A crater lake, a lake with facilities, a sandy beach at the foot of the mountains: summer in Auvergne is often spent with your feet in the water. We've gathered here the places to swim and the ones where you can get on a paddleboard or into a kayak. Each page says what we know. For the rules on wild swimming, the guide that goes with it is just above.
Waterside
Narrow the list down: the count keeps up, and we always tell you what hasn't been verified yet.
24 lieux
Our pickSwimming spots
Rated 4.7 out of 5, 830 reviews
Cayres
An almost perfectly round crater at 1,205 m altitude, straddling Cayres and Le Bouchet-Saint-Nicolas. Lifeguarded swimming in July and August, a 3 km walk around the lake, easy with the family.
Our pickPaddle, kayak and water sports
Rated 4.8 out of 5, 380 reviews
Paray-sous-Briailles
The Allier's cable ski park: cable-towed wakeboarding on a lake, plus Aqua Park, paddleboarding and camping in summer.
Swimming spots
Rated 4.6 out of 5, 2,035 reviews
Chambon-sur-Lac
Two free beaches with lifeguards in summer, shallow water that warms up fast, paddleboarding facing the Sancy. Auvergne's big family swimming lake.
Paddle, kayak and water sports
Rated 4.9 out of 5, 30 reviews
Parentignat
Canoeing down the Allier with API Aventures: about ten kilometres along a wild river, shuttle included, near Issoire.
Paddle, kayak and water sports
Rated 4.6 out of 5, 358 reviews
Aubusson-d'Auvergne
The biggest leisure centre in the Livradois-Forez: Blue Flag beach, supervised swimming in summer, canoeing, paddleboarding and a walk round the lake.
Paddle, kayak and water sports
Rated 4.6 out of 5, 470 reviews
Langeac
A canoe-kayak base in Langeac for paddling down the Allier gorges, from short routes to multi-day expeditions.
Paddle, kayak and water sports
Rated 4.6 out of 5, 275 reviews
Trémouille
The only Pavillon Bleu (Blue Flag) beach in the Cantal in 2026, 125 hectares of water on the Artense plateau, with Optimist dinghy courses and hire in summer.
Paddle, kayak and water sports
Rated 4.6 out of 5, 415 reviews
Pont-du-Château
Canoe trips down the Allier between Coudes and Pont-du-Château: three routes, 10 or 20 km.
Swimming spots
Rated 4.5 out of 5, 686 reviews
La Tour-d'Auvergne
A small lake with supervised swimming at La Tour-d'Auvergne, with a fitness trail and a picnic spot.
Paddle, kayak and water sports
Rated 4.2 out of 5, 1,569 reviews
Cournon-d'Auvergne
Supervised swimming on Clermont's doorstep: a 5,000 m² swimming area, water games, wakeboarding and an animal park, on the banks of the Allier.
Paddle, kayak and water sports
Rated 4.6 out of 5, 179 reviews
Aydat
Approved sailing school on Lac d'Aydat: group lessons, children's courses, and hourly hire of catamarans, windsurf boards, paddleboards and kayaks, in season.
Paddle, kayak and water sports
Rated 4.5 out of 5, 194 reviews
Lavoûte-Chilhac
Canoe and kayak hire to paddle down the Allier gorges, routes from 2 hours to a full day.
Paddle, kayak and water sports
Rated 4.2 out of 5, 1,036 reviews
Lapte
Supervised swimming in summer and a full water sports base (paddleboards, sailing, kayaks, electric boats) on the Lavalette reservoir, at Lapte near Yssingeaux. The big lake of the Yssingelais.
Swimming spots
Rated 4.3 out of 5, 661 reviews
Vieure
Free swimming in the Bourbonnais, with the Blue Flag label: a floating pool supervised in summer, about twenty minutes from the Forêt de Tronçais.
Swimming spots
Rated 4.3 out of 5, 872 reviews
Vichy
A supervised sand beach in the heart of Vichy, on the edge of the Lac d'Allier. Free swimming all summer, guinguette (open-air café) atmosphere.
Swimming spots
Rated 4.4 out of 5, 331 reviews
Lacapelle-Viescamp
A peninsula on 570 hectares of lake, among the hills of the Châtaigneraie: the beach where the Aurillac area spends its summer days.
Swimming spots
Rated 4.4 out of 5, 327 reviews
Saint-Bonnet-Tronçais
The beach at the Étang de Saint-Bonnet is supervised in July and August, in the very heart of the Forêt de Tronçais. Swimming, pedalos, mini-golf and fitted-out banks at the water's edge.
Paddle, kayak and water sports
Rated 4.5 out of 5, 124 reviews
Vichy
Rowing club on the Lac d'Allier, founded in 1892. Taster sessions for beginners, leisure rowing hire, flat water with no current.
Paddle, kayak and water sports
Rated 4.2 out of 5, 634 reviews
Aurec-sur-Loire
A lake on the Loire on the doorstep of Saint-Etienne: pedalos, paddleboards, canoes and large green spaces.
Paddle, kayak and water sports
Rated 4.4 out of 5, 58 reviews
Lacapelle-Viescamp
Sailing school on the Lac de Saint-Étienne-Cantalès, at Lacapelle-Viescamp. Children's courses, private lessons, catamaran and windsurfer hire from May to September.
Paddle, kayak and water sports
Rated 4.4 out of 5, 19 reviews
Chilhac
Canoe trips down the Allier from Chilhac: several routes from 5 to 27 km in the upper Allier gorges, base open in summer.
Paddle, kayak and water sports
Rated 4.3 out of 5, 112 reviews
Chambon-sur-Lac
Pedalos, paddleboards, canoes and kayaks for self-service hire on the edge of Lac Chambon, facing the beach. No booking, April to September.
Swimming spots
Rated 4.2 out of 5, 207 reviews
Aydat
A 65-hectare lake born of a lava flow, at 850 m altitude and 25 minutes from Clermont-Ferrand, with a walk around the lake. The beach is undergoing works until summer 2028.
Swimming spots
Rated 4.0 out of 5, 325 reviews
Fridefont
On the Grandval reservoir, the only beach where swimming is allowed on the whole lake: supervised in July and August, pedalos and paddleboards, in the Truyère gorges.
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