I had previously seen Asquins (when I went to Vézelay), Saint Sernin and the Hospital in Toulouse, Saint Guilhem le Désert, le Pont du Diable and Saint Gilles, all in addition to sites being already labelled as WHS on their own such as Amiens, Bourges, Mont St Michel and Paris (Tour Saint Jacques).

But the big part was when I went on the way from Lyon to the south west of France during summer 2013.

We started in Le Puy en Velay with its Hotel Dieu and above all, its magnificent cathedral. The cloister is especially awesome. We then went throughout the countryside to reach Saint Chely d’Aubrac, Espalion and Estaing, each village having a medieval bridge that was used by the pilgrims. The village of Estaing is really lovely. We stopped at a camping in Conques.

The following day, we visited the medieval bridge in Conques and of course, the superb abbey, Sainte Foy, located in the historical village. The abbey is a fine example of Romanesque architecture and is especially famous for its sculpted portal. We then left for Figeac to see the Hotel Dieu, currently the town hospital. It is badly indicated and not promoted and we had to search for a long time before finding it. There is not a lot to see except the facades. Leaving Figeac and on the way to Cahors, we went through the small and lost village of Grealou hosting a Dolmen delimitating the way to Santiago. However, we did not manage to find it. We arrived in Cahors, famous for its Catheral and above all of its fortified bridge, the Pont Valentré. Visiting and crossing this magnificent structure, we even manage to see a light spectacle displayed on the towers at night.

The day after, we left to reach Moissac and it marvelous abbey, especially known for its sculpted cloister and portal. All the columns in the cloister are sculpted with biblical scenes and it is worth to take a guided tour to understand these sculptures. We then left to Laressingle and its old bridge, La Romieu and its lovely church and Agen with the Saint Caprais Cathedral.

The next day was especially marked by the visit in Rocamadour which is really one of the most beautiful places on the way. It is worth lose yourself between the streets, passages and buildings and climb to the summit to enjoy the view. We then went to Le Buisson de Cadouin with its beautiful abbey/cloister and to Saint Avit Sénieur with its nice church. We finished the day camping in Perigueux.

We left Perigueux the following day after a visit to the nice Cathedral with its particular byzantine shape. The town centre is quite nice. On the way back to Lyon, we stopped in Sarlat, a medieval treasure currently on the tentative list, and later in Clermont-Ferrand to visit Notre Dame du Port church. This was the end of our small trip throughout some of the marvels on the way to Santiago.

Apart from these, we went later (on our way to Reims) to the Cathedral in Châlon en Champagne and to the Basilica in L’Epine. This latter one is a beautiful example of flamboyant Gothic.

In fall 2014, I visited, with my grand parents, the Basilique Saint-Eutrope in Saintes (the city is also notable for its rich Roman heritage), the abbey in Saint-Jean-d'Angély, the pilgrims hospital in Pons (very nice medieval village), the Saint Peter church in Aulnay, the Saint-Hilaire church in Melle and the Saint-Hilaire-le-Grand church in Poitiers. The churches in Melle and Aulnay are real Romanesque treasures and possess beautiful and fine sculptures. The city of Poitiers possesses a great heritage in the historic centre that fully deserves to be seen, especially the cathedral and the paleo-christian baptistery.

In addition, I have visited the Saint-Honorat church in Arles, located in the very nice Alycamps roman and medieval cemetery, part of the WHS of Arles in 2014. I have also visited some of the churches in Bordeaux during my visit of the town in Spring 2015.

So far I have seen 41 of the monuments gathered in this WHS. It will soon increase.