The Puy-de-Dôme department is not on the beaten path, but it’s especially pretty and has a lot to do. We’ve made three trips – a first overnight to Clermont-Ferrand while driving to the Dordogne, a romantic weekend in Bagnols, and a lovely four day weekend exploring the area in greater depth.
The name comes from the Puy de Dôme, an extinct volcano. Claims to fame are Michelin tires, Thiers knives, five AOP cheeses, thermal springs, caves, and a reputation as a camping and sporting adventure destination. I love the architecture – a fairly remarkable collection of historic buildings dating back hundreds, even thousands of years. There are roughly 260 Romanesque churches (about 250), many castles (including castles you can stay in, more on that later), and quite a few fortified villages.
We didn’t formally drive the marked tourist routes, but there are several: the historical route of the castles of Auvergne, Route of the village forts of Auvergne, Route des métiers in Livradois-Forez, Route des villes d’eau, Route des fromages d’Auvergne.
Further reading: Conde Nast Traveler.
Arconsat
We had a great, extremely local meal way up in the hills of Arconsat at **Auberge du Montoncel. We didn’t know at the time that Arconsat qualifies itself as “World home of the Saucisse de choux d’Arconsat”, but we ate it – delicious, cabbage stuffed saucisse, served with blue cheese sauce. The steak was also incredible, and the cheeses were all AOP Auvergne. Don’t expect fancy, but for authentic, this was very impressive.
Bagnols
The ***Château de Bagnols is one of my favorite hotels of all time. It’s a legitimate castle – grand, perfectly maintained, run like a true five star experience. It’s a ‘honeymoon’ destination on a very classy scale. Not cheap, but worth it! The restaurant is quite good.
There’s not a ton around Bagnols, just lovely rolling hills and small towns. It’s not isolated, however – you can be in Lyon in 45 minutes. We went to Bois d’Oingt and Ternand, both within 10 minutes, and wouldn’t strongly recommend them. Ternand has nice views, Oingt is a fairly typical country town.
Le Broc
**Hotel Restaurant Origines is a fine dining option (one Michelin star) with rooms, sitting atop an ancient fortified town with incredible views across the valley below. It’s a special experience, with excellent food, and the view from the dining room really is the star. There’s emphasis on food of the region, and portions were very reasonable – we left full and happy, but not overly stuffed. Wine pairings were good. Service had a few hiccups, but nothing worth being overly critical of.
The town isn’t really worth a stop if you’re not dining at the restaurant, but we did enjoy walking the ramparts and exploring. It’s very tidy and picturesque. Our room lacked a view (worth asking when you book), but was quite comfortable.
Clermont-Ferrand
Charming! This is a rather sleepy backwater, though not a small town. The central historic area is reasonably compact and easily navigated on foot. Evening scene is lively and friendly. Lots of great food options everywhere. It reminds me of a French version of Shoreditch.
There are the normal less than desirable neighborhoods sprawling out from the center, and also some surprising, very nice areas, including a historic spa area I’m curious to learn more about.
Food and Dining:
- We stayed at *Hotel Le Lion, which is right on the main square. Pay a bit more for a larger room (it will still be cheap).
- We had a Michelin two star meal at the really polished **Restaurant Le Pré, on the eastern outskirts of Clermont-Ferrand. It was a last minute decision and we didn’t realize quite what we were getting into, but the staff were accommodating, the wine was amazing, and the food very good. The portions were a bit too big (in my opinion), but executed extremely well.
Activities:
- The **Clermont-Ferrand Cathedral is a Gothic cathedral on top of a Romanesque church on top of a 5th century cathedral, a French national monument. It is built entirely in black lava stone, which makes it highly distinctive, and visible from a great distance. Don’t miss it.
- **Basilique Notre-Dame du Port is a short walk from the Cathedral – a Romanesque basilica from the 10th century. I don’t find it especially remarkable, but if you’re in the area, stop by! This another of the five great Romanesque churches of the Auvergne.
- **L’Aventure Michelin is the main local culture draw. It’s just what you’d expect, history of tires, the Michelin man, and some limited coverage of the Guides.
Gergovie
Super cool! Very easy to imagine the skirmishes and the battles where Vercingétorix beat Caesar. Beautiful plateau, clearly defensible, with major views. The **Musée de Gergovie did a great job with animations and bringing the story to life. Quite popular, packed with people.
To really appreciate this, watch season 1 of Asterix and Obelix on Netflix first (the 2025 series). While it’s not that exactly, it is that kind of, and makes the experience even richer.
Issoire
Issoire has a famous Romanesque church – the **Abbatiale Saint Austremoine (one of the “5 greats” of the Auvergne region). It’s a Benedictine abbey built around 1130.
