Auvergne with the family

🎳Games and leisure

Clermont-Ferrand

• 1 h to 2 h
• €€
• Under cover

A team-games complex in Clermont-Ferrand: escape games, an action game in the style of a TV show, blind test (a name-that-tune music quiz) and quiz, enough to fill an evening with friends or a rainy afternoon.

🎳Games and leisure

Aubière

• 1 h 30
• €€
• Under cover

Three escape game rooms in La Pardieu, between Aubière and Clermont-Ferrand, open late in the evening: the ideal outing with friends or family.

💧Lakes

Besse-et-Saint-Anastaise

• 45 min to 2 h
• Free
• Outdoors

An almost perfect circle of water 800 metres across and 92 metres deep: Auvergne's deepest lake fills a crater born 6,900 years ago, between Besse and Super-Besse. The walk around it takes an hour.

🌋Volcanoes

Orcines

• Free
• Outdoors
• With the family

The perfectly round crater of the Chaîne des Puys: 45 minutes up, then a few hundred metres along the volcano's rim.

🌋Volcanoes

Orcines

• 1 h 30
• Free
• Outdoors

1,465 m, a Gallo-Roman temple at the top and 80 volcanoes lined up before your eyes. You walk up, you ride the train back down.

🌲Nature reserves

Chambon-sur-Lac

• Free
• Outdoors
• With the family

A national nature reserve at the foot of the Sancy: glacial cirque, chamois and mouflon, waterfalls and waymarked paths.

🖼️Museums

Montluçon

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

A museum of popular music housed in two town houses in the old centre of Montluçon, a collection unique in France.

🌳Parks and gardens

Vichy

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

Vichy's historic thermal park. UNESCO 2021, 13 hectares on the banks of the Allier, Belle Époque kiosks.

🌲Nature reserves

Aydat

• Free
• Outdoors
• With the family

The largest regional nature park in mainland France. 395,000 hectares, the Chaîne des Puys and its more than 80 volcanoes, a living AOP (protected designation of origin) terroir.

⛪Castles and heritage

Le Puy-en-Velay

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

A monumental 16 m Virgin at the top of the Rocher Corneille, cast from cannons taken at Sevastopol. 360° view from the crown.

🌋Volcanoes

Saint-Ours

• 2 h to 2 h 30
• €€
• Outdoors

An open-air volcano you can visit. A walk into the heart of the volcano, a little train, a 4D show to understand how it formed.

🎳Games and leisure

Roffiac

• 30 min to 2 h
• €€
• Under cover

Laser tag, escape games, racing simulators, axe throwing and karaoke under one roof, a stone's throw from Saint-Flour: the outing that gets everyone to agree.

♨️Spas and thermal baths

Vichy

• 2 h to 3 h
• Under cover
• With the family

Private spa in Vichy: a suite with a whirlpool bath, sauna and sensory shower, just for the two of you.

🏞️Swimming spots

Cayres

• Outdoors
• With the family

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.

🥾Hikes

Saint-Maurice-de-Lignon

• 30 min to 1 h
• Free
• Outdoors

A Himalayan footbridge suspended about 80 m above the Lignon gorges, 268 m long.

🖼️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.

⛷️Skiing and snowshoeing

Laveissière

• Outdoors
• With the family

Auvergne's main ski resort. Nearly 60 km of slopes, alpine and Nordic, family atmosphere.

🚴Cycling and mountain biking

La Bourboule

• Outdoors
• With the family

The mountain bike and electric mountain bike hire shop at Parc Fenestre, with guided outings in the Sancy massif.

✨Unusual experiences

Saint-Rémy-en-Rollat

• Free
• With the family

A quarter of an hour from Vichy, one of the biggest private mineral collections in France: 300 m² of minerals and fossils, free entry.

🚣Paddle, kayak and water sports

Paray-sous-Briailles

• 1 h to 3 h
• Outdoors
• With the family

The Allier's cable ski park: cable-towed wakeboarding on a lake, plus Aqua Park, paddleboarding and camping in summer.

🚴Cycling and mountain biking

Aydat

• Outdoors
• With the family

Mountain bike hire, with or without electric assistance, plus road and gravel bikes and guided rides in Aydat, by the lake.

🏞️Gorges

Prades

• 1 h to 2 h
• Free
• Outdoors

80 km of wild canyon in the Haut-Allier, between basalt cliffs and villages clinging to the rock.

🖼️Museums

Moulins

• 1 h 30 to 2 h
• €
• Under cover

The Bourbons' museum, in Anne de Beaujeu's Renaissance pavilion.

🏞️Gorges

Chantelle

• 2 h 30
• Free
• Outdoors

Four kilometres of gorges carved by the Bouble between Chantelle and Deneuille: remains of mills, a steep-sided river and paths with open access all year round.

🎳Games and leisure

Clermont-Ferrand

• 1 h 15 to 1 h 30
• €€
• Under cover

A sensory course in the dark: your five senses put to the test for 1 hour 15, to do with mates or as a family from age 7.

🎳Games and leisure

Clermont-Ferrand

• 1 h to 2 h
• €
• Under cover

🎳Games and leisure

Riom

• €€
• Under cover
• With the family

🎳Games and leisure

Clermont-Ferrand

• 1 h 15 to 2 h 15
• €€
• Outdoors

A real-life treasure hunt through the streets of old Clermont: you follow the puzzles, a game master goes with you, and you discover the city as you solve them.

🎳Games and leisure

Clermont-Ferrand

• 1 h to 1 h 30
• €€
• Under cover

Five themed rooms, one hour to get out, on Rue Lamartine in the middle of Clermont-Ferrand: the escape game rated 4.9 stars.

