Baroque or brutalist? A guide to 15 striking architectural styles you should master before your next holiday

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What architectural styles do you associate with gargoyles, dimpled cherubs or brawny industrial workers? What’s the difference between Moorish and Mughal, and which came first?

Why do sculpted monkeys scamper so improbably across medieval European churches? What provoked the mad bling of baroque, and where can you find the best examples of art deco?

What’s the difference between Moorish and Mughal, and which came first?Credit: iStock

Well done if you know that Moorish architecture favours horseshoe arches rather than the frilly pointed arches of later Mughal monuments, or that monkeys (and goats) are medieval Christian symbols of the devil.

And who knew Mumbai has a World Heritage-listed ensemble of art deco buildings? Recognising great architectural and decorative styles and understanding what stories they tell adds immeasurably to our appreciation of the places we visit.

After all, even if you’re not into buildings as a traveller you invariably can’t miss or avoid them. And there are those of us who intentionally and exhaustively spend a good deal of our travel time gazing at cathedrals and temples, and shuffling through old towns and palaces.

Look up and enjoy, but ponder too. Architecture has a purpose. Sharpen your gaze and buildings and monuments aren’t mere inanimate structures, but a vivid display of history and cultural context.

Their design style indicates whose influences mattered, what ideas were once new, and what principles and religious beliefs were celebrated.

Architecture can amuse and delight, but instruct, too. Even if you only know a little about it, there’s a good chance you can bluff others – and maybe yourself – that you know a whole lot more than you do or should.

Here, in a start at least, are the stories behind 15 striking styles to look out for, where you’ll find the most splendid examples and, for good measure, the questions about great buildings not to ask.

Stonehenge in England, the most famous megalith.Credit: iStock

The style Humans went mad for megaliths in the tenth millennium BCE, and for thousands of years after built haunting megaliths everywhere. They may have been cultural memorials, power symbols, territory markers or venues for worship or ritual procession. All share similar design features: stones propped upright (often in circles), stacked like bricks, or used to line pits. Some lean against each other, topped off with a house-of-cards roof.

See it Gobekli Tepe in Turkiye is considered the world’s oldest known megalith, Stonehenge in England the most famous. Newgrange in Ireland, Gunung Padang in Indonesia and Plain of Jars in Laos are other notable examples.

Top spot Malta has not one but several of the world’s oldest and broodingly atmospheric megalithic sites, such as at Ggantija, Hagar Qim, Mnajdra and Tarxien.

Don’t ask Why Stonehenge was built beside a busy motorway, and why people dress up as druids to visit; Stonehenge long predates druid culture. Internet crazies imagine aliens built megalithic sites: a peculiar lack of engineering savvy in creatures capable of flying spacecraft. Early humans surely simply followed Basic Building for Dummies.

The Roman theatre in Jerash, Jordan within the city of Amman.Credit: iStock

The style From the 5th century BCE to the 3rd century CE the Greeks and their unimaginative emulators the Romans had the hots for elegant proportions, sculpted pediments and symmetrically ordered columns. Don’t be fooled by the minimalism, since classical temples were once perfumed, richly coloured and crammed with treasures, and the marble-white statues we associate with classical art were once as luridly painted as merry-go-round horses.

See it Athens and Delphi in Greece, Selinunte and Agrigento in Italy, Butrint in Albania, Kourion in Cyprus and Pergamum in Turkey are all great for Greek. Hit Rome and Herculaneum in Italy, Jerash in Jordan and El Jem in Tunisia for superb Roman remains.

Top spot Ruined Greco-Roman trading city Ephesus in Turkey showcases impressive town planning, street layout, monuments and even public latrines and plumbing.

Don’t ask What the difference is between Doric, Ionic and Corinthian columns; enjoy a peaceful sunset drink instead. Half-naked statuary of taut-and-terrific gods, goddesses and heroes makes us assume every Greek is gorgeous and naughty – but alas, art trumps reality.

Inside Siena’s Gothic cathedral.Credit: iStock

The style This European style emerged in northern France in the mid-12th century and lasted 400 years, with a 19th-century revival. Gothic buildings are a hymn to marvels, magic and menace, especially in cathedrals, which became as airy and uplifted as the heaven they promise. Look out for rib vaults, pointed arches, flying buttresses, glorious stained glass, stone tracery, and a Halloween weirdness of grotesques and gargoyles.

