We visited the sites of the first sections of the Via Tolosana and the Via Podiensis on our trip through southern France in June 2013; a total of sixteen sites: nine churches and monasteries, five bridges and two former Hôtel-Dieu. The highlights were the cloister of the Abbey of Saint-Pierre at Moissac (photo) and the decorated portal of the monastery church of Ste-Foy in Conques.

The cloister at Moissac is impressive not only by its size, but mainly by the rich decoration. The capitals of the many columns depict characters and scenes from the Old and New Testament and from the live of the saints.

The Church of Sainte-Foy at Conques was a real surprise. The church itself is rather plain, but the tympanum of the portal is marvellous. The reliefs show the Last Judgement, Heaven and Hell with more than 100 figures. It is exceptional because of its size, the abundance of details and its surprisingly good state of preservation. In the centre is the figure of Christ in a mandorla, at his right a depiction of the paradise and saints and martyrs, and at his left - much more fanciful - the "devil's world" of hell and perdition with demons and ghastly figures. My favourite scene shows a sinner thrown head first in the jaws of hell. You should also make a detour to the viewing point south of the village, it offers a wonderful view of the abbey and the medieval village (a small road branches off the D901, about 1 km south of Conques).

Also worth a visit: Abbey Saint-Gilles near Arles with a rich decorated façade and three portals; Saint-Sernin at Toulouse; Notre-Dame-du-Bourg in Rabastens with colourful murals; the Cathedral in Le-Puy-en-Velay, the city has a scenic location between basalt mounds (puys) and is also known for a delicious sort of green lenses.

Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert was rather disappointing though the village is nice. The abbey is a tourist attraction with a large parking lot and many souvenir shops. But worth a stopover: the nearby Pont du Diable, also part of the WHS.

The inclusion of these sites in the itinerary of our three week trip led to a kind of overkill of sacred sites. Of course, to travel by car is not the best way to visit a pilgrimage route. On the other hand, the French route is not a continuous linear landscape, but a serial nomination consisting of 69 single monuments. Apart from these, there are seven stretches (between 17 and 35 km) whose course has been identified as unchanged since the Middle Ages. We hiked only a short section of one of these stretches between Saint-Côme-d'Olt and Espalion (about 7 km), of course far to little to feel like a pilgrim.