Paray-le-Monial Attractions

Paray-le-Monial (pop. 9,820), on the river Bourbince, is still a much frequented place of pilgrimage. The town grew up around a Benedictine abbey founded in 973. This was the place of origin, in the 17th century, of the cult of the Sacred Heart, inspired by the visions of Marguerite-Marie Alacoque (1647- 90, a nun who was subsequently canonized), which spread throughout the whole Catholic world in the 19th century.

Features of interest in Paray-le-Monial are the Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall), a striking Renaissance building (1515) with a superb facade, and the Tour St-Nicolas, originally the belfry of a church. North of the Chapelle de la Visitation is the Musée du Hiéron (Italian, French and Flemish pictures of the 16th-18th century).