Having resolved to attend next year's Paris to Chartres Pilgrimage, I am now casting about for ideas for places to visit in la belle France and environs. (I do have cause to cross the border into southern Germany for a start.)
I think at least a few days in a good monastery will be high on my agenda.
Any and all suggestions may be left in the comments box.
Fontgambault and Le Barroux are both wonderful monasteries to visit, set in beautiful countryside.
ReplyDeleteBut so many wonderful places to spend time in France! Make sure you a allow a good amount of time in Paris, there is always so much to see and do, especially all those wonderful churches, but personally I love the South, esp Nice, Aix-en-Provence (stay at nearby Jouques Monastery, a very large and traditional Benedictines women's house with a great guesthouse for both men and women, and perhaps the best monastic women's choir around) and Avignon (on your way to or from Le Barroux!)...
Try to get to the "Medieval Lourdes" if you can, Josh - that is, Rocamadour. Don't miss the shrine of St Thomas Aquinas in Toulouse (Les Jacobins), of course Fanjeaux, Montreal and Carcassone are "musts" for anyone with O.P. connections. Don't miss Simon de Montfort's burial stone in the Carcassone church of St Nicholas - St Dominic celebrated his funeral Mass there - and Mirepoix is just the most wonderful medieval town.
ReplyDeleteWould it be asking too much for you to pop over to Austria, Josh? My old mate Christophe is having a spot of bother there ... perhaps you could sort it out for him! - Martin OP
ReplyDeleteOh, and you absolutely must visit the Musée National du Moyen Âge - also known as the Musée de Cluny: It is located in the 5th arrondissement at 6 Place Paul Painlevé, south of the Boulevard Saint-Germain, between the Boulevard Saint-Michel and the Rue Saint-Jacques, not far from Nôtre Dame, in fact. - Martin
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