Saint-Pierre and Saint-Paul Priory, Souvigny

A former Cluniac priory, which came into being in the 10th century through a donation by Aymar, ancestor of the Bourbons, to the abbey of Cluny. Its priory church of Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul is the largest religious building in the Bourbonnais: a Romanesque church of the 11th and 12th centuries, reworked in the Gothic style in the 15th. Two abbots of Cluny, Saint Mayeul and Saint Odilon, died and are buried there. The Dukes of Bourbon made it their necropolis: the old chapel holds the recumbent effigies of Louis II and Anne Dauphine d'Auvergne, the new chapel those of Charles I and Agnès de Bourgogne. The museum, set in the former monastic barns, holds the zodiac column, a 12th-century Romanesque pillar carved with the labours of the months and the signs of the zodiac; its ticket also gives access to the priory garden and the remains of the cloister. The church is open for self-guided visits. In 2026, the museum and garden cost €6 (€10 with a guided tour). Allow 1 hour 30. 15 minutes from Moulins.