See www.france-voyage.com. Perched on a plateau in the Livradois, this hill village ‘Seat of God’ grew up around an 11thC abbey. Despite its isolated position, the abbey flourished and once rivalled Cluny for wealth and influence. When one of its graduates, Clement VI, was elected pope in 1342, he rewarded his alma mater with a splendid abbey church, and chose to be buried here.

The Eglise de Saint-Robert is famous for its 15thC danse macabre frescoes in the choir. The skeletal figure of Death weaves his way through all walks of life from well-dressed nobles and portly clerics to craftsmen, beneath which the legend reads ‘This is you”. Above the elaborately carved choir stalls, superb 15thC Flemish tapestries depict biblical scenes; and there is a fine Gothic cloister.

On place de l’Echo, check out the accoustics in the Salle de I’Echo, where priests would hear the confessions of the sick at a safe distance. Two people standing at opposite corners of this room, facing the wall, can hold audible whispered conversations.