The Virgin of Beaufort

Guidebook with maps/step-by-step

Step 1 : From the start sign, walk up Rue des Bruyères and, at the church, turn right into Rue du Muscadet, passing the stadium. At the fork (stone cross), take the path on the right. At the next fork, take the left-hand path down, cross the Chabanne stream and climb up to the hamlet of Le Cheix.

Step 2 : At the crossroads, take the left-hand track. Cross the stream. Go up to the road, cross it and continue straight ahead. At the T-junction, turn right to reach the hamlet of Fraisse. At the last houses, go left, past a water reservoir (view of the Sancy massif and the Chaîne des Puys) to the hamlet of Montcognol. Continue along the asphalt road. Go straight ahead at the crossroads. At the T-junction, take the small road on the left. Ignore the track and turn right. At the last house in the hamlet of La Palle, turn left. Continue straight ahead. At the fork in the road, turn left, pass the top of the hill (cross) and continue to the road.

Step 3 : Go right for 100 m and turn right to enter the “Pierres qui marchent” estate (Chemin Fais’Art : numerous monumental sculptures by Gilles Perez, view of the Vierge de Beaufort). After the parking lot (off the circuit : 20-minute round trip to the statue of the Virgin, 360° view of the Combrailles, the Chaîne des Puys and the Massif du Sancy), turn right down the main path, passing several sculptures and the sculptor’s studio. At the road, turn left. At a wide bend to the left, take the path to the right. At the T-junction, fork left ; at the next intersection (cross), go right, then immediately left. Continue straight ahead, joining the D62 directly opposite the Chapdes-Beaufort church. Turn right, then left into rue Saint-Joseph and right again into rue des Bruyères.

Proposed and managed by the Conseil départemental du Puy-de-Dôme – PDIPR.