Sacred and spiritual destinations in France off the beaten path.
What are some less-touristed spiritual destinations in France, for travelers seeking beautiful places with fewer crowds? Answer
Options include Conques, a tiny pilgrimage-route village with a Romanesque abbey church; Le Puy-en-Velay, a principal starting point for the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage; and Rocamadour, a medieval pilgrimage village clinging to a cliff face. This page includes 20 options. Click here to see which are close enough to be day trips from major cities like Lyon, Paris or Marseille.
Conques
This tiny village in Aveyron whose Romanesque abbey church and its treasury — including a gold statue of Sainte Foy — earned UNESCO World Heritage status in…
Rocamadour
Medieval pilgrimage village in the Lot département of southwestern France, Rocamadour clings to a cliff face rising steeply above the Alzou valley, with a co…
Neuville-sous-Montreuil
The Chartreuse Notre-Dame-des-Prés, a Carthusian monastery founded in 1325 and the largest preserved Carthusian monastery in France, sits in this small villa…
Cordes-sur-Ciel
Built in 1222 by Raymond VII, Count of Toulouse, on a ridge high enough above the Cérou valley to earn the name "sur-Ciel" (above the sky), this medieval for…
Le Puy-en-Velay
One of the principal starting points for the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, Le Puy-en-Velay is a heritage-dense town in south-central France's A…
Cluny
Founded in 910 by Duke William I of Aquitaine, the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny shaped this little Burgundian town into one of medieval Europe's great centres…
La Romieu
A member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, this small Gers village in southwestern France is anchored by the 14th-century Collégiale Saint-Pierre, whose…
Mauriac
A tiny town in the Cantal department of south-central France, Mauriac grew from a 6th-century abbey whose buildings still stand, now repurposed as public off…
Champlitte
This wine-country commune in Haute-Saône, eastern France, Champlitte sits within the Communauté de communes des 4 Rivières and holds the labels Cité de Carac…
Ronchamp
Le Corbusier's Chapel of Notre-Dame du Haut, a UNESCO-listed landmark of 20th-century sacred architecture built in stone and concrete between 1953 and 1955,…
Caunes-Minervois
Red marble quarried here since Roman times has surfaced in some of France's grandest buildings, and the village's eighth-century abbey anchors a well-preserv…
Asquins
This small Burgundy hamlet on the Yonne is the starting point of one of the four main French pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela, and its church of S…
Lure
A small town in eastern France's Haute-Saône, Lure grew around a monastery founded in 610 by the Irish monk Saint Columbanus, and the Abbey of Lure shaped th…
Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert
A medieval hamlet on the Chemin de Saint-Jacques pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert sits where the narrow valley of the Gell…
Sauveterre-de-Bearn
Medieval village above the Gave d'Oloron river in south-western France, Sauveterre-de-Béarn faces the Pyrenees and preserves a substantial cluster of medieva…
Lauzerte
A 12th-century bastide village in the Quercy Blanc region of southern France, Lauzerte sits on a hilltop above vine-covered valleys and holds a place on the…
La Chaise-Dieu
This pocket-sized village in Haute-Loire is anchored by a Gothic abbey rebuilt between 1344 and 1350 at the request of Pope Clement VI, a former monk there.
Auvillar
A member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France since 1994, this compact village on the Garonne in Tarn-et-Garonne is also a stop on the Santiago de Compostela…
Saint-Gilles
One of Christendom's most important pilgrimage sites in the 12th century, Saint-Gilles-du-Gard is a modest town in the Gard department of southern France who…
Brioude
This modest Auvergne town on the Allier river, Brioude draws visitors with its grand Romanesque basilica — warm golden-red stone, ornate arcaded apse, and a…
Spiritual destinations in France: quick answers
Which spiritual destinations in France can you visit on a day trip from Lyon, Paris or Marseille?
Cluny and Le Puy-en-Velay are among 2 spiritual destinations on our day trips from Lyon. Neuville-sous-Montreuil is among 1 spiritual destinations on our day trips from Paris. And Saint-Gilles is among 1 spiritual destinations on our day trips from Marseille.
Where are France's less-touristed spiritual destinations?
Wandering Well lists 20 spiritual destinations across France. The most are in Haute-Loire (3), Haute-Saône (3) and Tarn-et-Garonne (2).
Which are the highest-rated?
12 are rated gold, including Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, Champlitte, Rocamadour and Mauriac.
Which can you reach by train?
8 of the 20 have a railway station within a 10-minute drive, including Auvillar, Lure, Cordes-sur-Ciel and Ronchamp.