The history of Allier corresponds to the Duchy of Bourbon, with which it shares almost the entire territory. Named after the river Allier, it’s one of the least populated areas of France today. The largest cities are Moulins, Montluçon, and Vichy. It’s a pretty area with a lot of sporting potential (camping, bike riding, hikes, etc.), and has a surprising wealth of castles and historic churches, legacy of its general proximity to Cluny.

Moulins

Moulins sits right in central France, north of Vichy. Before the French Revolution, it was the seat of the Dukes of Bourbon – evidence of which you can see in the impressively grand architecture. There are many museums, which unfortunately I didn’t have time to visit, including the Anne de Beaujeu Museum and The National Center of Costume and Scenography (which is quite famous).

Trivia: Coco Chanel went to school in Moulins as an orphan, before moving to Paris.

The experience? It’s a fairly forgotten town, quite clean, but with a general air of lack of a thriving economy. A day is plenty to see the main sites.

I stayed at *Le Clos de Bourgogne, which was okay, but not a place I’d return to. It’s a bit out of town (a short walk), in an area that feels quite down-at-the-heels. The staff are only around in the mornings and late afternoon, evenings, giving a bit of a haunted house feeling. It’s a pretty property in good repair, though. No A/C, which I don’t mind, but it’s right on the street so you either bake with windows closed in the summer, or have a lot of noise. The restaurant is closed until they source a chef, which is unlikely for 2024.

*Le France Bistro was a definite skip – very limited menu and low quality food.

Montluçon

Montluçon is very centrally located in France. Like Moulin, it’s a place you may drive close to, but it’s unlikely to be the destination. 

The town  was built in the Middle Ages, around the eleventh century in the traditional province of Bourbonnais. Guillaume, son of Archambaud IV of Bourbon, built the castle in a defensible position on a small rocky hill on a bend in the river Cher. It was taken by Henry II in 1171, and by Philip Augustus in 1181; the English were finally driven out in the 14th century.

In the 14th century, Louis II de Bourbon re-built the castle (in 2025, under more renovations and closed to the public) and walls. Montluçon and other Bourbon lands reverted to the French crown in 1529, and Henry IV further improved the defenses. The historic center today has a good collection of buildings from the 15th and 16th centuries and is rather picturesque.

The city was occupied in WWII – specifically, the Germans occupied the Dunlop tire plant to exploit the research laboratory to synthesize rubber, since natural rubber could not be imported by Germany. For this reason, the Allies bombed the site in 1943. It’s surprising how much remains of historical importance, considering.

All this preamble aside – this is not a thriving town. The bones are there for a cute destination, and it’s fairly clean and maintained, but we found it to be quite empty, and with all the signs of a town that isn’t thriving: empty storefronts, too many tattoo parlours, high fast food to restaurant ratio. We had a well-below average salad and pizza at *Pizzeria El Padre.

Notable buildings: **Église Notre-Dame dates from the fourteenth century. It’s oddly unbalanced, with massive columns creating two sections. Very pretty from the outside, though. The **Église de St-Pierre is partly from the 12th century, and has a surprising barrel-vaulted ceiling and several important sculptures.

Vichy

Vichy is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of the Great Spa Towns of Europe, a designation it gained in 2021. It’s also an important (in a dark way) WWII history destination: it was chosen to be the capital of the French State from 1940 to 1944, during the Vichy regime.

It’s believed that Vichy was a crossroads during the Gallic period, quickly discovered by Julius Caesar in his movements between the two Gallic “capitals,” Gergovie and Bibracte (read about these places in my posts on Puy-de-Dôme and Autun). The Gallo-Romans developed the village that they called Aquis Calidis  (the “hot waters” in Latin) – in addition to literally enjoying the waters, there were significant activities from pottery making and forging and making coins.

There were various transfers of ownership over the years, without major strife or decline, which is fairly unusual for France. The story picks up again during the Wars of Religion (multiple devastating invasions). From the end of the sixteenth century and the beginning of the seventeenth century, spa guests came to be treated in Vichy where the waters quickly acquired an almost miraculous reputation. The famous (and often unwell) super-publicizer was the Madame de Sévigné, who popularized the description of water intakes and baths in her letters, claiming the waters of Vichy, healing her from a paralysis of the hands, allow her to regain the use of her pen.

In 1761 and 1762, the princesses Adélaïde and Victoire, daughters of Louis XV, came to stay in Vichy for the first time – influenced by Madame de Sévigné. They returned in June and July 1785 and stayed in the Capuchin convent, bringing more than 250 guests. Upon their return to Versailles, they asked their nephew Louis XVI to build more spacious and pleasant baths; they were built in 1787.

In 1799, Letizia Bonaparte, mother of Napoleon, had a cure with her son Louis – again, there was criticism the town wasn’t “enough,” and more investment followed on the order of the emperor. By the 19th century, Vichy was a fashionable resort – but it is the stays of Napoleon III, between 1861 and 1866, that will lead to a profound transformation of the city: the Allier River is dammed. English-style parks of thirteen hectares replace the old swamps. Along the newly traced urban axes, chalets and pavilions are built to house the emperor and the imperial suite. The city becomes one of the most popular resorts of overseas colonials, and more particularly those from Algeria, following medical advice that advocates Vichy water for its treatment of colonial and tropical diseases, especially malaria.

