A visit to the village of Saint-Montan

Start from the visitor car park on Route des Lieux, about 300 m from the village centre.

(S/E) Walk back down the road to the village centre. Cross a small square (with a metal crucifix) and follow Rue du Cez, passing under a portico.

(1) Turn immediately right onto a paved slanting street, Rue de la Poterne (immediately on the right is the exhibition space displaying the model of the village). Pass under a porch and head uphill. After a few dozen metres, turn left and continue uphill. Ignore a narrow lane on the left and follow the signs for the castle. You’ll arrive at the foot of the Maison du Canard (ticket office for the castle).

(2) Then turn left and walk slightly uphill. Next, walk back down and pass under a portico. Just before a road, take a sharp left, go down a flight of steps and continue along a narrow lane. At the bottom, first turn right then left to follow the D262. After about fifty metres, first turn left then right onto Rue du Tour. Follow this street straight on, pass under two porticoes and reach the church. Go round the church on the left, pass under an arch (remnant of a fresco) and reach a junction you passed on the way there.

(1) Go straight on, pass under a portico and cross the small square you have already seen. Walk up the Route des Lieux to the visitors’ car park (S/E).

A good pair of trainers is all you need for this very short walk through paved slanting streets.

There are bars and restaurants in the village.

Walk completed by the author on 26 May 2023.

- A village whose restoration began in the 1970s.
- Paved slanting streets.
- Church of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine (19th century) (1).
- Château de Saint-Montan (2).