A weekend in the Allier comes down to three options. In the north, Moulins and the Bourbonnais of the dukes: stage costumes, a priory, a fortress, a mustard village. In the west, Tronçais and the Cher valley: four-century-old oaks, the deer rut in October, Montluçon and its guitars. In the south, Vichy and the Montagne bourbonnaise: thermal water, the Parc des Sources listed as a historic monument, hikes and yurts. Two days are enough for just one of these itineraries, not all three: the département is 130 km across from west to east. Here are the three programmes, with their opening times and prices.
The answer in 30 seconds
| You feel like | Choose | Base | The best time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Museums, castles, a village with character | Itinerary 1, Moulins and the Bourbonnais | Moulins (direct from Paris-Bercy) | All year round in Moulins; Souvigny and Bourbon-l'Archambault close in November |
| Forest, silence, the deer rut, rock'n'roll | Itinerary 2, Tronçais and the Cher valley | Montluçon or a gîte in the forest | Deer rut from mid-September to mid-October |
| Spa, architecture, cafés, hiking | Itinerary 3, Vichy and the Montagne bourbonnaise | Vichy (30 min by train from Clermont) | All year round; spa for ages 16 and over |
One tip for all three: stay two nights in the same place, as changing hotels on Saturday evening costs you half a day. Our listings are on the page for the Allier.
Itinerary 1: Moulins and the Bourbonnais of the dukes
The most "cultural" one, with a day in Moulins that can be done entirely without a car. Moulins was the capital of the duchy of Bourbon and has kept a density of museums that is rare for a town of 19,000 inhabitants.
Saturday: Moulins on foot
10:00. The CNCS, the Centre national du costume et de la scène opens, in a former barracks on the banks of the Allier, a twenty-minute walk from the station. The Nureyev collection and, until 3 January 2027, the exhibition “Tous en scène !”. Open every day 10:00 to 18:00, the ticket office closes at 17:00. €10 full price, €6 for ages 12 to 25, free under 12, €26 for a family. Allow two hours.
12:30. Lunch at Divers Gens, place de la Liberté: seasonal cooking, locally bought produce, a short menu renewed every two months.
14:00. The Maison Mantin, our favourite in town. Louis Mantin bequeathed his house in 1905 on one condition: that it be left as it was, to show, a century later, how a 19th-century bourgeois lived. Guided tour compulsory, 15 places, 1 hour 15, by reservation (04 70 20 48 47). Tuesday to Saturday 10:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 18:00, Sunday 14:00 to 18:00. €12 full price, €9 reduced, free up to age 18, combined ticket with the neighbouring Musée Anne-de-Beaujeu (otherwise €6).
16:30. The Musée Anne-de-Beaujeu, then, followed by the cathedral and old Moulins.
Sunday: the tour of the dukes
09:30. Souvigny, 12 km away. The priory church houses the funerary chapels of the dukes of Bourbon. The church is free to enter, but these chapels can only be seen on a guided tour, starting from the museum. The museum and its garden (€6) open in autumn every day except Tuesday, 10:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 18:00, until 15 November. A €10 option adds the guided tour of the church, but it leaves at 15:30: save it for a Sunday spent there.
11:00. The church of Saint-Menoux, 6 km away, open every day from 09:00 to 19:00, until 17:00 in winter. Behind the altar, the débredinoire: a pierced sarcophagus where you put your head through to be cured of "bredinerie", simple-mindedness. Everyone tries it, nobody admits it.
12:00. Bourbon-l'Archambault and its castle, cradle of the dynasty: three towers above the spa town, with a view over the bocage (hedged farmland). 2026 season from 10 February to 7 November. From October until it closes, the castle is open only Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 18:00: on Sunday the door is shut, so swap the two days of the programme around. At noon, it closes its doors: have lunch in the town first, as the guided tour leaves at 14:00. €7 admission, €2.50 more with the guide. The Quiquengrogne tower and the canon's house (€8) can only be visited with the guide, on Saturday at 16:00.
15:00. Just under an hour's drive to Charroux, the only village in the Allier listed among the Plus Beaux Villages de France (the Most Beautiful Villages of France). The Cour des Dames, the Porte d'Orient, concentric lanes, and the mustard workshop: the mustard is made here with Saint-Pourçain white wine. In early November, it's the fête de la Soupe, the soup festival (in 2026, on Saturday 7 November): from 19:00, you wander the streets tasting the soups offered by the residents, in a €10 bowl. Bowls are limited: reserve yours on 04 70 56 81 65 from Monday 19 October, 10:00.
17:00. Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule and its vineyard, one of the oldest in France, an AOC (controlled designation of origin) since 2009: about 600 hectares across nineteen communes. A bottle of tressallier, the local white grape variety, and back to Moulins in thirty minutes.
Itinerary 2: the Forêt de Tronçais and the Cher valley
The nature itinerary, and the most seasonal. In October it has a selling point the other two don't: the deer rut. Recommended base: a gîte in Saint-Bonnet-Tronçais, or Montluçon for evenings in town (42 km).
