Date of visit: May 16, 2013, around 4:00 p.m.
If we include Le Poet-Laval, where we were staying on this day, this will be the third beautiful village we have visited in 16 days.
It took us about 3 hours to get there from the Alpine village of Bonneval-sur-Arc. Parking was easy to find as it was scattered around the outskirts of the village.
Here is Saint-Antoine Labbay, one of the relatively new villages to be chosen as one of the most beautiful villages in France. When I started my tour of the beautiful villages in 2010, it had not yet been selected.
The monastery of St. Antonius (Antony) was founded here around the 13th century. The origin of the village is in the Middle Ages, a factor common to many beautiful villages.
The promenade leading to the cathedral, surrounded by brightly colored stone buildings, is very impressive.
It is also on the pilgrimage route of Santiago de Compostela and many pilgrims visit there, so the town is very well maintained and it was very easy to go sightseeing. There are shops and restaurants in front of the church, and there are also several hotels in the village.
There was a museum on the side of the church. Admission was free.
Although the exhibits were only in French, the numerous exhibits and occasional maps and pictures provide a glimpse of the medieval period even if you don’t understand French.
Although it was a small scale, it was worth seeing and I was able to enjoy it enough.
The adjacent cathedral was very magnificent and impressive. I have seen such gothic type cathedrals in France and other places in Western Europe, but this cathedral was the most impressive and beautiful one.
We had been worried about the strong rain that had fallen all the way here, but fortunately the rain had stopped by the time we arrived at the village, so there was no problem at all for sightseeing and photography.
さあ、この日はもう一つ美しい村を訪れる予定です。また2時間近くのドライブです。
