Culture and heritage in Auvergne

⛪Castles and heritage

Le Puy-en-Velay

• 45 min to 1 h 30

The UNESCO-listed cathedral of Le Puy-en-Velay. Black Virgin, pilgrims' mass for the Via Podiensis, Romanesque architecture with Byzantine influences.

⛪Castles and heritage

Ruynes-en-Margeride

• 30 min to 1 h 30
• Free
• Outdoors

Before the Eiffel Tower, Gustave Eiffel was already putting his name to a red iron giant: 565 metres long, 122 metres above the Truyère. You can take it in from the D909, the A75 or by boat.

🖼️Museums

Montluçon

• 1 h 30 to 2 h
• Under cover
• With the family

🌳Parks and gardens

Vichy

• 45 min to 1 h 30
• Outdoors
• With the family

⛪Castles and heritage

Le Puy-en-Velay

• 45 min to 1 h 30
• Outdoors
• With the family

⛪Castles and heritage

Moulins

• 1 h to 1 h 30

🖼️Museums

Moulins

• 1 h 30 to 2 h
• €€
• Under cover

The CNCS, unique in France. Opera, theatre and ballet costumes, in exhibitions renewed during the year.

🖼️Museums

Moulins

• 1 h 30 to 2 h
• €
• Under cover

⛪Castles and heritage

Vichy

• 45 min to 1 h 30
• With the family

⛪Castles and heritage

Issoire

• 45 min to 1 h 30

The largest of Auvergne's five major Romanesque churches, with an east end inlaid with black basalt mosaics.

⛪Castles and heritage

Saint-Pierre-Colamine

🖼️Museums

Lurcy-Lévis

⛪Castles and heritage

Orcival

• 45 min to 1 h 30

A major Romanesque church of Auvergne, built in the 12th century. In the choir, a Virgin in Majesty carved around 1170, in walnut and gilded silver.

⛪Castles and heritage

Clermont-Ferrand

• 45 min to 1 h 30
• Free
• With the family

Pale 12th-century Romanesque church, below the black cathedral. UNESCO-listed as part of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela, free entry, open every day.

⛪Castles and heritage

Murol

• 45 min to 1 h 30
• With the family

Medieval fortress founded in the 11th century, perched at 1,050 m facing the Sancy. Costumed tours, jousting and recreated living quarters.

⛪Castles and heritage

Polignac

• 1 h to 1 h 30
• Outdoors
• With the family

A medieval fortress above Le Puy, a 32 m keep, cradle of the Polignac family (11th-17th centuries).

🌳Parks and gardens

Clermont-Ferrand

• 45 min to 1 h 30
• Free
• Outdoors

🌳Parks and gardens

La Bourboule

• 1 h 30 to 3 h
• Free
• Outdoors

⛪Castles and heritage

Aiguilhe

• 45 min to 1 h 30

A 10th-century chapel perched on an 82 m volcanic pinnacle, reached by 268 steps.

🖼️Museums

Le Puy-en-Velay

• 1 h 30 to 2 h
• Under cover
• With the family

🎭Culture and shows

Clermont-Ferrand

• Under cover

⛪Castles and heritage

Saint-Nectaire

• 30 min to 1 h

One of the five major churches of Auvergne Romanesque art. 103 capitals, including the historiated set in the choir, and a Romanesque Virgin.

⛪Castles and heritage

Le Mont-Dore

• 45 min to 1 h 30
• With the family

Historic 1898 funicular, the oldest electric funicular in France still in service.

🌳Parks and gardens

Le Puy-en-Velay

• 45 min to 1 h 30
• Outdoors
• With the family

🎭Culture and shows

Vichy

• Under cover

🎭Culture and shows

Riom

• Under cover
• With the family

🎭Culture and shows

Cournon-d'Auvergne

⛪Castles and heritage

Tournemire

15th-century fortress at Tournemire, lived in by the same family since it was built around 1435.

⛪Castles and heritage

La Chaise-Dieu

• 1 h 30 to 2 h 30
• Under cover

A Gothic abbey church paid for by a local pope, a 26-metre Danse macabre, 14 Flemish tapestries of the 16th century: a thousand years of history at 1,080 metres, on the Livradois plateau.

