Puy-de-Dôme

Puy-de-dome is a department in the Auvergne region. It is an area which is richly diverse in both landscape and 'flora and fauna' including eagles, eagle owls, ospreys, red squirrels, wild boar, roe deer, stags and mouflon sheep, to name but a few which inhabit this rather beautiful and largely undiscovered part of France.

Mountains, valleys, dormant volcanoes, volcanic lakes, plateaus and plains come together to form two of France's largest regional parks called the Volcanic Park and the Livradois Forest Park. The area was listed as a natural world heritage site in 2018.

Cities

• 1 Clermont-Ferrand - the capital of the former Auvergne region
• 2 Mont Dore – A spa town located at the head of the Dordogne river, just beneath Puy de Sancy. An excellent location for hiking.

Get in

By plane

The Auvergne capital of Clermont-Ferrand, which is in the Puy-de-Dôme, has its own regional airport called Aulnat, with flights from the UK.

By train

It is also well served by both rail, with links to Paris, Lyon and the South of France and motorway by the A75 which runs right through the centre of the Auvergne.

By tram

Travelling around the city has never been so easy with the Tram now fully open and which links Aubiere to the south and Riom to the north of Clermont and also encompasses the old historical district of Montferrand.

See

Chateaux and Romanesque churches are in abundance here with the chateaux at Murol, Saint Saturnin and Parentignat (near Issoire) being well worth visiting with the churches of Saint Nectaire/Orcival being of particular historical note.

The Michelin Adventure (the brand's heritage space), the Roger-Quillot art museum, MARQ, the Bargoin museum, the Henri-Lecoq natural history museum in Clermont-Ferrand, the Murat-le-Quaire scenomuseum, the departmental ceramics museum in Lezoux, the Richard-de-Bas historical paper museum and the Agricultural and Steam Machinery museum in Ambert, the Peynet museum in Brassac-les-Mines, the Mandet museum, the Auvergne regional museum in Riom, the Thiers cutlery museum, and the Rouets valley in Château_Gaillard.

Mineral, mining museum in Messeix

• 1 Mineral, mining museum in Messeix (Minérail, musée de la mine à Messeix), 2 allée des Sorbiers 63750 Messeix, ☏ +33 4 73 21 45 63. Apr-Sep 14:00-18:00. The Saint-Louis shaft pit includes models, a metal headframe, an extraction machine, tools, various machinery and a tourist mining train tours the site. €4-6.50. (updated Mar 2018)
• 2 Mining Museum in Brassac-les-Mines (Musée de la mine à Brassac-les-Mines), 59 D710 63570 Brassac-les-Mines, ☏ +33 4 73 54 30 88. Mid-Jun to mid-Sep: Tu-Su 15:00-18:00. Installed in the Bayard shaft extraction machine room. Galleries are reconstructed in the concrete base of the machine. On the mine square, the 34-meter metal headframe remains. €2-8. (updated Mar 2018)
• 3 Saint-Éloy-les-Mines Mine and Tourism House (Maison de la mine et du tourisme de Saint-Éloy-les-Mines), Carreau Saint-Joseph rue du Chevalement 63700 Saint-Éloy-les-Mines, ☏ +33 4 73 85 93 36, selm.maire@wanadoo.fr. May Jun Sa Su holidays 10:00-12:00 14:00-18:00; Jul Aug: W-sa 09:30-12:30 14:00-18:00, Su 10:00-12:00 14:00-18:00. Built at the foot of the Saint-Joseph shaft headframe. A small enclosed courtyard displays heavy equipment. The museum reception also serves as a tourist office. €2. (updated Mar 2018)

Do

This region is the 'Outdoor Enthusiast's Paradise' catering to both Summer and Winter pastimes. It is famous for its myriad of walking/hiking trails and is a major destination for orienteering. The well signposted trails incorporate the Chain of Puys, Cezallier Mountains, Sancy Mountains and Livradois Forest where 'jaw droppingly' beautiful views appear around every corner. The Vallee de Chaudfour and Saint Nectaire/Murol regions are of specific interest to walking enthusiasts with a love of wildlife and history.

Cyclists are also well catered for and rock climbing and aerial sports entusiasts can find many centers dedicated to these sports at the local tourist offices in any major town.

Fishing, kayak/canoeing is extremely popular on the departments with over 7,500 km of rivers most notably the River Allier at Issoire and Vic le Compte and also a variety of lakes including Lac Chambon, Lac Pavin and Lac d'Aydat.

For both downhill and Cross Country skiers the Sancy Mountain range contains three towns of note which are Le Mont Dore (North Facing) and Superbesse (South Facing) for downhill, both are around 1000m with gondolas to just below the summit of the Puy de Sancy at over 1850m. There is a link connecting the two resorts and this will keep even the most experienced skier happy because the lift queues are virtually non-existent out of school holiday periods! La Bourboule and the surrounding countryside caters for the Cross Country Skier extremely well with very challenging trails.

The area is famous for its thermal springs and Spas providing treatments and therapies for many ailments three of these are Le Mont Dore, La Bourboule and Saint Nectaire.

Sleep

• 1 Chateau Royal de Saint-Saturnin, Place de l'Ormeau, 63450 - Saint-Saturnin, ☏ +33 4 73 39 39 64, fax: +33 4 73 39 30 86, SaturninILA@ila-chateau.com. 13th century chateau-hotel in the Volcano Regional Park. Table d'hote restaurant, large car park, all rooms have en-suite bathrooms. €150-190.