Vieux bourg d'Oingt et église Saint-Mathieu

Val d'Oingt (Oingt)

Oingt is a burst of sunlight set on the hills of the Beaujolais: its lanes, its vaults and its keep are built of the blond limestone that iron oxide gilds and that crinoid fossils make glitter — the famous pierre dorée, the golden stone. Perched above the vines, the village was in the Middle Ages the stronghold of the lords of Oingt, the "last stronghold of the Lyonnais" facing the Beaujolais, as the Nizy gate, sole remnant of the 14th-century ramparts, recalls. The keep of the late 12th century, heart of the Château Neuf, still keeps watch; its terrace takes in a 360° panorama over the vineyards, the Monts du Lyonnais and, in clear weather, the Alps. The church of Saint-Mathieu has an unusual history: the castle chapel in the 13th century, enlarged with a Lady chapel after 1383, it became the village church as the castle faded away. From this seigneurial line came a singular figure of the Middle Ages: Marguerite d'Oingt, a nun who became prioress of the charterhouse of Poleteins and died in 1310, one of the first women writers of the region, who set down her mystical visions in Latin and in Franco-Provençal — the very language spoken in these lanes. Listed among the Plus Beaux Villages de France, the most beautiful villages in France, Oingt lives today on its artists' studios, its museum of mechanical music and its wine cellars; one climbs up for the evening light, when the whole village seems to have been covered in gold leaf.

Getting there : Village of Oingt, commune of Val d'Oingt, some thirty kilometres north-west of Lyon (coordinates given for the village). Lanes freely accessible all year; keep-museum with a 360° panoramic terrace, museum of mechanical music, local produce centre. Car parks at the entrance to the village, pedestrian traffic within it.

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

Ambient sound