, including the complete gothic choir. So they are working on it since almost 20 years now ? The open parts are also a bit unkempt, with tools lying around, bad lighting and artwork in strange places. So it is still not the best time to visit the cathedral.
As for my general impression, I agree with most reviewers that it is not the most interesting cathedral. The outside appearance is large, but plain, gray and unimpressive. It is also difficult to get a good view of the cathedral, as it is mostly hidden behind other buildings. The interior (as far as I could see) is also quite plain, with not much decorations in the romanesque part. I also thought that the romanesque and gothic parts are not well integrated, leading to a disjointed feeling of the whole building. Compared to other big european cathedrals, the Tournai cathedral is at best a third tier cathedral. Other romanesque cathedrals (e.g. Speyer, Limburg, Hildesheim) are both older and more interesting and beautiful. And even these are generally seen as being clearly inferior to the top tier cathedrals like Aachen, Sienna or Canterbury. On location, there is the claim that Tournai cathedral is 'one of the most significant cultural monuments in western Europe' - but a justification is missing.
The rest of Tournai also didn't leave the best impression - the nice belfry was closed down (with no mention of how long), the grand place was buried in traffic, parked cars and tacky christmas stalls, and the little museum of beaux arts (a not-so-major work of Horta) had only half the rooms open but still demanded the full price.
Visited in December 2023
Importance 2/5 Beauty 3/5 Uniqueness 3/5 Environment 3/5 Experience 2/5