Don't miss La Romieu to greet Angeline and the cats. I didn't see any, at least not alive ones. I didn't stop there either. To get there, I took the 6 km road; you can also get there via the GR (Greater French National Trail). Its Saint-Pierre collegiate church, a 14th-century Gothic masterpiece listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is imposing.
Now for the legend... Around 1342, a terrible famine struck La Romieu. The starving inhabitants went so far as to eat all the cats in the village, thinking they were preserving their meager resources.
But a little girl named Angeline, an orphan taken in by a local couple, adored cats. She hid two in the cellar, secretly feeding them, and then they bred. A little later, with all the cats gone, the village was invaded by thousands of rats, destroying the meager grain reserves and causing an even worse disaster.
It was then that Angeline freed her cats. They multiplied again, drove out the rats, and saved the village.
Angeline was honored by the villagers, and according to legend, her face took on the appearance of a cat, with feline features—a magical transformation to thank her love and loyalty to cats.
Today, in tribute to this story, numerous cat statues adorn the streets, facades, and rooftops of the village.