The little town of LA CHAISE-DIEU is renowned for the abbey church of St-Robert (daily: June–Sept 9am–noon & 2–7pm; Oct–May 10am–noon & 2–5pm; €2.80), whose square towers dominate the town. Founded in 1044 and restored in the fourteenth century at the expense of Pope Clement VI, who had served as a monk here, the church was destroyed by the Huguenots in 1562, burnt down in 1692, and remained unfinished when the Revolution brought a wave of anticlericalism. It was only really finished in the twentieth century. Its interior contains the tomb of Clement VI, some magnificent Flemish tapestries of Old and New Testament scenes hanging in the choir, which also boasts some fine Gothic stalls, and a celebrated fresco of the Danse Macabre, depicting Death plucking at the coarse plump bodies of 23 living figures, representing the different classes of society. "It is yourself", says the fifteenth-century text below, as indeed it might easily have been in an age when plague and war were rife.Nearby on the place de l'Echo, the Salle de l'Echo (same times except closed Sun am; free) is another product of the risk of contagion – if not from plague, then from leprosy. For in this room, once used for hearing confession from the sick and dying, two people can turn their backs on each other, stand in opposite corners and still have a perfectly audible conversation just by whispering. A classical music festival takes place here in late August and early September, details of which are available from the tourist office, on place de la Mairie (April to mid-Sept Tues–Sun 10am–noon & 2–6pm; mid-Sept to March Tues–Sat 10am–noon & 2–6pm; tel 04.71.00.01.16). The Hôtel Monastère et Terminus, on avenue de la Gare (tel 04.71.00.00.73, [email protected]; €30–40; closed Nov–March; restaurant from €10.50–43), and Hôtel au Tremblant, on the D906 (tel 04.71.00.01.85, fax 04.71.00.08.59; €30–40; restaurant from €11.40), offer reasonable comfort for a night's stay. There's also a municipal campsite on the Vichy side of the D906 (tel 04.71.00.07.88; closed Oct–May).
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