The Rocher Corneille is the tallest of the volcanic outcrops that define Le Puy's extraordinary skyline, rising about 80 metres above the town. At its summit stands the Notre-Dame de France, a 16-metre cast-iron statue of the Virgin Mary cast in 1860 from cannons captured at the Siege of Sebastopol. The combination of the geological drama and the monument makes it one of the most striking viewpoints in France.
The climb from the old town takes around 15 minutes on foot. From the summit, the panorama takes in the cathedral on its own rock directly below, the needle of Saint-Michel d'Aiguilhe to the north, the Velay plain stretching in all directions, and on clear days the distant peaks of the Massif Central. The statue itself can be entered via a spiral staircase inside. The best light is late afternoon, when the volcanic landscape glows and the shadows of the outcrops fall long across the plain below.