The best traffic-free bike rides around Saint-Menoux

This small, welcoming and welcoming inn is ideally located. Its terrace is very pleasant, and the hosts offer delicious traditional cuisine. Please note: the inn is not open on weekends.

The town of Souvigny was chosen by the Bourbon dynasty as the religious capital of its duchy. Thus, the commune became the necropolis of all the Bourbon lords.

Cozy café next to the Church of the Holy Trinity in Autry-Issards Cozy café next to the Church of the Holy Trinity in Autry-Issards

Romanesque church with Burgundian, Auvergne and Berry influence. Built at the end of the 12th century and the beginning of the 13th, the current building belongs to the transitional Romanesque style. Indeed, if it is Romanesque in its general plan, the ornamentation of its portals and its capitals, its narrow semi-circular openings, its elegant apse and its cul-de-four vaulted apsidioles, it is "timidly" Gothic through the vault of its nave. Furthermore, built at the crossroads of three dioceses, this construction was influenced by the Burgundian, Auvergne and Berry schools. The capitals are most interesting: intertwined foliage, heads of grimacing men and beasts, grotesque masks... A statue of the Virgin with the bird in polychrome wood dates from the 17th century. It is remarkable for its state of preservation and its subject: Mary holding the child Jesus in her arms with a bird perched on his hand. This refers to the apocryphal gospel of the childhood of Jesus according to Thomas written in the 3rd century: Jesus as a child performs miracles such as giving life to clay birds.

The building bears witness to Burgundian Romanesque art with its semi-circular portal, at the bottom of a splay decorated with eggs and tori: numerous historic capitals. In the 15th century two side chapels were added, including the chapel of the Holy Cross which since the Revolution contained the relics of the Cross of Christ and a thorn of the Holy Crown. These are now at the parish house. At the back of the 12th century nave, the romantic 16-stop organ dates from 1892. During his stays in Bourbon, Camille St-Saëns accompanied the services on the latter.

The Saint-Étienne church was built by the Benedictines of Souvigny in the 12th century. MH. It includes a nave with aisles, a transept with oriented chapels and the choir presents an alternation of arched bays and mitered arches of Auvergne influence. Beautiful capitals with figures, birds, foliage: baptismal font with colonettes 12th-14th centuries: stone font and tombstone late 13th-early 14th century. The bell tower is typical of Bourbonnais churches with a blind floor and an open level topped by a modern wooden spire. With the ditches, the church represents the last medieval vestige of the town.

Dreamy place with old buildings.

A medieval village in Bourbonnais, a major Cluniac site and former necropolis of the Dukes of Bourbon, this is a must-see. Stop by the abbey church, visit the local artisan shop, Chez Aristide, and stroll through the narrow streets. Don't miss the medieval festival at the end of July!