Laon sits atop a rock overlooking the plains of Picardy, through which tunnels have been carved over the centuries. Its cathedral is unusual, if not unique, in having a square apse like an English cathedral, rather than a chevet as is usual in France.

According to legend, the sculpted cattle looking out from the towers of Laon commemorate a giant cow that miraculously appeared to haul the cathedral's stones to the summit of the hill after the cows of ordinary stature had failed in their task.