Notre-Dame de France

This cast iron statue dominates the city of Le Puy-en-Velay. It stands on the top of a basalt cone, the core of an ancient volcano. I read that it was made from melted canons captured during the battle of Sébastopol during the Crimean War in the mid nineteenth century.

A view of the statue from one of the streets near the cathedral.

On our walk around the cathedral, which sits below the statue, we were looking for the cloister. As it turns out, visiting the cloister requires an entry fee, and dogs are not allowed. So we continued walking toward the path up to the statue. They charge an entry fee too, but dogs on leashes are allowed.

The entrance to the statue grounds and the stairs that go up, for a small fee.

Since it was a chilly, windy day, and since our legs are not what they used to be, we decided not to climb the steep stairs up to the statue. Besides, it was getting close to lunch time.