Saturday: the oaks, then Montluçon
09:30. The Forêt de Tronçais: 10,583 hectares of sessile oaks managed by the ONF (the French national forestry office), reorganised after Colbert's 1669 ordinance for the royal navy, then run as regular high forest since 1835. Follow the circuit of the remarkable oaks: the Stebbing, the Jumeaux, the Sentinelle, the oldest of which are over 400 years old. The original Colbert high forest, for its part, has become a strict biological reserve, closed to the public for safety reasons; the ONF has opened the Colbert II high forest instead. Then the circuit of the Étang de Saint-Bonnet, 45 hectares in the middle of the woods. As for mushrooms: 5 litres per person per day, and only pick what you can identify without hesitation.
13:00. Lunch in Hérisson, 20 minutes to the south, a village huddled in a loop of the Aumance beneath the pink sandstone fortress of the dukes of Bourbon. In 2026, work is under way on the upper court: only the lower court is freely accessible.
15:00. Montluçon. The MuPop, the popular music museum, is the most unexpected in the département: 3,300 m² of instruments and sounds, from the hurdy-gurdy to the electric guitar. October to February, Tuesday to Saturday 10:00 to 17:00; €7.50 full price, €5 reduced, €3 for ages 6 to 12. Just above it, the château of the dukes of Bourbon houses the history museum (€6.50 full price, €2 for ages 6 to 12, same opening hours). Take the combined ticket at €12 instead of €14. Watch the day: late in the season both close on Sunday and Monday, so Saturday is your only window. Dinner and overnight in Montluçon, or back to the gîte if you're aiming for the deer rut.
The deer rut, from mid-September to mid-October
Every autumn, the ONF sets up a quiet zone and closes the Bouteille forest road, between the Rond du Chevreuil and the Rond de la Croix de Vitray. The dates change every year, and driving or parking on a closed road costs €135.
Take up position at one of these two ronds (forest crossroads), or at the deer rut observatory, on the Ligne verte. It can only be reached on foot: park on the RD 978A, at the entrance to the Ligne verte. Arrive before dark, stay on the paths, no torch pointed at the animals, no dogs, silence. Don't approach the stags. Our guide to the deer rut in Auvergne details the guided outings.
Sunday: the Cher gorges and the Sioule
09:30. The Cher gorges, south-west of Montluçon: the Rochebut reservoir, at Mazirat, 158 hectares sunk in the gorge behind a dam from 1909.
11:00. Drive east, 1 hour 15 from Mazirat or an hour from Montluçon, to the Sioule gorges. The Château de Chouvigny opens only from 15 July to 23 August, but the gorges road and the Roc Armand remain freely accessible.
13:00. Lunch around Ébreuil, then the Sioule rail bike, at Le Mayet-d'École: 16 km there and back on the old railway line, two viaducts, 1 hour 45 of pedalling. Season from April to the end of October; in September and October it runs on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, by reservation only. Late in the season there is only one check-in, at 14:30, for a departure 20 minutes later: arrive on time or you won't ride. €30 for a two-seater, €60 for a five-seater on the north circuit, €35 on the Gannat one.
17:00. Last stop at the Rouzat viaduct, between Bègues and Saint-Bonnet-de-Rochefort: 181 m long, 59 m above the Sioule, built in 1869 by Eiffel et Cie, fifteen years before Garabit. One of the firm's very first railway viaducts. From there, Vichy is thirty-five minutes away, Clermont forty-five.
Itinerary 3: Vichy and the Montagne bourbonnaise
The easiest one without a car, and the most "wellness". Vichy has been on the World Heritage list since 24 July 2021, along with ten other spa towns of Europe. For an all-thermal stay, we've already written a spa weekend in Vichy; here we mix things up.
Saturday: Vichy, the spa town
09:00. Start at the Hall des Sources, the great glass hall of 1903 that ends the covered gallery of the Parc des Sources. Open all year from 07:00 to 19:30, and the Célestins drinking fountain, on the east side, is free for everyone: have a taste, it's salty and fizzy, like nothing else. The other springs are reserved for curistes (people taking the cure).
10:00. A circuit of the Parc des Sources beneath the wrought-iron gallery, the Art Nouveau opera house, the villas of the spa district. The tourist office offers guided tours of the opera auditorium, in groups of 25 at most. In 2026: Saturdays 24 October and 14 November, then Sundays 20 and 27 December, from 16:00 to 17:30 (€12.50, €10 reduced, free under 8): on those days, keep the end of the afternoon for it, instead of the coffee.
12:30. Lunch at Les Caudalies: 900 wines on the list, traditional and creative cooking. Lunch service stops at 13:30. Otherwise, La Table d'Antoine. Book in both cases.
