Lavaudieu, most beautiful villages in France - Brioude Sud Auvergne tourisme

The atmosphere is conducive to strolling through the streets of the town and along the developed banks. The houses and vegetable gardens, nestled around the abbey, magnify this listed site.

Lavaudieu “Vallée de Dieu” – Most Beautiful Villages in France – Country of Art and History

Mandatory detour for history buffs, the village also offers many curiosities to see that will satisfy the whole family. Between cobbled streets, winegrowers' houses and agricultural tools of yesteryear, Lavaudieu plunges its visitors into another era.

This village built on the banks of the Senouire is built around an old Benedictine abbey founded by Robert de Turlande in 1057 after founding the Chaise-Dieu abbey in 1043.

Thus Saint Robert decided to establish a Benedictine monastery in Lavaudieu (Valley of God) because the site combines mild climate and relative proximity to the mother abbey. Nuns lived in this monastery until the revolution.

A remarkable abbey complex remains: a Romanesque cloister – the only one in Auvergne to have escaped destruction – Inside the cloister stands a magnificent monumental fresco of Byzantine influence (XNUMXth century).

The Romanesque church dedicated to Saint-André contains beautiful and astonishing frescoes: scenes of the Passion, allegory of the plague, the Black Death

It is possible from the gardens to admire the banks of the river.

This village is a must when discovering the highlights of Haute-Loire: The association Friends of Lavaudieu are there to help you discover this abbey heritage on a guided tour, supplemented by a Museum of Popular Arts and Traditions, commonly called the Baker's House