Conques

Conques grew around relics of Sainte Foy, a young martyr whose remains were stolen from Agen in the ninth century by a monk who spent years there for the purpose, an act the abbey recorded without embarrassment as a holy theft. The reliquary statue built to hold them is covered in gold, set with antique gems and cameos, and has a head reused from a late Roman piece; it is among the very few surviving pieces of its kind. The abbey church of Sainte-Foy has a tympanum of the Last Judgement with over a hundred figures, still carrying traces of its original paint. Pierre Soulages designed the modern windows in 1994.

What you actually see

• The Sainte Foy reliquary - a gold statue with antique gems and a reused Roman head.
• The Last Judgement tympanum - over a hundred figures with surviving paint traces.
• The Soulages windows - translucent modern glass installed in 1994.
• The pilgrim village - schist and sandstone houses on a steep slope.

When to go

April to October; the village is on the Compostela route and busiest in summer. Evening organ recitals and tympanum illuminations run in season. Winter is very quiet.

Honest expectations

The village is steep and cars are kept outside. It is small and can be full of coach groups in the middle of the day. Treasury visiting hours are limited.

Nearby

Rodez lies southeast; Belcastel is south.