Sanctuaire Notre-Dame de l'Hermitage

Noirétable

You must leave Noirétable and climb seven kilometres through the firs to reach this high place of the Forez, set at around 1,100 metres on the mountain. The origin handed down by tradition is a tale of flight and forgiveness: in the 12th century, a wrongdoer pursued by the law is said to have taken refuge in these woods; the Virgin appeared to him near a spring, inviting him to confess his fault and do penance — he became the first hermit of the place, and gave the Hermitage its name. The pilgrimage is attested from 1381; a monastery rose in 1669, rebuilt around 1746, and pilgrims still venerate, near the spring, a stone that Mary is said to have touched. After the Revolution and a long decline, the Missionaries of La Salette revived the sanctuary in 1889; the Sisters of La Salette have run it since 2000, welcoming walkers, retreatants and families in a guesthouse with up to 75 beds in summer. People come for the two chapels and their frescoes, for the statues of the Virgin and mission crosses dotted around the site, but above all for the spirit of the place: a plateau of silence ringed by forests, where the bell answers the wind in the firs. On 15 August and 8 September, the processions still gather the parishes of the Forez and neighbouring Auvergne; the rest of the year, the orientation table and the GR footpaths make the Hermitage a destination for hikers as much as for pilgrims.

Getting there : 7 km from the village of Noirétable by the route de l'Hermitage (parking on site, coordinates from Loire Tourisme). Open all year except November, 8.30–11.15 am and 1.30–6 pm, free admission; sanctuary guesthouse (30 to 75 beds depending on the season), restaurant, orientation table, GR long-distance footpaths nearby. Major pilgrimages on 15 August and 8 September.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound