Salers: why this village sums up the whole Cantal

The pitch

Salers has 310 inhabitants (2023), sits perched at 950 m and has been listed as a Plus Beau Village de France (one of the Most Beautiful Villages of France) since 1982. The stone is black (volcanic), the cows are red (the local Salers breed), the cheese smells just as it should. And out of season, you can walk through it without meeting a soul.

01Why go now

May to October is the right window. Out of season, plenty of shops close and the climate at 950 m can be brutal.

02What you absolutely have to do

Walk the main street at daybreak

Get up at 06:30, grab your coffee to go and walk down the main street. Nobody around. The fog lifts over the valley. The wooden shutters open one by one. If you want to understand the Cantal in 20 minutes, this is the moment.

Understand Salers AOP

Not Cantal, Salers. This AOP (protected designation of origin) is strictly farmhouse: raw whole cow's milk, worked in a gerle (a wooden vessel), from 15 April to 15 November, when the cows are out in the pastures. All breeds are allowed: only the “Tradition Salers” label requires the milk of Salers cows. On the palate, it is more rustic and more powerful than classic Cantal. From one farm to the next, the cheese changes: every Salers has its own taste.

Have a coffee on the Place Tyssandier d'Escous

The central square, postcard scenery. You order a coffee on one of the square's terraces, you look at the black shutters, you listen to the cows in the distance. That's it.

Eat a truffade by the fire

Truffade is the other name for the Cantal. Potatoes + the day's fresh tomme, melted in a frying pan, served with a green salad and country ham. At the restaurant Les Remparts, avenue de Barrouze, the cooking is Auvergnat and homemade.

03Pitfalls to avoid

• Buying your cheese at random: a Salers AOP is recognised by its red plaque and the imprint engraved into one face.
• Coming in the height of summer and hoping for calm: for a quiet wander, aim for May-June or September instead.
• Underestimating the road: from Aurillac, it's the D922 then the D680, about forty kilometres with plenty of bends.

04Where to stay

Two schools of thought: a hotel in the village, or a rural gîte in the countryside around it. We prefer the second: you sleep on a farm or in a restored longère (a traditional low farmhouse), in peace and quiet.