See it Avila and Segovia in Spain, Siena and Venice in Italy, Prague in Czechia, Tallinn in Estonia, Cambridge in England and Obidos in Portugal are crammed with Gothic buildings. Westminster Abbey in London and the cathedrals of Burgos, Canterbury, Chartres, Cologne, Seville and Toledo are fabulous.

Top spot Fortified town Sighisoara in Romania pops with towers, churches and a clock tower, and you can’t get more Gothic than the birthplace of Vlad Tepes, inspiration for Count Dracula.

Don’t ask Why bestiality is depicted in choir stalls, and walls show sad saints being prodded by dog-headed demons: Gothic churches present a medieval comic-strip of hellish retribution for the illiterate. Stick to the stained glass for your glimpse of heaven.

Sumptuous courtyards and perfumed gardens concealed within Granada’s Alhambra.

The style Roman, Byzantine, Visigothic and Berber influences collided with Islam in eighth-century Spain to produce what’s perhaps better termed Western Islamic architecture. It spread into North Africa and still blossoms in present-day Morocco. In the 19th century, a Moorish vogue swept Europe and North America. Notable features?

Courtyards with symmetrical gardens, horseshoe arches, square rather than round minarets, and superbly ornate tiling, stucco and woodwork with repeated geometric shapes and swooping Arabic calligraphy. Orange and pink materials make buildings blush.

See it The kasbahs (citadels) of Fes and Marrakesh are Moorish ensembles. The Great Mosque of Cordoba, Aljaferia Palace in Zaragoza in Spain and, in Tunisia, the fortifications of Monastir and Sousse and mosques of Kairouan and Tunis are masterpieces.

Top spot Look no further than Granada’s Alhambra, a mighty red fortress backed by snow peaks that conceals sumptuous courtyards and perfumed gardens.

Don’t ask Whether the writing on the walls – which inevitably quotes Quranic verses – is about Aladdin and his lamp. Don’t ask the way to the harem and reinforce orientalist stereotypes. Seek out the library instead: Moorish Spain was a magnificent repository of learning.

The majority of the Great Wall is from the Ming dynasty.Credit: iStock

The style Chinese architectural principles have barely changed over time but the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) bolstered classical architecture to produce splendid temple and palace complexes. Expect symmetry, multiple walled courtyards that reflect social hierarchy, and a dislike of multiple storeys, except in wooden pagodas. You’ll see fat gods on doors, screens to ward off evil spirits, and motifs such as bats, pomegranates and dragons. Five-clawed dragons usually indicate Ming-Dynasty origins.

See it The Temple of Heaven and Lama Temple in Beijing, the Ming Tombs and Great Wall north of Beijing, Yu Garden in Shanghai and Xian’s city walls demonstrate splendid variety. Palaces and pagodas across Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia show Chinese architectural influences.

Top spot The Forbidden City, imperial HQ for 500 years, is mainstream Ming architecture at its most grandiose. Adjacent Zhongshan and Beihai parks showcase Ming landscape gardening.

Don’t ask Why evil spirits can’t step over high thresholds and are put off by upturned eaves. Or why you’ll end up impoverished if your front door faces the wrong way. Just snap open your fan, pour your tea and write a poem.

The Trevi Fountain is one of the most famous baroque fountains in the world, designed by Italian architect Nicola Salvi.Credit: iStock

The style From 1580 the Catholic Church in Europe used architectural shock and awe to counter the Protestant Reformation. Baroque went over-the-top between 1625 and 1675, spread to Latin America, and fizzled around 1750. Look for theatrical lighting and colour, sensuous richness, exuberance and dramatic exaggeration to suit a drag-queen’s (or actual queen’s) boudoir. Plus abundant gilt and bling, bare-bummed cherubs, swooning saints, strumpets with trumpets, and huge domes splattered with gaudy goddesses.

