Lavaudieu

Lavaudieu lies on the little river Senouïre and is one of the “Plus beaux villages de France”. Robert de Turlande, who also founded La Chaise-Dieu, established a convent for Benedictine nuns here around 1057. The Romanesque cloister of the 12th century has round arches on slender columns and capitals carved with foliage, sirens, lions and eagles; its galleries carry timber roofs. A 12th-century fresco showing Byzantine influence survives in the refectory.

In the church of Saint-André, wall paintings, mostly from the 14th century and influenced by the Italian school, show the Passion and an allegory of the plague. The church’s own tower was truncated during the Revolution; the octagonal bell tower stands apart from it. According to the tourist office, the abbey and the folk museum are open from May to September; outside that period, visits with an independent guide are possible by arrangement (as of October 2026). One to two hours is enough for the village and abbey.