Le, a town of France, capital of the department of Haute-Loire, on the Borne, near the left bank of the Loire, 68 miles S.W. of Lyons. It presents an exceedingly picturesque appearance from a distance, on account of its remarkable and striking situation. Nearly the whole of the town is built on the steep slopes of a hill, which rises up in the centre to a scarped and flat-topped summit, crowned with an ancient castle. This rock, which is of volcanic formation on a calcareous base, is called the Rock of Cornuelle. A still more remarkable, though not so high rock is that of St Michael, which rises from the bank of the Borne, a short distance off. It is needle-like in shape, and its sides are almost perpendicular. The top is occupied by a small chapel dedicated to St Michael, to which access is gained by a winding stair partly cut in the rock. On a near view, Le Puy does not present so many charms to the visitor as at a distance, for it is ill-built, with narrow, irregular, steep, and ill-kept streets. In the loftiest part stands the cathedral, a heavy inelegant edifice in the Romanesque style. It is of considerable antiquity, and contains a richly-ornamented altar and a miraculous image of the Virgin. The Gothic church of St Laurent is chiefly remarkable for containing a monument of the celebrated Du Guesclin, whose entrails are buried here. Near the foot of St Michael's Rock stands an octagonal Romanesque building, long supposed to be a temple of Diana, but probably in reality a Christian baptistery. Le Puy has a good museum, especially rich in mineralogical and geological specimens, a public library, college, two hospitals, &c. Many of the women of the town are employed in making cotton lace. Woollen cloth, leather, nails, &c., are also manufactured; and an active trade is carried on here. Pop. (1856) 14,428.