Auvergnehols, Sightseeing

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Our winter view

Moody sunrise

A local chamois

Red kite

Dauzat church

St Austremoine church, Issoire

Millau bridge

Nearby stream

Dramatic sky from our window

Green Auvergne

The Auvergne
One of the most beautiful regions of France, where nature still reigns supreme. Bisected by the A75 , one of the few toll-free Autoroutes in France, the area to the west is dominated by several hundred volcanoes, Puy de Dôme being the most famous (and feared by the cyclists of the Tour de France!), the Massif du Sancy and the Massif du Cantal, both with their own ski stations.

The Massif du Cantal is home to the highest volcano in Europe. To the east of the region is the Livradois Forez and the impressive town of Le Puy-en-Velay, the starting point of the “Via Podiensis”, one of the four routes used since the 12th Century by pilgrims to reach the Spanish Sanctuary of St Jacques de Compostelle.

What to do in the Auvergne?
Where to start? If you want nightclubs, haute couture houses, theme parks and all that razzamatazz, then we suggest Paris. This is where you come to get away from all that and recharge the batteries. The walking is spectacular, whether you want a gentle amble or a full-on hike, there are signposted routes in abundance, or you can choose mountain biking, road cycling or horse riding.

There are new fast trains, old, slow steam trains, funiculars and the “Velorail”, a wonderful contraption that two of you pedal along an old railway track through the heart of the Cézallier plateau and the Allier gorges, across magnificent viaducts and panoramic spaces. Or you can take to the water, either as a means of transport or to fish. There is rafting, canoeing, kayaking, water skiing, sailing, rowing or swimming and sunbathing on the shores of some of the most beautiful lakes in France, again a result of the volcanic activities of the ancient past.

The impressive waterways also boast a host of fish and both angling courses and guided fishing trips are available. The flora and fauna of the Auvergne is both diverse and plentiful. Both black and red kites, kestrels, buzzards and Montagu’s harriers soar on the thermals. Many rare birds can be spotted, including the Hoopoe, Boreal owl and red-backed shrike. There are red squirrels, foxes, chamois and marmots to be seen. The plant life is astounding – mushrooms galore (identification guides are available to ensure you are not going to poison your fellow holiday-makers!), the yellow Gentian from which the local Salers aperitif is distilled, and the most splendid carpets of wild daffodils, crocus, orchids, poppies and even the humble dandelion cloak the meadows in colour from spring to autumn.

Where nature stops, man has carried on
From the Bourbons to Reine Margot, the chivalry of the Comptes de La Palice to the revolutionary ideals of Lafayette, the Auvergne’s architectural heritage is legendary. There are chateaux, both ruined and restored, to explore, over 250 Romanesque buildings, beautifully preserved.

The most picturesque bustling market towns, imposing larger towns such as Clermont Ferrand with its black cathedral built of volcanic stone, whose regional airport boasted the first concrete runway ever laid, also the home to Vulcania, the European Park of Volcanism scientific exploration centre, Thiers, cutlery capital of France, Aurillac, producing umbrellas since the early 19th century, Ten Spa towns (thanks to the volcanoes) offering water treatments, public baths, parks with bandstands, a casino (all Spa towns have casinos!), and stunning villages built upon the slopes of the mountainsides seeming to be tumbling into the streams that fill the valleys below.

Have we tired you out yet?
Are you ready to sit back and relax over a meal and a drink? This is the home of Michelin stars (and the home of Michelin tyres, but that’s another story!), the culinary delights of the region are made with local fresh produce and some designed to fill and satisfy to provide the energy to climb our mountains or light enough to let you stick to your diet if you don’t think it deserves a holiday as well. Every village seems to have its own recipes for terrines, pâtés and dry sausages and hams.

The Puy lentil, the first vegetable to be awarded AOC status, features on many menus. Truffade – a wonderful generous dish of potato and Cantal cheese, served with cold meats and salad, Pounti (a terrine of Auvergne ham, pork breast and prunes), stew and casseroles, high quality meats from stock bred on the vast mountain summer pastures, fish from the rivers and lakes. Tarts and sweets made from locally grown bilberries, raspberries, apples etc and then the cheese board! The Auvergne is the only region in France which produces five AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) cheeses – Fourme d’Ambert and Bleu d’Auvergne, both blue veined, Saint-Nectaire, soft and creamy, Cantal, a harder cheese available in “young”, “old” and “between the two” degrees of ripeness, and lastly Salers, forerunner to Cantal with a stronger smell.

If you are a cheese lover, rather than have the cheese brought to your table, you can tour the Auvergne RDO Cheese Route with up to 50 farms where you will be welcomed to the cheese dairies and maturing cellars. Here you can watch production, sample the cheeses, sometimes watch film of production and, obviously, buy the end products.

The wines of the area were once some of France’s most important, before the phylloxera epidemics. Now replanted, the Côtes d’Auvergne created from the Gamay, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines include Madargue, Chanturgue, Châteaugay, Boudes and Corent Rosé. The Saint-Pourçain vineyards, originally planted by the Phoenicians, are almost certainly the oldest in France, once reserved for royalty. Now diversified, they produce Tressailler and Chardonnay, Gamay, Pinot, and rosés – enjoy….in moderation! For the more thirsty there is an absolute abundance of mineral water (again, thank the volcanoes). Many names you will recognise from home – Volvic, Vichy, Saint-Yorre – but many more, all with their own unique flavour, are available. We even have our own local Arvie water, bottled not 15K from our house.

Throughout the year the Auvergne is alive with festivals, fairs, rock and classical music concerts, folklore music and traditions, antique fairs, motor sports, cultural events and much more. A fortnightly publication, available from any Tourist Office, lists details. Our nearest town is home to a 25 hectare animal park, close by there are troglodyte caves to marvel at, the petrifying fountains of St Nectaire, a toy museum, a paper-making mill, and so much more.

There are around 20 golf courses in the region, parks, gardens and of course skiing in the winter. Super Besse and Le Mont-Dore in the Sancy Massif are within 20K (www.super-besse.com & www.mont-dore.com), offering downhill, cross-country, freestyle, boarding etc. Snowshoeing and sled dog rides are also available nearby. The winter months are usually bright, crisp and invigorating, the landscape taking on a completely different mantle – snowball fights followed by steaming bowls of soup or long walks rounded off with glasses of vin chaud await the winter holiday maker.

Spring and Autumn change the scenery yet again, the colours of spring are vibrant, the colours of Autumn threaten New England with their richness. When is it best to visit? We couldn’t decide, so we went for the whole package and live here permanently. We still can’t decide, so you must pick your own favourite time of year and come and discover the beauty and tranquillity of this wonderful region.