Vichy welcomed 40,000 spa visitors in 1900, and nearly 110,000 on the eve of the First World War. The opera, inaugurated in 1903, welcomes all the biggest names on the international scene: it is the summer capital of music in France.

WWI goes as expected: the army requisitions many hotels and large villas and transforms them into temporary military hospitals.^. During the conflict, more than 140,000 soldiers were hospitalized in Vichy – including a major hospital for American wounded. Post war, thermal activity resumed quite quickly – visitor volume reached its peak in the 1930s. 

WWII is a different story: Following the armistice signed on June 22, 1940, the French government left Bordeaux because it was now located in an occupied area and moved to Clermont-Ferrand, located in a free zone. But the city is not suitable: working class, industrial. Vichy is swiftly adopted (by July 1), given the second-largest hotel capacity of the country, and its relative proximity to Paris (4 hours and 30 minutes by train). From that date, Vichy was, for more than four years, the seat of the French government.

The city rebounded a bit in the 1950s and 1960s – in particular with North African French – but has been on a long, complicated period of decline since, though there are continual signs of cleanup and things are generally in decent repair.

All that said, we enjoyed ourselves. It’s not particularly worth a major detour, but if you’re nearby, there’s enough to fill a day. We saw lots of invalids (as you’d expect in a spa town), and an aging population (this is a major retirement destination, and well over 50% of the population is over retirement age). The downtown is cute, with a really lovely central park, and additional green spaces line the river. There are a ton of sporting centers, especially on the west bank of the river. Lots of shopping. It seems very affordable – you can buy a decent condo for 150K. Lots of dining options, fairly lively at night, without feeling crowded (even in mid-August, when we visited).

Aside from eating, we walked around the town several times, explored the waterfront (casual on the Vichy side, more formal dining on the opposite bank), and rented bikes. There’s a nice loop to the south along the river that is well maintained and mostly shaded; the sections to the north were more industrial and less appealing.

Lodging was tricky: we came to the conclusion that there may not be anything that meets our standards in town. We stayed at *Pavillon d’Enghien and will not return. Too expensive for what you get, rigid and unaccommodating staff, limited in service in general, no parking, small rooms. Breakfast was okay, though there was a weird issue with the staff continually removing our eggs from the boiler before cooking was complete. The pool is open for very limited hours in the afternoon.

Try for one of the nicer stays in the countryside (Château de Charmeil for example). If you’re committed to staying in town perhaps Un Riad à Vichy is okay, and Hôtel Les Nations looked acceptable for a very budget option. Aletti Palace looked very tired, Célestins Spa Thermal & Hôtel also very tired and hospital-like. Maison Decoret might work, but it’s currently closed after a fire nearby.

Where we ate

• We had a drink at *Bistrot Bocuse Original Comptoir, the more casual downstairs bar area below the fancier La Rotonde – Bocuse. The whole experience seems a bit dated, I wouldn’t go out of the way to return.
• **Les Caudalies is a popular gastronomic bistro housed within a historic Second Empire-style Napoleon III salon. The food was very good and the menu surprisingly large, with a long list of day specials. Service ran a little slow, but within acceptable limits. Recommend.
• **La Coupe d’Or Vichy was my favorite meal, a bit more modern than Les Caudalies, with a nice street-side patio and very friendly staff. 
• **L’atmosphère is a popular river-side location with very tasty food and a big cocktail menu, a nice weekend lunch option.

La Route des Églises Peintes du Bourbonnais

There’s a fairly well organized way to explore the rural Romanesque churches of the Allier – 25 in total. Stop by a regional Tourist Office for a map, or check out the website. While you might find some closed, our stops so far have generally revealed open doors and some interesting historical finds.

Billy comes up on quite a few “what to do in the region” lists, and unfortunately, I am not convinced it’s worth a detour. The *Château de Billy is a ruined 13th – 14th century castle, fine for what it is, but not particularly notable as an experience.

Nearby *Église St Cyr Ste Julitte was founded in the 6th century and remodeled over time – aggressively so; it’s a fairly neutral canvas. It features a bare, 11th-century Romanesque crypt, where winemakers historically stored surplus wine. 

Eglise Saint-Mazeran in Broût-Vernet was closed during our visit. The exterior in general is in good repair, and reportedly there are “vibrant ornamental wall designs” on the interior.

**Église Saint-Cyr-et-Sainte-Julitte, in Escurolles: A Romanesque parish church (11th and 12th centuries) listed as an official French Monument Historique. It is highly regarded for its multiple layers of original mural paintings uncovered during restoration. While it’s not in the best repair, it has a nice “hidden find” energy to it, and lots of charming little details to discover.

**Église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine de Neuilly-en-Donjon is great! Check out that portal, can you find Mary Magdalene? Adam and Eve? There’s not much on the interior, but the exterior is very worth it. Approximate dating to 1312.