The Dilemma: Both are styles of medieval architecture that you associate with churches—but that’s all you’ve got.

People You Can Impress: Europeans (no mean feat for Yanks these days)

The Quick Trick: If it has flying buttresses, pointed arches, and rose windows, it’s Gothic.

The Explanation:
You can’t swing un chat mort in Europe without hitting a really old cathedral. And after your first three or four, they all start to look alike: stone, majestic, impossibly huge. But if they were built between 800 and 1500, there’s a darn good chance they fall into one of these categories.

Prevalent from the ninth through 12th centuries ce, Romanesque architecture combined the influences of Roman and Byzantine styles. In fact, the architecture got its name (in the 1800s, by the way) because one of its key features, the barrel vault, bore such a resemblance to the classical Roman arch. At the time, religious pilgrims were traveling to various shrines throughout Europe, creating the need for buildings much larger than the traditional basilica-style churches. The use of barrel vaults thus allowed for huge interior spaces built entirely of stone. But that also meant the roofs were extremely heavy, so the walls had to be tremendously thick to prevent buckling. Strong walls also meant fewer windows, so the insides of Romanesque churches often look dim and feel like fortresses.

As for Gothic architecture, although the word is now primarily associated with excessive eyeliner and trench coats, the style was born in the mid-12th century with the intention of making churches look like heaven: soaring, colorful, and bright. The biggest difference in Gothic style was the use of flying buttresses. These support structures or towers, set off from the main walls and attached by arches, displaced the pressure from the roof outward. Essentially, this meant the buildings could get taller, walls could get thinner, and there could be a lot of stained-glass windows. Gothic churches sport huge, ornate, petaled round masterpieces called rose windows. Further, Gothic cathedrals were also much pointier than their predecessors, with pointed arches and tall spires (instead of blunt towers) characterizing the style.

Name-Dropping
Buildings to mention when discussing the Romanesque and Gothic styles:

Romanesque: the Cathedral of Pisa (which includes the Leaning Tower), Italy; France’s Mont St. Michel.

Gothic: Westminster Abbey, London; the Abbey of St. Denis and Notre Dame Cathedral, both in Paris; St. Peter’s in Rome (a Renaissance example); and Chartres Cathedral in France