LISIEUX, 35 minutes by train from Caen, is the main town of the Pays d'Auge, and a good place to get to know its cheeses and ciders is at the large street market on Wednesday and Saturday. Most people, however, come to Lisieux as a place of pilgrimage based around the cult of St Thérèse, the most popular French spiritual figure of the last hundred years. Passivity, self-effacement and a self-denial that verged on masochism were her trademarks, and she is honoured by the gaudy and gigantic Basilique de Ste-Thérèse, completed in 1954 on a slope to the southwest of the town centre. The huge modern mosaics that decorate the nave are undeniably impressive, but the overall impression is of a quasi-medieval hagiography. The faithful can ride on a white, flag-bedecked fairground train around the holiest sites, which include the infinitely restrained and sober Cathédrale St-Pierre.Lisieux's tourist office, 11 rue d'Alençon, is the best place to gather information on the rural areas further inland (mid-June to Sept Mon–Sat 8.30am–6.30pm, Sun 10am–12.30pm & 2–5pm; Oct to mid-June Mon–Sat 8.30am–noon & 1.30–6pm; tel 02.31.48.18.10, www.ville-lisieux.fr). The quantity of pilgrims means the town is full of good-value hotels, such as De la Terrasse, near the basilica at 25 av Ste-Thérèse (tel 02.31.62.17.65; €30–40; closed Jan & Mon in winter), and the exceptionally cheap Des Arts, backing onto the bishop's gardens at 26 rue Condorcet (tel 02.31.62.00.02; under €30). There's also a large two-star campsite, de la Vallée (tel 02.31.62.00.40; closed Oct to mid-April), but campers would probably be better off somewhere more rural, such as Livarot or Orbec. If Thérèse isn't your prime motivation, Saturday is the best day to visit, for the large street market stacked with Pays d'Auge cheeses.
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