🎭Culture and shows

Clermont-Ferrand

• Under cover

🌳Parks and gardens

Vichy

• 45 min to 1 h 30
• Outdoors
• With the family

⛪Castles and heritage

Orcines

• 45 min to 1 h 30
• Outdoors

🖼️Museums

Thiers

• 1 h to 1 h 30
• Under cover
• With the family

⛪Castles and heritage

La Roche-Blanche

• 45 min to 1 h 30
• Outdoors
• With the family

⛪Castles and heritage

Thiers

• 2 h to 3 h
• Free
• With the family

⛪Castles and heritage

Volvic

• 45 min to 1 h 30
• With the family

Medieval fortress on its volcanic spur, partly restored, above Volvic. Guided visits in July and August, and on certain autumn and winter weekends.

⛪Castles and heritage

Chavaniac-Lafayette

• 1 h 15 to 1 h 30
• €
• With the family

Lafayette's birthplace, where he was born on 6 September 1757: his room, Madame de Lafayette's salon and a park with an arboretum, a pond and a 300-year-old oak.

⛪Castles and heritage

Saint-Flour

• 30 min to 45 min

A 14th-15th century Gothic cathedral in black basalt at the top of the Saint-Flour rocky spur, with a medieval black Christ inside.

⛪Castles and heritage

Bourbon-l'Archambault

• 45 min to 1 h 30
• With the family

The cradle of the Bourbon dynasty, dismantled during the Revolution but still imposing.

⛪Castles and heritage

Parentignat

• 1 h
• With the family

A private 18th-century château, owned by the Lastic family since 1707. Guided visits only, at fixed times, from June to September in 2026.

⛪Castles and heritage

Brioude

• 45 min to 1 h 30
• Free

The largest Romanesque basilica in Auvergne. Ask at the entrance for the floor plan with the route marked, so you don't miss the 12th-century frescoes in the Saint-Michel chapel.

🖼️Museums

Clermont-Ferrand

• 1 h 30 to 2 h
• Under cover
• With the family

🌳Parks and gardens

Royat

• 45 min to 1 h 30
• Outdoors
• With the family

⛪Castles and heritage

Clermont-Ferrand

• 45 min to 1 h 30

Great mosque opened in 2010: a prayer hall with room for 1,500, a glass dome and two towers. Guided visit by appointment.

⛪Castles and heritage

Souvigny

• 45 min to 1 h 30

⛪Castles and heritage

Saint-Rémy-de-Blot

• 45 min to 1 h 30
• With the family

The ruined fortress perched above the Sioule gorges.

🖼️Museums

Le Mont-Dore

• 1 h to 2 h
• Outdoors

🖼️Museums

Moulins

• 1 h to 1 h 30
• Under cover
• With the family

🎭Culture and shows

Bellerive-sur-Allier

• Under cover

Trot and gallop races from May to September in a Belle Époque setting, opposite Vichy. One of the cheapest outings in the area.

⛪Castles and heritage

Vichy

• 45 min to 1 h 30
• Free
• With the family

Taste Vichy's 5 mineral springs for free under the great cast-iron hall of 1903. Each has its own taste and virtues: compare them.

🎭Culture and shows

Clermont-Ferrand

• Under cover
• With the family

⛪Castles and heritage

Mozac

• 45 min to 1 h 30

A 12th-century Romanesque church with exceptional historiated capitals and the shrine of Saint Calmin in Limoges enamel. An audio guide is available from the tourist office, and it's really useful.

🎭Culture and shows

Cébazat

• Under cover
• With the family

🖼️Museums

Murat

• 1 h to 1 h 30
• Under cover
• With the family

🌳Parks and gardens

Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule

• 45 min to 1 h 30
• Free
• Outdoors

⛪Castles and heritage

Arlempdes

• 45 min to 1 h 30
• With the family

13th-century fortress perched on its basalt crag, just above the young Loire. The first château the river meets on its course.

⛪Castles and heritage

Chanonat

Château classified as a historic monument at Chanonat, with 19 hectares of formal French gardens, cascades and a maze of greenery.

🖼️Museums

Saint-Flour

• 1 h to 1 h 30
• €
• Under cover

🌳Parks and gardens

Arpajon-sur-Cère

• 45 min to 1 h 30
• Free
• Outdoors

🖼️Museums

Saint-Bonnet-de-Salers

• 1 h to 2 h
• €
• Under cover