Here, we head outside. Waterfalls deep in the woods, lakes sitting in old craters, gorges cut by the river, viewpoints that open onto the volcanoes: this page brings together the natural sites we've chosen, across all categories. You filter by département, by starting town, by time on site. We tell you what's free. The rest happens outdoors, boots on.
Nature
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122 lieux
Our pickLakes
Rated 4.8 out of 5, 2,407 reviews
Besse-et-Saint-Anastaise
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.
Our pickVolcanoes
Rated 4.8 out of 5, 2,375 reviews
Le Mont-Dore
The roof of the Massif Central at 1,885 m, a 360° panorama from the Cantal to the puys, and the source of the Dordogne on its north side.
Our pickVolcanoes
Rated 4.8 out of 5, 1,398 reviews
Orcines
The perfectly round crater of the Chaîne des Puys: 45 minutes up, then a few hundred metres along the volcano's rim.
Our pickViewpoints
Rated 4.8 out of 5, 1,389 reviews
Le Claux
1,783 m at the end of a 30-minute climb from the Pas de Peyrol, and seven glacial valleys fanning out beneath your feet.
Our pickVolcanoes
Rated 4.7 out of 5, 2,099 reviews
Orcines
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.
Our pickNature reserves
Rated 4.7 out of 5, 2,146 reviews
Chambon-sur-Lac
Our pickWaterfalls
Rated 4.8 out of 5, 1,049 reviews
Solignac-sur-Loire
Near Solignac-sur-Loire, a 27-metre drop from the top of a basalt cliff, 20 minutes' walk from the Reynardon car park. Come early, the site is popular.
Our pickNature reserves
Rated 4.6 out of 5, 16,389 reviews
Aydat
Our pickVolcanoes
Rated 4.6 out of 5, 8,833 reviews
Saint-Ours
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.
Our pick
Our pick
Our pickLakes
Rated 4.6 out of 5, 1,049 reviews
Charbonnières-les-Vieilles
A crater lake more than 60 m deep at the northern end of the Chaîne des Puys, with two swimming areas and a woodland path to walk all the way round it.
Our pickViewpoints
Rated 4.8 out of 5, 374 reviews
Saint-Jacques-des-Blats
Our pick
Our pickGorges
Rated 4.8 out of 5, 131 reviews
Prades
80 km of wild canyon in the Haut-Allier, between basalt cliffs and villages clinging to the rock.
Our pick
Our pickGorges
Rated 4.6 out of 5, 276 reviews
Chantelle
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.
Viewpoints
Rated 4.6 out of 5, 17,892 reviews
Orcines
The Puy de Dôme rack railway. 15 min to the summit, a 360° view over the UNESCO-listed Chaîne des Puys.
Nature reserves
Rated 4.5 out of 5, 7,041 reviews
Saint-Gervais-sous-Meymont
Viewpoints
Rated 4.8 out of 5, 345 reviews
Murat-le-Quaire
Viewpoints
Rated 4.8 out of 5, 265 reviews
Besse-et-Saint-Anastaise
Lac Pavin seen from above, from the rim of its crater: the deepest of Auvergne's lakes, 92 m deep. You walk up via a detour off the lake loop.
Waterfalls
Rated 4.7 out of 5, 417 reviews
Laqueuille
A waterfall near Laqueuille: 30 min of easy walking there and back, a lava flow two million years old and its basalt columns.
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Nature reserves
Rated 4.9 out of 5, 43 reviews
Anzat-le-Luguet
High plateau between the Puy-de-Dôme and the Cantal: steppes, burons (stone huts on the summer pastures) and Salers cows. Auvergne's Mongolia.
Volcanoes
Rated 4.7 out of 5, 340 reviews
Saint-Genès-Champanelle
A 1,167 m Strombolian volcano whose lava flow created the Lac d'Aydat. Climbing it has been banned since May 2026, during the works.
Gorges
Rated 4.4 out of 5, 1,331 reviews
Saint-Cirgues-de-Jordanne
A trail at the bottom of the gorges, right alongside the Jordanne: footbridges, waterfalls and rock walls, 20 minutes from Aurillac.
Waterfalls
Rated 4.7 out of 5, 267 reviews
Landeyrat
A waterfall near Landeyrat, in the middle of the Cézallier summer pastures: you park on the road, go through a gate, cross the pasture, and you are there.
Viewpoints
Rated 4.8 out of 5, 90 reviews
Orcival
A viewpoint at 1,268 m at the Col de Guéry, facing the Roche Tuilière and the Roche Sanadoire, two phonolite pinnacles. The Lac de Guéry is just below.
