The château ramparts and the Chemin de Croix

Above the sanctuary, the Chemin de Croix switchbacks up through holm oak and box to the château on the very lip of the canyon. It is a shaded, stepped path with the fourteen stations set into the rock along it, and it takes about fifteen minutes at a walking pace — the alternative is the second lift from the sanctuary level.

At the top the ramparts walk gives the view that the belvedere across the valley cannot: straight down the cliff onto the roofs of the sanctuary and the village, and out along the Alzou canyon toward the causse. Late afternoon and sunset are the hours — the light comes in from the west along the length of the gorge and the whole plateau goes warm.

The château itself is a nineteenth-century rebuild on medieval foundations and is the residence of the sanctuary chaplains, so only the rampart walk is open, with a small charge. Its opening hours are shorter than the village's and it closes out of season; check before you plan a sunset there.

On the way down, the path itself is the better subject: dappled light through the oaks, stone steps, worn handrails and the village appearing through gaps in the trees. Nobody photographs the Chemin de Croix, which is precisely why it works.