See it Dresden in Germany, Salzburg in Austria, Noto in Sicily and Puebla in Mexico immerse you in baroque. French palace Versailles endlessly reflects gilded madness in mirrors, and Melk Abbey in Austria presents a rapper’s excess of decoration.

Top spot The Royal Palace of Caserta in Italy is baroque’s spectacular swan song, which extends into formal gardens carbuncled with fountains and statues.

Don’t ask Why every frescoed nymph has a wardrobe malfunction, why everything is Barbie pink, and why angels play harps in heaven. Ignore that baroque was a tool of absolute monarchy and religious repression. Just channel your extravagantly silly side, and enjoy.

Among India’s must-see Mughal monuments are the Taj Mahal and Red Fort in Agra (pictured).Credit: iStock

The style Persian, Uzbek, Moslem Indian, Rajput and Hindu architects all walked into a Delhi bar and what resulted was no joke but an architectural blend that, from the 16th to 17th centuries, produced astonishing palaces, fortresses, gardens, mosques and mausoleums in red sandstone and marble: pretty settings for bloody court intrigue. Mughal architecture wallops you with enormous vaulted gateways and domed buildings with soaring corner minarets, then seduces with detailed inlay, tilework and repeated floral and geometric decorations such as interlaced circles and stars.

See it Lahore in Pakistan and Lucknow in India are abundant in Mughal buildings. India’s must-see Mughal monuments are the Taj Mahal and Red Fort in Agra, and Humayun’s Tomb and Jama Masjid mosque in Delhi.

Top spot Short-lived Mughal capital Fatehpur Sikri, near Agra, features ornate red sandstone buildings that are romantic in their splendid ruination.

Don’t ask Why mausoleums are so extravagant; clearly Mughal emperors never addressed public accountability in life, let alone the afterlife. And is the Taj Mahal really romantic? Not unless the thought of your wife’s tomb has you feeling amorous.

Neoclassical buildings in the US include the White House, US Capitol (pictured) and Jefferson and Lincoln memorials.Credit: iStock

The style The baroque buffet made everyone queasy by the mid-18th century, and for the next hundred years Europeans and Americans went mad for simple revival architecture that harkened back to the (supposed) simplicity of ancient Greece. The outsized, temple-like architecture is restrained and symmetrical, columns simple and walls blank, though relieved by friezes, reliefs and medallions. If you’re a fan of Bridgerton, you’ll know the look.

See it Greek Revival heavily influenced Athens, Berlin and Munich, Madrid and Mexico City. The Palladian or Georgian style is superbly represented in Bath and Dublin and at Chiswick House in London and uber-restrained Holkham Hall in Norfolk.

Top spot Washington DC’s grid plan was inspired by ancient Rome. Its neoclassical buildings include the White House, US Capitol and Jefferson and Lincoln memorials.

Don’t ask What all those fake vases are doing on mansion facades, and what the obsession is with columns. Never mind: we all want to feel like a Jane Austen character. Ignore that the neoclassical in parliament buildings is meant to suggest democracy, although ancient Greece gave no vote to women or slaves.

Radio City Music Hall, within the Rockefeller Centre, was designed in the Art Deco style. Credit: iStock

The style This truly international style emerged in France in the 1910s, and erupted across the world (and particularly in America) in the 1920s and 1930s. Art Deco encapsulated the confidence, glamour and luxury of the jazz age and celebrated technological progress in its use of chrome, steel and industrial motifs. Look for stylised zigzags, sunbursts and flowers, metalwork, geometry, bright colours, and friezes of heroic animals, thunderbolt gods and strapping factory workers with six packs.

See it New York and Miami Beach, Havana in Cuba, Napier in New Zealand and Kaunas in Lithuania have an elegance of Art Deco, as does the Shanghai waterfront. Mumbai beats them all with 200 Art Deco buildings, though many are dilapidated.

Top spot The Rockefeller Centre in New York is pretty in cocktail colours and features reliefs of industry-celebrating workmen, as well as Greek gods and eagles.

Don’t ask What happened to the era of pride, excitement and faith in industry, commerce and new technologies. Shake your cocktail-maker and tail feathers, dance the Charleston and pretend it hasn’t all gone wrong.

