Le Puy en Velay is located in the Auvergne region and is a religious city with a lot of monuments and receives many visitors. THE CATHEDRAL From the tenth century Le Puy en Velay was one of the departure points for pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela in Spain its 11th and 12th century Romanesque cloisters, adjoining the cathedral, are remarkable for their capitals and their multicolored arcades. The crenelated building houses a collection of religious art, including some very fine 17th century sculptures. This is the Cathedral du Puy en Velay. It's very unusual, it even has Oriental influence in its architecture. There are 134 steps leading up to the Cathedral. From its origins to our day, the pilgrimage of Notre-Dame du Puy contribute to the development and prosperity of the town. Of Roman style,the cathedral presents various influences of the contributions of the Orient and of Arab Spain. THE SAINT MICHEL CHURCH This church is set on top of the peak of Aiguille, which is volcanic. It is 82 meters above the ground and was built in the 10th century. The church is more than 1000 years old. The facade and bell-tower date from the 12th century, and the facade boasts exceptionally outstanding decoration. In 950-951, Gothescalk, the bishop of Puy, took the head of the first French pilgrimage to Saint-Jacques-de Compostelle. THE STATUE NOTRE-DAME DE FRANCE The huge statue of Notre-Dame de France represents Mary and her child, Jesus. It is situated on a 132 metre high hill in the centre of the town and the statue itself is 22 m 70 high, for a total weight of 110 tonnes and the rock weighs 835 tonnes including the weight of the platform. It was built between 1855 and 1860 from the bronze collected from canons captured during the Crimean war in the battle Sebastopol. It was erected on the Corneille Rock platform at an altitude of 757 meters. THE CROZATIER MUSEUM Situated at the bottom of Henri-Vinay's garden, it was unveiled in the summer of 1868. It was the summer that it was constructed by the architect, Antoine Martin in favour of the generosity of the sculpter-representative, Charles Crozatier. When one stands on the entrance steps of the Crozatier museum, you get a very beautiful view of the town. On the ground floor of the entrance hall is decorated with the sculptures of the 18th and 19th centuries whose famous statues represent Jean de la Fontaine which is Pierre-Julien's original plaster statue. There are always temporary expositions on the ground floor giving access to remarkable collections of Art.

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