Around 80 volcanoes stretch 40km westwards from Clermont, between the Sioule gorges and Grande Limagne. They are fascinating all year round, beginning with the Puy de Lemptégy (1018m), a fine example of an open-crater volcano. After hiking to the ..

Enjoy a stroll through vieux Clermont admiring the internal courtyards of its delightful townhouses, the Amboise fountain (1515), and the chancel of the basilica of Notre Dame-du-Port , one of the greatest churches in the Auvergne Romanesque sty..

Radiating out from the cathedral, the place de la Victoire, rue Pascal, rue des Gras and rue des Chaussetiers are a typical part of Clermont’s old quarter, with austere lava and basalt houses seemingly devoid of all architectural inspiration, and fin..

The most striking aspect of this cathedral, started in 1248 in a style inspired by the Gothic cathedrals of the Île-de-France, is its black colour, due to the Volvic lava used to build it. Viollet-le-Duc added the two spires in 1866. Note the superb ..

This basilica is the most famous of the Romanesque churches of Lower Auvergne. Its assorted decoration contributes to the overall sense of harmony. Inside, the richly decorated chancel is surrounded by an ambulatory opening onto four radiant chapel..

The renovation of Vieux Montferrrand, involving 80 or so former town houses, means you can now admire façades, balustrades, staircase turrets and arcades in their original splendour. The Volvic stone contrasts with the pale “honey blond”-coloured rou..

Adrien Fainsilber and Claude Gaillard designed the rooms of this museum around a central atrium. Enjoy a pleasant stroll through its galleries admiring Madonnas in the Auvergne Romanesque style, as well as French, Italian and Flemish paintings. The 1..

What do we really know about volcanoes? The drama of Pompey, the spectacular imagery of Haroun Tazieff or Maurice and Katia Kraft, and a few sensational films - very little, all in all, given the complexity and diversity of these natural phenomena. T..

This owes its name to Jacques d'Amboise, Bishop of Clermont, who had it built in 1515; its an attractive Renaissance work hewn from lava rock...from Volvic! At the top the coat-of-arms of Amboise is carried by a sympathetic (albeit hairy) hirsute He..

Built at the beginning of the 20C thanks to a legacy left by Jean-Baptise Bargoin, a local pharmacist, this museum houses significant collections of archaeological finds and textile arts on the ground floor and in the basement. A new and dynamic muse..

Daylight enters from the street through graceful mullioned windows. The elegant front door of this townhouse (opening on to Grande-Rue-du-Languedoc) is decorated with a garland of roses in the Italian Renaissance style. A fine staircase turret serv..

This fine residence was built in Volvic lava stone in the 16C. In the courtyard, surrounded by three floors of galleries, note the staircase turret, its banisters carved with griffins and unicorns.

The huge ground floor arches of this Romanesque house from the 13 C support twin bays. Crowned faces decorate the corbels. So, the elephant, where is it? Certainly it used to appear on a fresco which decorated the tympanum in the central bay. But oth..

Bordered by paulownias, this square is at the heart of local city life, even more so since the opening of the Jaude centre, home to FNAC and a host of other shops. The square commemorates Vercingétorix, General Desaix, the hero of Marengo, and the Pu..

At nos 4 and 6 in this street indicated by windows with grotesque masks, in the second building after the courtyard you will see a monumental stairway on three storeys of which the right flights and the landings, the wrought iron balustrades and the ..

The name of this street evokes the thick (“gras”) steps of the stairway which once led up to the cathedral, whose façade matches the lava stone houses on either side. At nº 22, two gates open onto interior courtyards: one depicts a man’s head, while ..

The Hôtel Fontfreyde, also known as the “Maison des Architectes” (with its beautiful Renaissance courtyard), is readying itself to house a Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions, as well as a Science Museum, the star attraction of which will be the wo..

This immense classical church, topped by a dome, is graced with beautiful wood panelling (1736) in its chancel.

The vaulted ground floors of the old houses in this street became a meeting point for furniture and carpet merchants. At nº 3, cast a glance at the courtyard in the House of Savaron (1513); the staircase turret, linked to the main building by thr..

In the heart of a renovated quarter, this market is on site of a Romanesque Church that has disappeared. Today it is a lively centre where narrow business streets converge, such as the Rue de la Boucherie.