Le Puy En Velay Le Puy en velay is the capital city of Haute Loire in the south east of the Auvergne region. There are inhabitants 135 km east from Lyon and 550 km south from Paris

A UNESCO SITE Le Puy is a medieval city. You can see a splendid roman cathedral, a church on a volcanic rock, a big red statue of the Virgin Mary and many narrow cobbled streets.

Specialities Green lentils. Vervena liquor Lace St James’ way Le Puy is the main start of St James pilgrimage to Compostella in Spain. Nearly people a year walk the 1500km.

Medieval Festival: « Le Roi de l'Oiseau »

Every third week of September, 5000 people dress up like in the Renaissance times. Some even chose to live in medieval camps for five days. During five days days and nights there are parades, street shows, concerts, ball dance, animals, plays…

There is also a bow constest which gives its name to the festival. Contestants aim for a bird (oiseau) made of fabric. The winner becomes king (= roi) of the city for one year, after a parade he recieves a price and the keys of the city

BRIVES CHARENSAC Brives-Charensac is a surbub of Le Puy EnVelay, it's just next to it. It is twinned with two cities in Spain and Germany. It is 600m high. There are 4000 inhabitants.

The river Loire The spring of the river Loire is in the Mont Gerbier de Jonc. It is 40km north from Brives. The Loire is the longest river in France (1000km) The river can also be dangerous, in 1980, 6 people were killed in a flood. There is also a campsite in Brives just next to the river Loire, and we can canoe or fish on the river.

The skatepark In Brives-charensac there is a skatepark, just next to our school. It was build thanks to a project lead by the young municipal council of Brives.

What to see in Brives There are ruins of a medieval bridge. We call it « the old bridge ». It is on the river Loire. Just two arches are still standing. Brivas means « bridge» in old French. You can cycle or walk on a path on the banks of the river Loire for about 20 kms Brives is surrounded by volcanoes like the Mt Brunelet (832 m).