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Park your vehicle at Place Michelet (parking is paid for after half an hour, except on Sundays).
(S/E) With your back to the theatre, cross Boulevard Maréchal-Fayolle and turn left. After the Le Palais café-brasserie, turn right onto Rue Porte Aiguière and you will come to Place Martouret.
(1) This square was the site of executions during the Revolution. The square is closed on the left by the Town Hall, a Louis XV-style building with a classical façade, built in 1766.
Continue towards the Town Hall, then Place du Clauzel, where the flea market is held on Saturday mornings. Until 1654, this was a cemetery where the poor from the Hôtel Dieu were buried (the Tourist Office is on your right).
Turn left onto Rue Courrerie to reach Place du Plot, embellished by the "La Bidoire" fountain, dating from 1426 (the oldest fountain in the town). On Saturday mornings, it is the farmers' market (cold meats, lentils, mushrooms, cheeses including the local cheese "les artisons").
Leave Place du Plot on your left and take the slightly sloping Chènebouterie alley. Several houses are worth noting for their architecture. Then turn left onto Rue Raphaël, once home to bourgeois families and the town's notables. Follow it until you see the "Choriste" fountain on your right. It was dedicated in the 15th century to the memory of a young chorister who sang carols in the streets of this district of Le Puy during the Christmas season.
Next, take Rue des Tables, lined with old houses, which leads to the foot of the cathedral's grand staircase. The street is so named because in the past, on religious holidays, the town's merchants would set up their "tables" on the slope to sell their wares to pilgrims. Along this street, there are shops selling verbena and lace, among other things. In summer, you can watch lace makers at work.
After climbing Rue des Tables, you will find yourself at the foot of the grand staircase (134 steps) leading to the entrance of the cathedral (listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998). Built in the Romanesque style, the cathedral features various influences from the East and Moorish Spain.
(2) Start climbing the steps to the cathedral and enter via the internal staircase (open in summer only) located below the nave. The 18th-century high altar features the current Black Madonna, which replaced the one that was burned during the Revolution. It is carried in procession every year on 15 August, the Feast of the Assumption. Of note: the organs and the pulpit. In the north aisle: painting of the vow made during the plague of 1630.
Once you have finished your visit, retrace your steps down the stairs. You can visit the Hôtel Dieu, the entrance to which is halfway up the stairs leading to the cathedral. This building, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was founded in the 12th century to care for the poorest of the sick. After extensive renovation work, since summer 2010 it has housed a tourist information centre.
At the bottom of the stairs, with your back to the cathedral, turn right onto Ruelle Becdelièvre, then left, passing in front of the entrance porch of the Hôtel du Département. This was the former General Hospital in the 17th century. Then turn right onto Ruelle Roger Gouteyron (superb view of the rock and the Chapelle Saint-Michel d'Aiguilhe).
Go down the street. After the Sainte-Claire Chapel, turn right onto Rue du Rocher. You will arrive at the entrance to the Saint-Michel dyke. At a height of 82 m, it is the chimney of an ancient volcano, on top of which a chapel has been built. Take the staircase to climb the 268 steps to the top, visit the small Romanesque chapel built in 961 (with numerous frescoes inside) and enjoy the view of the town from the rampart walk.
(3) Once you have finished your visit, go back down the same way you came to the entrance to the Departmental Council, taking the Gouteyron climb in the opposite direction. Enter the main courtyard of the Departmental Council. Take the staircase to the right of the flowerbed. At the top of the stairs, turn right to exit. Then turn left onto the uphill lane. Keep right along the street. You will arrive at Rue du Cloître.
Turn left to go to Rocher Corneille (757 metres above sea level), at the top of which stands the monumental statue of Notre-Dame de France, erected in 1860. It is 22 metres high (including the pedestal) and weighs a total of 835 tonnes. It was made from the metal of 213 cannons taken from the Russians during the Crimean War and donated by Napoleon III. From the top, you can enjoy a beautiful, unique 360° panoramic view of Le Puy.
(4) Go back down, passing in front of the 12th-century cloister (which you can visit). Take Rue de la Manecanterie and make a short detour via Place du For to admire the view of the town and the bell tower (56 metres high). Retrace your steps and take Rue Saint-Georges to reach Rue Cardinal de Polignac. Turn left and then right into Rue de Derrière-l'Ancien-Musée.
Turn left, pass the youth hostel and walk down Rue du Général Lafayette for 100 metres. Take Rue Sous Sainte-Marie, then turn left onto Rue Droite to reach Place du Faubourg Saint-Jean. Look up at the mural on the gable of a building in the neighbourhood. This trompe-l'oeil depicts strong local themes: the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, lace makers, the king of birds, and green lentils and verbena.
Go up Faubourg Saint-Jean towards Place Cadelade, then head towards Place du Pallet and continue straight ahead along Rue Chèvrerie. Turn into Rue Chaussade, then follow Rue Crozatier on the left to arrive in front of the theatre (the starting point of this tour).
Turn right, cross Place du Breuil, passing in front of the Crozatier fountain. The Prefecture, the Palais de Justice and the Theatre surround the square. Then enter the Jardin Henri-Vinay, a green haven in the heart of the city. Walk around it, passing in front of the Crozatier Museum, built in 1868 (where you can discover its beautiful collections: prehistory, architecture, local arts, lace and numerous paintings and works of art), and exit onto Place Michelet (S/E).
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Moderate 
Difficult 
