Puy de Mur loop

The route winds around the Puy de Mur with the meanders of the Allier, the Chaîne des Puys and plenty of viewpoints in the background. You wind your way over former vineyards, discovering a varied heritage (château, Romanesque church, dovecote..).

Start: from the start sign (Fountain and wash house), go up to the left towards the village along rue de la Croix de Laire Basse, then rue des Noyeraies. Take rue de la Paix, rue Marchidial, the steps and rue de l'Ancienne Église in turn. At the fork, go up to the left to reach the top of the hill (Chapel) and the orientation table (view of the Chaîne des Puys and the Limagne). Cross the park and go down the grassy path. Turn right onto rue de la Croix de Laire Haute for 200 metres and turn right onto the first track to reach the road (rue Chatel Vieux).

1. Go left for 50 metres, then turn right onto the first track. Carry straight on to the road. Cross it and climb straight ahead, then at the crossroads go straight on. On leaving the wood, ignore the track on the left and carry on (view of the Limagne and Pont-du-Château) along this wide track for about 2 km to a road. Take it to the left for 100 metres and take the track on the right (view of the Sancy and the Chaîne des Puys) as far as the first house.

2. Go up to the left; at the next crossroads carry straight on. Reach the road, take it to the right for 100 metres and turn off to the right onto a track (water tank). Follow it along the hillside and climb to the out-and-back point at the T-junction. Turn left and left again in the clearing. Reach the summit of the Puy de Mur by a track on the left, which continues as steps and then with a second flight of steps on the right. (360° panoramic view).

3. Go back down for 300 m by the same track; at the end of the out-and-back, carry straight on towards Mezel, leaving the track on the right. At the first houses, take chemin du Trat, then straight ahead rue du Chemin de Ronde; at its end, turn left onto rue Guyot Dessaigne. At the cross (view of the Val d'Allier, the Sancy and the Chaîne des Puys) go back up this street to the left towards the top of the village (on the right, church and château (12th to 16th century) as far as rue Marmondieu. (On the left, at the corner of the car park, Mezel start sign).

4. Follow this street and turn right onto rue de Font-Grande. Just before the roundabout, go up to the left and immediately to the right. At the dovecote, at the fork, bear right. Carry on along this track, go down towards the road and, just before it, turn left. At the junction go down to the right. At the road, go right to return to the start.