The stunning town of Saint Flour France is really two towns which is not uncommon. Early inhabitantas (archeologists have found people lived here back to the Bronze Age) would build their cities in easy to defend locations like a hilltop surrounded by cliffs and as it grew a lower town would handle the overflow. Usually the rich and powerful lived on the hilltop and then the people that worked as servants, farmers or such would live in the lower town. The traditional way to get from the lower St Flour to the hilltop city of Saint Flour is by means of a long set of stone steps called the Goat Trail. There is the older Roman Catholic "St Flour Cathedral" up top (history dates to around the eleventh century but the major construction began in mid 1400s) and newer "Saint Vincent" in the low town. Traditionally people from the low town walked up a set of stone steps called the Goat Trail to access the upper town.
VIEWS OF UPPER ST FLOUR FROM THE LOWER TOWN
THE GOAT TRAIL
Our original plan was to camp on a very scenic river in the lower town then hike up to visit the upper town even though there is a road we learned long ago these hilltop cities have super narrow roads and very limited parking. Above is a mix of photos from going up and down the Goat Trail (read somewhere there are 322 steps combined with areas that are lower grade stone covered path) in daylight and after dark. I would suggest all vistors to use the goat patch at least once as there are beautiful views and other features that are a "must see" while visitng Saint Flour.
EVERY CAFE OR PARK HAS FRIENDS YOU JUST HAVEN'T MET YET
When we reached the upper old Saint Flour proper after a nice but long walk up the goat trail we needed a break, something to drink and a snack. While nor I drink alcohol in asking for a "glass" of water in a culture where most drink bottled water we got a local pale ale instead on the house. Unless someone has a problem with alchoholism we have also learned especially in Europe and at weddings when your given a beer or glass of champagne at least keep a smile on your face and sip politely. We met the tall blonde German guy at the cafe and then the friendly guy and his dog at a park which turned into a guided tour of St Flour and an invite to use a spare bedroom.
OUR GERMAN FRIENDS APATMENT
THE VIEW OUT OUR BEDROOMS WINDOW & BALCONY
We didn't know the reason our host took a little extra time to do a load of laundry the next morning before setting out was Carol had commented on how much she liked his Le Tour de France shirt and he wanted it clean when he gave it to her. While Le Tour shirts are common as dirt in France this one was only for Le Tour volunteer workers and not something that could be purchased. A free place to stay with our own bedroom, hot breakfast and even did some of our laundry killed our plans to camp on the river but we had plenty of other opportunities to camp on this trip.
When travelling Europe during the summer we carry a basic car camping kit prepared to camp every night except when visiting bigger cities like Paris will have a hotel booked in advance. Oddly is more nights than not someone invites us to stay in their home, hotel owners will often offer us free or deeply discounted rooms or someone we meet has a friend/relative that owns a Bed & Breakfast and comp us a room is have a vacancy. Often there are places we had planned long in advance and looking forward to camping but turning down offers for free rooms is a bit rude plus you miss out on "living like a local".
Views of St Flour Cathedral from the lower villiage, up close and inside. Most of my interior pics were taken on film slides which are still in the sort, scan and edit pile. Someday will get to all the film, likely find more digital and will add to the story.
BACK TO MAIN FRANCE TRAVEL PAGE
WEBSITE NAVIGATION
ALL OF THE PHOTOS AND TEXT ON THIS SITE IS COPYRIGHTED. NO PORTION MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN CONSENT.