Brutalism is experiencing a revival: Habitat 67 housing complex in Montreal.Credit: Kylie McLaughlin

The style In the 1950s the British produced brutalism, the unflattering lovechild of modernism and post-war budgets. Unaccountably, the world followed into the early 1980s, producing bare-necessity eyesores such as city halls, courthouses, museums and university campuses. Think bunker-like use of concrete and plain brick, exposed structural elements, dull greys and no sign of design frivolity: brutalism is the Grinch that stole architectural pleasure.

See it Former communist eastern Europe is filled with concrete examples (pun intended) of brutalist architecture, and so is Vietnam; check out the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Brutalism is big in public buildings from Brisbane’s Queensland Art Gallery, Geisel Library in San Diego and Boston City Hall to Habitat 67 housing complex in Montreal.

Top spot London’s South Bank has a string of brutalist buildings overlooking the Thames River, including the National Theatre and Southbank Centre.

Don’t ask Why socialist utopias need to be ugly, or who thinks exposed concrete ages well. Don’t hope it has all ended, since brutalism has seen a recent revival. But what comes around goes around: some brutalist buildings look like they might be megalithic.

Mesoamerica

Chichen Itza in Yucatan, Mexico is a notable example of mesamerican architecture.Credit: Getty Images

The pre-Columbian peoples of Mexico and Central America based architecture on cosmological and religious notions, which either saw them enjoy it or come to a nasty sacrificial end with their hearts cut out. From about 800 BCE various folk such as the Aztecs and Mayans created enormous, highly ornate stepped pyramids, plazas, ritual ball courts and residential quarters. Notable sites include Palenque, Teotihuacan and Chichen Itza in Mexico, Tikal in Guatemala and Lamanai in Belize.

Byzantine

Hagia Sophia is a dazzling example of Byzantine architecture.Credit: iStock

Thick walls, round arches, big domes on a square base: first-millennium Byzantine buildings are as lumpen and clunky as anything made from Lego. Yet all is forgiven when you enter and find yourself inside shimmering disco-balls of golden mosaics depicting sloe-eyed saints and elegant empresses. Hagia Sophia in Istanbul and the churches of Ravenna in Italy are dazzling examples; later-era Monreale Cathedral in Sicily and St Mark’s Basilica in Venice shimmer with a billionaire’s extravagance of Byzantium-inspired gold and glitter.

Hindu

The Virupaksha temple in Hampi, Karnataka, India.Credit: Alamy

The ornate exuberance of 3000 years of Hindu buildings gladdens even the grumpiest traveller. Welcoming temples in blushing pink stone are places of enthusiastic worship and socialising, and decorated with animals, a chorus line of deities, and scenes from mythology and everyday life. And what other architecture features erotic sculpture? Magnificent temples are found at Khajuraho, Bubaneswar, Chidambaram and Ellora Cave in India. Historical towns such as Hampi. Thanjavur and Pattadakal also showcase palaces and public buildings. Cambodia’s Angkor Wat has major Hindu influences.

Ottoman

Topkapi Palace in Istanbul.Credit: iStock

What’s not to like about horseshoe arches, dainty pavilions, marble terraces, minarets like rockets on a launch pad, and the most gorgeous, geometrically intricate tilework you’ll ever see? Ottoman architecture reached its zenith in the 15th to early 17th centuries and Istanbul’s mighty mosques and Topkapi Palace still can’t be beaten. The districts of Cumalikizik in Bursa and Ibradi in Antalya have wonderful timbered Ottoman houses, bazaars and mosques; so do Gjirokastra in Albania, Mostar and nearby Blagaj in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Skopje in North Macedonia.

Renaissance

Chateau de Chambord, Loire Valley.Credit: iStock

The 15th and 16th centuries in Europe looked to order and harmony (though not when it came to tolerating witches and heretics) and produced light, graceful, well-proportioned architecture based around mathematical patterns of squares and circles. Buildings are solemn but interiors draped in sensuous wood, brocade, velvet like a clairvoyant’s parlour. Florence, Ferrara and Toledo are quintessential Renaissance towns. St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, the chateaux of the Loire Valley in France, Escorial monastery outside Madrid and Antwerp City Hall are elegant Renaissance structures.

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