Located away from major roads, Saint-Césaire is at the crossing of two small county roads, the D131 and the the D134. Apart from that distinction, there is little to see or do in this village of around 900 people. The Romanesque church - another with the tower in the middle of the building length - is named for Saint Césaire and was classified as a historical monument back in 1913. At the time of the Revolution Saint-Césaire was referred to as "Cézaire, friend of the laws."We visited simply because there is a small municipal Aire de Service near the crossroads and we spent a quiet night there although there were zero services, just a sloping parking lot.
The village is perhaps best known however, as a paleoanthropological site. In 1979 French archaeologist François Lévêque discovered a nearly complete Neanderthal skull along with a partial skeleton dated to 36,000 years ago. It is was a significant event because it was found in association with tools and other artifacts formerly associated only with early modern humans (Homo sapiens) and not Neanderthals.
Pictures of the church are here.
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