Gorges
Rated 5.0 out of 5, 3 reviews
Anglards-de-Saint-Flour
Waterfalls
Rated 4.6 out of 5, 715 reviews
Salins
South of Mauriac, the Auze plunges 30 metres in a single jet over a basalt ledge, in the middle of the forest.
Waterfalls
Rated 4.8 out of 5, 56 reviews
Andelat
The Sailhant waterfall, or Babory, at Andelat near Saint-Flour: a 500 m walk from the car park to a fall into a deep pool of dark water, close to the Château du Sailhant.
Waterfalls
Rated 4.7 out of 5, 320 reviews
Égliseneuve-d'Entraigues
A wide fall spread over basalt lava, a few minutes' walk from the Entraigues lake.
Waterfalls
Rated 4.7 out of 5, 168 reviews
Thiézac
Waterfall at Thiézac, in the Cère valley. Short path from the hamlet, forest atmosphere, worth seeing in spring.
Waterfalls
Rated 4.7 out of 5, 158 reviews
Besse-et-Saint-Anastaise
Waterfall at Besse-et-Saint-Anastaise. Short path, forest atmosphere, open access after a ten-minute walk.
Gorges
Rated 4.8 out of 5, 36 reviews
Laveissière
The Alagnon gorges trail, in Laveissière: a path laid out by volunteers, six footbridges and a trout river where the otter lives.
FindWaterfalls
Rated 4.8 out of 5, 28 reviews
Chambon-sur-Lac
A waterfall in the heart of the Chaudefour valley national nature reserve, a glacial valley in the Sancy: 2 to 3 hours there and back on foot.
Nature reserves
Rated 4.8 out of 5, 22 reviews
Ségur-les-Villas
Nature reserves
Rated 4.6 out of 5, 251 reviews
Meaulne-Vitray
An oak forest of nearly 11,000 hectares, replanted under Colbert for the royal navy. Lakes, morning mist, the silence of a cathedral.
Nature reserves
Rated 4.7 out of 5, 88 reviews
La Godivelle
Waterfalls
Rated 4.7 out of 5, 196 reviews
Picherande
Above Picherande, the Neuffonds stream tumbles down an old lava flow. Twenty minutes of easy walking to reach the top of the falls.
Waterfalls
Rated 4.8 out of 5, 58 reviews
Malbo
On the Siniq, above Malbo, a mossy fall drops into a clear pool. And you can walk behind the curtain of water.
Waterfalls
Rated 4.6 out of 5, 358 reviews
Perpezat
Above Lac de Guéry, a drop of a dozen metres that tumbles down basalt columns, twenty minutes' walk away.
Gorges
Rated 4.5 out of 5, 590 reviews
Ceyrat
Gorges cut into the granite by the Artière, beneath pines and chestnut trees.
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Waterfalls
Rated 4.8 out of 5, 28 reviews
Trizac
A tiered waterfall tucked away in a wood listed as an Espace Naturel Sensible (a protected natural area), between Trizac and the Col d'Aulac. Direct access, 1 km there and back.
Gorges
Rated 4.8 out of 5, 27 reviews
Goudet
The young Loire runs between basalt columns and sandy beaches, at the foot of Château de Beaufort. Easy path from the bridge.
Gorges
Rated 4.6 out of 5, 156 reviews
Menat
Three stops and a river that loops right round: the Belvédère du Paradis at Queuille, the Viaduc des Fades and Château-Rocher, plus canoeing in the warmer months.
Waterfalls
Rated 4.8 out of 5, 18 reviews
Saint-Germain-l'Herm
A waterfall on the Faredonde, deep in the forests of the Haut-Livradois. Reached on foot from Saint-Germain-l'Herm, yellow waymarking.
Gorges
Rated 4.7 out of 5, 25 reviews
Saint-Gal-sur-Sioule
The Sioule's 15 km of canyon, a panoramic road and perched castles.
Waterfalls
Rated 4.7 out of 5, 95 reviews
Laveissière
A double waterfall under the fir trees above Laveissière, with an 1811 mill at the foot of the falls. Family loop of about 25 minutes.
Gorges
Rated 4.6 out of 5, 240 reviews
Olloix
A wild corridor where the Monne runs as a torrent between jumbled boulders, south of Clermont. Expect a waterfall, a basin and the Riberolles bridge.
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Waterfalls
Rated 4.6 out of 5, 231 reviews
Montfermy
A waterfall cut into the rock by Benedictine monks for their mill, in the middle of a loop of the Sioule.
FindViewpoints
Rated 4.7 out of 5, 15 reviews
Chambon-sur-Lac
The Dent de la Rancune, a 90-metre dyke standing in the heart of the Chaudefour reserve. You can admire it from the Chaudefour path, or climb it roped up.
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