Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges

Lugdunum Convenarum stood on the plain here from about 72 BC and grew into a substantial Roman city with a theatre, baths, a forum and temples; excavations have exposed the foundations at the foot of the hill. After destruction the population moved up to the defensible hilltop, and Bertrand, bishop in the eleventh century, began the cathedral that dominates the village. Inside, the sixteenth-century choir enclosure carries sixty-six carved wooden stalls of exceptional quality, and a Renaissance organ stands above. The Romanesque cloister has one side open to the mountains, which is unusual and makes the arcade a framed view.

What you actually see

• The carved choir - sixty-six sixteenth-century wooden stalls.
• The open cloister - one arcade side left open to the Pyrenean view.
• The Roman city - excavated foundations of Lugdunum Convenarum below.
• The hilltop setting - the cathedral standing over the valley.

When to go

April to October; the choir enclosure and treasury have limited hours and a charge. A music festival uses the cathedral in summer. Winter is cold and quiet.

Honest expectations

The Roman remains are foundations only and require interpretation. The village is tiny with limited services. The approach road up the hill is narrow.

Nearby

The Pyrenees rise south; Saint-Gaudens lies northeast.