Just a short drive from Oingt is Ternand another special traditional Beaujolais village. Initial we debate if we should stop at two, in our expectation, similar villages but there is enough time so why not. And it is a good choice as while similar they are still different enough to make each worthwhile to visit.
From the welcome free parking it is a short distance into the medieval section of the village. At least there are some nice views along the way and even the more modern houses are in the traditional style and beautiful.
We can even see some cows in the distance enjoying the countryside as we reach the first of many wells along the way.
We really enjoy the views in this lesser known wine region, by French standards, small villages and wineyards everywhere in a rolling green landscape.
Soon we are in the central plaza from where multiple narrow streets climb through the medieval village towards the top where as usual the major village church is sitting.
Soon we are at the church which to our surprise it is open. It is a surprise as there are only limited hours on limited days and somehow we arrived just inside those open hours. The volunteers are very friendly and we enter to explore the historic 15th century church.
There are some historical frescoes and old icons inside and we really enjoy the short visit before exiting via a different door back into the medieval town.
This is the most scenic part of the village with special brick houses, it seems like we have been transported back into medieval times.
We descend via a different street, the village here looks deserted and it is very scenic even though different from Oingt. It is interesting to see the difference in building styles as we slowly make our way down.
On the way have our fun with La Maison du Chat Perche, The House of the Perched Cat, as there is an actual cat perched on a window sill so it quite aptly named.
We then arrive at a small village museum that has an exhibit split over three levels and we visit the various art exhibits, there are both paintings and metal sculptures of probably futuristic planes to explore. We are the only people here besides the exhibitors and we have fun exploring before moving on.
We then continue along the very scenic street and arrive at the ruins of the old 12th century castle. They can be freely entered and explored and that is what we intend to do.
It is really not that large but there are different nooks and crannies to explore and photograph. And there is also a geocache which we find just before a large group with small children arrives and take everything over.
And then we return past one of the most scenic bathrooms ever to the carpark, it is time to drive to the last attraction of the day, another ruined castle, the Château des Cornes d’Urfé.