It’s the largest Auvergnat churches, with a lot of exterior decoration (a range of different stone colors/types, carvings, and inlay patterns), and a remarkably bright interior – mosaics, painted surfaces, frescos, and tiles. While it’s nineteenth-century repainting, it gives a fair impression of how colour-saturated these buildings were. Interestingly there’s non-Christian work, including signs of the zodiac, on the exterior. Definitely worth a visit, and likely to be surprising.
We also visited the **Tour de l’Horloge, which gives good views overlooking the town and church. It’s a cute, manageably sized town, worth taking a walk through the interior.
Lamontgie
*Église Notre-Dame de Mailhat, built at the end of the 12th century, hides in a small, picturesque village in the countryside. The exterior is carefully restored; the interior fairly sparse – though there are some nice carvings. Perhaps not worth going out of your way to see.
We had a perfectly fine, very inexpensive lunch nearby at **Auberge Du Tilleul.
Puy de Dôme (the mountain itself)
The **Circuit de Charade is a motorsport race track, built around the base of an extinct volcano. Let’s just stop there and reflect on that statement – this is very curvy, looks amazing, and has more elevation change than any track in the U.S. At 3.4 km today, it’s considered medium sized. The original track was known for its challenging layout which favored the most skillful drivers and motorcyclists. It hosted the French Grand Prix four times and the French motorcycle Grand Prix ten times.
Originally, the 8.055 km long circuit was described as an even twistier and faster version of the Nürburgring. With a relentless number of sharp curves and elevation changes and with almost no straights, the circuit was both feared and respected by competitors. Faced with increasing safety issues and with the natural topography preventing any chance of adding run-off areas, the final race on the original track was held in September 1988.
The new, shorter and safer Circuit de Charade opened in 1989 hosting national championship races. Currently, the venue holds events such as track days, driving courses as well as historic motorsport events (this was what we attended).
*Panoramic Domes is the name of the parking area where you can take a short train ride up to the top of Puy de Dôme. We made it, parked, and quickly left when viewing the crowds, wait time, and vista potential. I’m sure it’s fine, but it’s not the Alps.
Saint-Nectaire
Saint-Nectaire has the distinct air of many historic tourism destinations in the mountains – friendly, a bit tired, accommodatingly pleasant. Bring your walking sticks, tent, and kids, and you’ll fit right in! We found it a bit unnecessary, though the roads are pretty, and if we were looking to hike, it’s a pretty area.
Saint-Nectaire is known for the cheese of the same name, historic spas, grottos, and the romanesque **Church of Saint-Nectaire, one of the most famous churches in Auvergne. Built in the 11th century of lava and porous tuffa, it has a grand position over the valley. The interior is on the small side, without much of the original decoration remaining.
Saint-Saturnin
Saint-Saturnin checks all the boxes for a picturesque, hilltop village with a castle and dramatic church.
First constructed in the thirteenth century, the **Château Royal was owned by the noble house of La Tour d’Auvergne for centuries, enduring a succession of military conflicts and regional power struggles. The story is long and complicated, including ownership by Catherine de Medici (whose mother was of the Auvergne). Today, you can actually stay there – 5 rooms are available as a Chambres d’Hotes. We did really enjoy our two night stay – the rooms are historic, with modern conveniences, you have free range of the huge grounds (including a secret garden), excellent breakfast, and the hosts are friendly – including Henri the cat. The town is fun for exploring. Only downside – you’ll have to get back into your car for meals.
The **Church of Notre Dame in Saint-Saturnin claims to be one of the top five Romanesque churches of the Auvergne. It’s the smallest (and least ornate) of the collection, but set in a very small town, it does present itself with style from a distance. Built late in the 12th century, the interior is very dark and sombre.
We had two meals & a snack break nearby (within 10-15 minutes drive):
- **Le Bistrot d’ici (in Saint-Saturnin) serves drinks and ice cream, and occasionally light food as well. Friendly owners.
- **L’art-tisan, in Saint-Amant-Tallende, serves burgers and a few other things in an outdoor space next to the road. Good burger. Very casual.
- **Toit Pour Toi, Restaurant Christine et Didier Cozzolino (in Orcet), is a surprising high-end family affair in the countryside, hidden in a small town (mom front of house, dad in the kitchen, a daughter helping). It was very good.
Thiers
We saw signs to Thiers on our way to Clermont-Ferrand, and made a point of stopping by to visit the knife museum. The town is a major historical centre of knife manufacturing (going back 700 years), claiming about one hundred companies; according to wikipedia seventy percent of French pocket knives, kitchen and table knives are manufactured in and around Thiers.
Today – it’s somewhere between sad and downright frightening. There’s a more modern, economically depressed town in the flats, and a grim nearly-abandoned upper town (the historic part) with ominous folks standing around eyeing your car and purse. I don’t feel unsafe in France particularly often, but this is one of those towns best left alone. There is a wealth of medieval architecture, in particular half-timbered homes.
The *Musée de la Coutellerie is fairly unremarkable, though the collection of historic knives is somewhat interesting, and you can see knife-making demonstrations.
