The Notre-Dame de France is a colossal statue of the Virgin Mary perched on the Rocher Corneille, the highest of Le Puy's volcanic plugs. At 16 metres tall, it is visible from across the Velay plain and dominates the city's skyline almost as much as the cathedral below. The statue was cast in 1860 from over 200 cannons captured at the Siege of Sebastopol during the Crimean War — the recycling of military hardware into devotional art was a deliberate gesture.
You can climb inside the statue to a viewing platform near the crown, but the main reward is the view from the rock itself: the cathedral quarter below, the needle of Saint-Michel d'Aiguilhe, and the volcanic landscape extending in all directions. The ascent from the old town is steep but short. A good time to visit is late afternoon when the light is warm and the town below is at its most atmospheric.