6Saint-Michel d’Aiguilhe, France
You can’t miss this charming chapel in Aiguilhe, not far from Le Puy-en-Velay. It is well over 1000 years old and was erected on an 85-meter-high volcanic plug in 969. The top of the plug has a diameter of 57 meters.
It was constructed to celebrate the return of Bishop Godescalc of Le Puy-en-Velay from the famous Pilgrimage of Saint James back in 951. In order to tour the chapel, one must climb 268 steps that were carved into the rock long ago. Dedicated to the Archangel Michael, the official patron saint of “mountaintops and other high places.” Veteran visitors say that hiking up those ancient steps gives you the feeling that you’re climbing “into the sky.”
