Photo : Torsade de Pointes / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Le Puy en Velay
Le Puy-en-Velay, prefecture of the Haute-Loire, occupies a spectacular site of volcanic peaks in the south-east of the Massif Central. The town is the starting point of the Via Podiensis, one of the routes to Santiago de Compostela, which has made it a place of pilgrimage since the Middle Ages.
Notre-Dame cathedral, Romanesque in style, dominates the old town. It is inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage under the Routes of Santiago de Compostela, with its cloister and its Byzantine-inspired fresco decoration. On the Rocher Corneille stands the statue Notre-Dame-de-France, erected in 1860 with the metal of cannons.
Further away, the chapel of Saint-Michel d'Aiguilhe crowns a volcanic neck about 82 metres high, reached by a staircase of 268 steps. It is said to have been founded in the tenth century by Bishop Gotescalc, on his return from Compostela. The lanes of the old town, partly pedestrian, link these different sites and allow discovery on foot.
