Croix du Guizay, Monumental cross in Le Guizay, France

Croix du Guizay is a large stone cross standing on a mountaintop near Planfoy at approximately 867 meters (2,845 feet) above sea level. From this location, you can see across to Saint-Etienne city and down into the Ondaine valley, with clear views of the surrounding mountains and their distant peaks.

A cross already stood on the Guizay ridge before 1914; the present monumental cross replaced it after the First World War as a memorial to the dead of Planfoy. It stands at about 867 metres on the col separating the Ondaine and Furan valleys, on land long used as a landmark for walkers crossing the ridge between Saint-Etienne and the Pilat.

The cross is a waypoint on the GR7 long-distance footpath, which crosses the Pilat range here; hikers walking between the Col du Guizay and the Crêt de la Perdrix pass it. Local paroisse processions still reach the site on foot from Planfoy, and the cross is lit at night, visible from the Ondaine valley below.

A free parking area sits about 200 meters (650 feet) from the cross, with a walking path providing direct access to the site. You can also reach the area from the Saint-Etienne Solaure tram station and walk up from there.

From this vantage point, visitors can observe Saint-Etienne's main avenue stretching in a straight line for approximately 6 kilometers (nearly 4 miles) from Terrasse to Bellevue. This unusual perspective reveals the city in a way that is rare to see from almost any other location.