Le Puy, France

Le-Puy-en-Velay, in the heart of France, is a historical and tourist town in an impressive setting surrounded by high hills and the famous conical volcano forms of the region.
This isolation does make Le Puy a bit difficult to reach, but it is a journey worth the trouble. The town is a major attraction with visitors, despite its relative isolation and receives more than 700,000 visitors each year.

Le Puy en Velay Cathedral and cloisters

The cathedral is the starting point for the long pilgrimage path (1600 km), and each morning there is a blessing for those about to set off on the journey.

The cloister is very attractive, with an unusually decorative design in white, red and black mosaic around the arches. In a room off the cloisters there is a large fresco, and upstairs there is a small 'treasury' room containing historical artefacts of interest.
Head to the cabinet at the far end for my personal favourites: an 18th century black virgin with a scary looking character peering from her dress and a very early painted statue called the 'petite pieta' (mother and child) - very small and simple and very beautiful.