🎳Games and leisure

La Bourboule

• 1 h to 1 h 30
• €€
• Under cover

Three escape rooms in the heart of the resort, from an 1890 American train to infiltrating the Yakuza, with a bar to debrief after the game.

⛪Castles and heritage

Vichy

• 45 min to 1 h 30
• With the family

France's only Art Nouveau opera house: more than 1,400 seats, opened in 1901, gold and ivory under the dome.

🎳Games and leisure

Clermont-Ferrand

• 45 min to 1 h 30
• €€
• Under cover

🎳Games and leisure

Clermont-Ferrand

• 1 h to 1 h 30
• €€
• Under cover

Two escape game missions designed in Clermont-Ferrand, a pirate ship and a cursed manor, for 2 to 6 players and one hour to get yourselves out.

⛪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

The big Romantic-style park in the centre of Clermont-Ferrand. 5 hectares, a pond, a waterfall and century-old trees.

✨Unusual experiences

Clermont-Ferrand

• With the family

The Michelin museum on the historic site in Clermont. Since 1889: Bibendum, tyres, maps and the Guide, across 2,000 m² of interactive tour.

🏞️Swimming spots

Chambon-sur-Lac

• 1 h to 4 h
• Free
• Outdoors

Two free beaches with lifeguards in summer, shallow water that warms up fast, paddleboarding facing the Sancy. Auvergne's big family swimming lake.

🌳Parks and gardens

La Bourboule

• 1 h 30 to 3 h
• Free
• Outdoors

Twelve hectares of landscaped park dating from 1874 in the very centre of La Bourboule: sequoias, little train, 1900 carousel and rides, entry open to all.

🖼️Museums

Le Puy-en-Velay

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

A museum in Le Puy-en-Velay. Lace, palaeontology, fine arts: the museum that tells the story of Haute-Loire, rethought in 2018.

🎳Games and leisure

Aubière

• 1 h to 2 h
• €€
• Under cover

26 cells, 26 challenges to take on as a team against the clock: a high-energy adventure game in Aubière, on the doorstep of Clermont-Ferrand.

🎳Games and leisure

Aubière

• 1 h to 2 h
• €€
• Under cover

Laser tag over 5 rooms, a trampoline park, a karaoke-style blind test and an arcade: the indoor combo for a day out with friends or a birthday, in Aubière, south of Clermont.

⛷️Skiing and snowshoeing

Les Estables

• Outdoors
• With the family

Ski resort in Les Estables, at the foot of the Mézenc. Alpine and Nordic, with the feel of a mid-mountain village.

⛪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

A public park in Le Puy-en-Velay, 4.5 ha in the lower town beneath the old town: pond, free mini-zoo, bandstand.

🌲Nature reserves

Saint-Gervais-sous-Meymont

• Free
• Outdoors
• With the family

Auvergne's 2nd regional nature park (PNR), created in 1986: rolling forests, the panoramic railcar from Ambert to La Chaise-Dieu, Thiers cutlery, the paper museum in Ambert.

📸Photo spots

Vichy

• Outdoors
• With the family

Vichy water at its source. Neoclassical pavilion from 1908, within Vichy's UNESCO-listed area (2021), free water fountain.

♨️Spas and thermal baths

Le Mont-Dore

• 2 h to 3 h
• Under cover
• With the family

Thermes du Mont-Dore. Gallo-Roman waters, 19th-century vaults, a thermal spa open to the general public from April to early November.

🪂Outdoor adventure

Saint-Anthème

• Outdoors
• With the family

The Livradois-Forez four-season resort: zip line and suspended nets in summer, family skiing in winter, without breaking the bank.

🎳Games and leisure

Orcines

• 1 h to 2 h 30
• €€
• Outdoors

An outdoor laser tag game, played in the open countryside around Orcines, that sets up wherever you want for 8 players or more.

🎳Games and leisure

Riom

• 1 h to 1 h 30
• €€
• Under cover

Two immersive rooms in Riom, a 1914-18 trench and a fugitive hunt: 60 minutes to solve the puzzle as a team, 2 to 6 players.

🎭Culture and shows

Riom

• Under cover
• With the family

A small-capacity concert venue in Riom: rock, chanson, rap or reggae, plus a proper season for young audiences.

🎳Games and leisure

Thiers

• €€
• Under cover
• With the family

🚴Cycling and mountain biking

Châtel-Guyon

• Outdoors
• With the family

Electric mountain bike hire and guided rides in the Chaîne des Puys, starting from Châtel-Guyon.

💦Waterfalls

Laqueuille

• Free
• Outdoors
• With the family

A waterfall near Laqueuille: 30 min of easy walking there and back, a lava flow two million years old and its basalt columns.

🎳Games and leisure

Saulcet

• 1 h to 2 h
• €€
• Under cover

Three escape rooms on a wine estate in the Allier, at Saulcet: a story in three chapters, from age 8, between Moulins and Vichy.

🌳Parks and gardens

Vichy

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

The thermal heart of Vichy, UNESCO-listed: bandstand, horse chestnut trees, and the Hall des Sources, where you can taste Célestins water for free.

⛷️Skiing and snowshoeing

Le Mont-Dore

• Outdoors
• With the family

The historic resort of the Sancy: 35 pistes just above the spa village of Le Mont-Dore, at the foot of the highest summit in the Massif Central.

🖼️Museums

Thiers

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

Forging, assembly, polishing: France's knife capital shows you everything, live.