The Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame is the reason to come to Montréal. From the outside it is a modest late-Gothic building of pale Burgundian stone, set at the highest point of the village with a small terrace that looks out over the Serein valley. Step inside, though, and the interior comes alive with the extraordinary carved choir stalls that line the nave. The Biblical scenes, the saints, the cheeky misericords — figures pulling faces, drinking, fighting — are executed with a wit and confidence that you would expect at Auxerre or Beaune, not in a village this size.
The church also holds a fine 15th-century alabaster altarpiece carved in Nottingham, England, depicting scenes from the Passion. It is one of the better-preserved examples on the Continent. Opening hours are limited outside the summer season; if the door is locked, the mairie usually holds a key.