14:30. The afternoon at the Célestins Spa Thermal, 111 boulevard des États-Unis: giant thermal-water bath at 34°C, hammam, two saunas, ice fountain, herbal tea room. Two things to know. The Pass Thermal, which opens the relaxation area for half a day, costs €40 per person and is only sold Monday to Friday: on Saturday, you have to book a treatment of at least 25 minutes, from €80, access then being included. And entry is only allowed from age 16. Open 10:00 to 20:00, Sunday 09:00 to 13:00. For families, our guide to where to stay in Vichy lists the places to stay whose spa welcomes children.
17:00. Coffee at Venus Barista, before the place turns into a pub at 18:00, then the Parc Napoléon III by the lake as the light fades. A night in Vichy in 2026: double room from €69 in a three-star, from €159 at the five-star Célestins until 31 October.
Sunday: the Montagne bourbonnaise
09:30. Drive to Arfeuilles, about 40 minutes, for the Barbenan valley. The waymarked PR no. 26 circuit "Autour des Biefs" starts from the hamlet of Les Biefs: a 12 km loop, 3 hours, rated difficult, not recommended in bad weather. It does not lead to the Pisserotte waterfall, which is a private site: stay on the waymarked paths.
13:30. Picnic, or lunch at Le Mayet-de-Montagne.
15:00. The Rocher Saint-Vincent, at Lavoine: a block of ancient lava rising to 925 m, with a view over the Bois Noirs and the Sichon valley. The waymarked loop (PR no. 3, starting from the village) is 8 km, 2 hours 40 at an easy pace. Our favourite viewpoint in the département.
Mountain option. To stay overnight up there: Yourtissimo, at Laprugne, three yurts set around old cherry trees. No electricity or running water, dry toilets inside, a private bathroom in the owners' house. €80 a night for two, breakfast €10 per person.
18:00. Back to Vichy in 40 minutes, train to Clermont in half an hour. From April to the end of September, fans of board sports swap hiking for the Natural Wake Park in Paray-sous-Briailles.
How much a weekend costs
For two people, paid visits and activities come to €70 on itinerary 1, €54 on itinerary 2 and €25 on itinerary 3. The rest comes down to your table and your bed: that's where the budget is won or lost. The Vichy spa is paid for separately: €40 per person for the Pass Thermal, Monday to Friday only, more for treatments.
When to come to the Allier
October and November. The deer rut until mid-October, mushrooms, the russet vines of Saint-Pourçain, the Soup Festival in Charroux. The Moulins museums run all year. Closing over the course of autumn 2026: the rail bike at the end of October, the Château de Bourbon-l'Archambault on 7 November, the Souvigny museum on the 15th. Le PAL does not open for Toussaint (the autumn school holidays): its season runs from April to the end of September.
December to March. Moulins and Vichy can be visited with no problem. The Sunday of itinerary 1 loses the Souvigny museum and the Château de Bourbon-l'Archambault, which close in November. And in Tronçais, the paths are muddy.
April to June. The best time for itinerary 2: oaks in leaf, rail bike reopened. With children, Le PAL, in Saint-Pourçain-sur-Besbre, is better combined with itinerary 1.
July and August. Supervised swimming at the Étang de Saint-Bonnet and at the plage des Célestins, wake park, Château de Chouvigny. Everything is open and full: book early.
Frequently asked questions
The FAQ
Can you do the Allier in 2 days?
Yes, provided you choose only one itinerary. The département is 130 km across from west to east: Tronçais on Saturday and Vichy on Sunday means three hours of driving lost. Moulins for culture, Tronçais for nature, Vichy for water.
Which itinerary should you choose with children?
Itinerary 1 in winter (CNCS free under 12, Maison Mantin up to age 18, the débredinoire at Saint-Menoux) and itinerary 2 from spring: Étang de Saint-Bonnet, rail bike, MuPop. From April to the end of September, Le PAL, in Saint-Pourçain-sur-Besbre, is better combined with itinerary 1. The deer rut: save it for children over 8 who can keep quiet for an hour. The Vichy spa is not allowed for anyone under 16.
Can you do a weekend in the Allier by train?
On Saturday, yes, for itineraries 1 and 3. Paris-Moulins takes about 2 hours 30 by Intercités from Paris-Bercy, Paris-Vichy about 3 hours, Clermont-Vichy 30 minutes, Vichy-Moulins 26. Between Vichy and Montluçon, there's no direct train: change at Riom, allow about 2 hours. On Sunday in the countryside, a car is still needed.
How much does a weekend in the Allier cost?
Paid visits and activities don't add up to much: from €25 to €70 for two depending on the itinerary chosen, spa not included. Accommodation and food make the difference. In Vichy, the spa's Pass Thermal costs €40 per person, Monday to Friday only.
When is the deer rut in the Forêt de Tronçais?
From mid-September to mid-October. In the Forêt de Tronçais, the ONF then reserves the Bouteille forest road for pedestrians and bikes, on dates that change every year: in 2026, from 14 September to 19 October. Listen on foot from the Rond du Chevreuil or the Rond de Vitray, or from the deer rut observatory, in plot 336: it can only be reached on foot, via the Ligne verte from the RD 978A, and takes only twelve people at a time. No torch, no dog.
