Saint-Benoît-du-Sault

Member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France

NitotSaint-benoit-du-sault CC BY-SA 3.0
lago17Saintbenoitdusault1Public domain
lago17Saintbenoitdusault2Public domain
RitadesboisAire aux Marthes à Saint-Benoît-du-Sault (Indre)CC BY-SA 4.0
RitadesboisAire aux Marthes à Saint-Benoît-du-Sault CC BY-SA 4.0
Kessel LucSaint Benoît du Sault CC BY-SA 3.0
GO69Saint-Benoît-du-Sault (36) Maison de l'Argentier 02 CC BY-SA 4.0
lago17Saintbenoitdusault3Public domain

In 974 Benedictine monks took refuge on a granite spur above the Portefeuille river and founded a priory, and Saint-Benoît-du-Sault grew up around it inside two rings of ramparts. The old Berry village is now a maze of narrow cobbled lanes, small squares and old houses. Contemporary art shows and a painting festival at Pentecost keep the streets busy.

Highlights

The fortified Romanesque priory, whose church dates from around 1020
Maison de l'Argentier, a listed 15th-century house
The belfry, 14th-century gateway and wall-walk along the ramparts
Foires Grasses before Christmas, when Brive producers sell goose and duck
The 15 August fête and its large fireworks display

Text adapted from Wikipedia (Saint-Benoît-du-Sault (FR), Saint-Benoît-du-Sault (EN), Saint-Benoît-du-Sault (IT)), Wikivoyage (Saint-Benoît-du-Sault (FR), Saint-Benoît-du-Sault (EN)). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Population: 510

Events through the year

Loire wine fair Food and wine · April
Painting festival Music and arts · Pentecost Sunday
15 August fête Seasonal · 15 AugustVillage fête with a large fireworks display
Cattle fair Fairs and markets · Third Wednesday of AugustLimousin and Charolais cattle competition
Sheep fair Fairs and markets · First Wednesday of AugustBreeding rams on show
Photography and cinema fair Fairs and markets · A Sunday in September
Foires Grasses de Brive à Saint-Benoît du Sault Food and wine · A Sunday before ChristmasBrive goose and duck producers sell foie gras products

Dates follow the traditional patterns in our sources: check locally before you travel.

Adapted from Wikipedia (Saint-Benoît-du-Sault), Wikivoyage (Saint-Benoît-du-Sault (FR), Saint-Benoît-du-Sault (EN)). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Specialities of Centre-Val de Loire

Typical of the region rather than of this village.

CoyauCrottin 02 CC BY-SA 3.0
Crottin de ChavignolCheeseSmall goat's cheese, eaten fresh or aged and dry
Pierre-Yves BeaudouinValençay 04 CC BY-SA 4.0
ValençayCheesePyramid-shaped goat's cheese, protected by an AOC
CoyauPouligny-saint-pierre (fromage) 03 CC BY-SA 3.0
Pouligny-Saint-PierreCheesePyramid-shaped goat's cheese from the Brenne
SancerreWineWhite, red and rosé AOC wines of the Loire hills
Menetou-SalonWine
Marianne CasamanceSoupe de lentilles verte du Berry CC BY-SA 4.0
Berry green lentil (FR)Local produceProtected green lentil, also cooked as a soup