Church of Sainte-Foy

The abbey church of Sainte-Foy stands in the village of Conques, in the Aveyron, in a deep, wooded gorge in the south of the Massif Central. It is one of the finest Romanesque churches in France and a major stop on the pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela, the Way of Saint James, which passes through the village on the Via Podiensis route from Le Puy. The church and the village are recognised by UNESCO as part of the French sections of the pilgrimage roads, and Conques is classed among the most beautiful villages of France.

The abbey's fame was built on a relic. In 866, according to tradition, a monk of Conques stole the remains of Sainte Foy, a young girl martyred at Agen around the year 300, and brought them to the abbey in a famous act of pious theft. Her cult grew quickly, and pilgrims flocked to Conques, bringing wealth that paid for the building of the great church in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. The Treasury of Conques, in the museum next door, preserves the golden reliquary statue of Sainte Foy, the Majesty, one of the oldest and most extraordinary pieces of medieval goldsmith's work in Europe, along with other precious items.

The west portal is the highlight. The tympanum over the main door, carved in the early twelfth century, shows the Last Judgment, with Christ in the middle, the saved on his right and the damned on his left, in a crowd of about 124 small figures. The scenes of heaven and hell are full of humour and imagination, and much of the stone still shows traces of its original colour. Inside, the church has a tall nave, a gallery and a series of carved capitals. The windows are the work of the painter Pierre Soulages, a native of nearby Rodez, who designed them in the 1990s in pale translucent glass with abstract patterns, which fill the interior with a soft, shifting light and form a bold modern counterpart to the old stone.

Guided tours are offered and should be booked in advance for groups. A small community of canons lives in the village and sings the evening services, which many visitors find a memorable experience. The abbey church may close for technical work on certain days, so check the schedule. The village is steep and cobbled, so wear good shoes.

Conques suits pilgrims, lovers of medieval art and architecture and travellers looking for a quiet village in the Dourdou valley. Allow two to three hours for the church, the treasury and a walk through the lanes.