Por el camino

Auvergne-Rhône Alpes Region

Departments: Ain, Allier, Ardèche, Cantal, Drôme, Isère, Loire, Haute-Loire, Puy-de-Dôme, Rhône, Métropole de Lyon, Savoie, Haute-Savoie.

Population: 8 million

Prefecture: Lyon

Surface area: 69,711 km2

Specialities: Beaujolais, Côtes du Rhône and Savoie wines, Lyon specialities (quenelles, cervelles de canut, saucisson), Auvergne potée, Savoy specialities (raclette, fondue, tartiflettes, diots, crozets), cheeses (beaufort, reblochon, cantal, bleu d'Auvergne, Salers, saint-Nectaire...), green lentil of Le Puy, waters (Evian, Thonon, Volvic) verbena, chartreuse.

Sports clubs: Olympique Lyonnais, AS Saint-Etienne, Clermont Foot 63, Grenoble Foot 38 (football). ASM Clermont, Lyon OU, FC Grenoble, Stade Aurillacois, US Oyonnax (rugby), ASVEL Villeurbanne (basketball), Chambéry (handball), Brûleurs de loup Grenoble, Pionniers de Chamonix (ice hockey).

Competitions: women's football world cup, ski competitions (Première neige criterium in Val d'Isère), Tour de France mountain passes, Critérium du Dauphiné.

Economy: (8th European region) high-tech industries, automotive (Berliet), metallurgy, rubber, plastics, chemicals, electronics, agri-food, textiles, digital, banks, universities, administration, wine-growing. Tyres (Michelin). Design. New technologies (Inovallée). Winter and summer tourism. 

Festivals: Fête des Lumières in Lyon / Nuits de Fourvière in Lyon / Quais du polar in Lyon / Biennale du design in Saint-Etienne / La Chaise-Dieu classical music festival.

Tourist attractions: Old Lyon and Croix-Rousse, Le Puy-en-Velay cathedral, Lake Annecy, Chambery castle, winter sports in Isère, Savoie and Haute-Savoie, Cantal, spa resorts, Auvergne volcanoes. Pont d'Arc cave. Château de Grignan. Grenoble Bastille. Vulcania. Parc des Oiseaux.

Websites and social networks: www.auvergnerhonealpes.fr

Châtel-Guyon (Pop: 6,500)

The charming little spa town of Châtel-Guyon welcomed the Tour de France in 2020 for the start of a stage to Puy-Mary, where Colombian Dani Martinez, who had broken away with German Lennard Kämna, won the stage. The town had already come to the attention of cycling fans thanks to Paris-Nice. The Race to the Sun made a start here in 2013, before returning in 2018 for a stage won by Frenchman Jonathan Hivert. In a breakaway with Luis Leon Sanchez and Rémy Di Gregorio, the Direct Energie rider sprinted away from his two companions, with the Spaniard taking the leader's jersey. In 2013, Paris-Nice left the town for Brioude, where American Andrew Talansky scored an impressive victory before finishing second in that edition.  

Grands Thermes

Built: 1908

Style: Art Nouveau

Characteristics: Designed by architect François-Benjamin Chaussemiche, this building is emblematic of the resort of Châtel-Guyon. The building's façade is inspired by ancient and Romanesque architecture. A first-class spa establishment for almost 100 years, it has been disused since 2004 and is now the subject of tourist visits, as it is one of the most beautiful spas in France.

Listed as: historical monument since 1990.  

Casino-Theatre

Built: 1898 and 1909

Style: Art Nouveau

Characteristics: Built on the edge of the spa park by Parisian architect Albert Le Voisvenel, the Châtel-Guyon theatre opened its doors in 1901. In 1909, Édouard-Jean Niermans, a renowned architect and decorator, began work on the theatre. Having designed the Folies Bergère, the Moulin Rouge, the Olympia music hall and the Negresco hotel in Nice, Niermans embellished the theatre, which was completely rebuilt along the lines of an Italian-style auditorium. An innovative sunroof was also installed. This last feature made the theatre unique in France. After a long decline, the theatre was taken in hand by the local council and reopened in 2015.

Listed as: Historical Monument since 2003.

Volvic (Pop: 4,620)

Volvic is internationally renowned for the production of its bottled water. It is also famous for its stone. From 2014 to 2018, it was the starting point for the Volvic-Feytiat cycle race. Volvic is also home to one of France's oldest cross-country races, the Volvic Cross, which celebrated its 64th edition and has crowned some of the greatest French (Michel Jazy, Noël Tijou, Jacky Boxberger, Bob Tahri) and international (Emiel Puttemans, Paul Kosgei, Paul Melly) runners.

Volvic water

Volvic is a brand of bottled water that has been on the market since 1935 and has belonged to the Danone food group (Waters division) since 1992. The Clairvic deep spring is located in Volvic, in a protected public park, the Goulet et les Cheires de Bruvaleix, filled in around 10,000 years ago by volcanic emissions and flows: pozzolans, basalt and andesite (Volvic stone) from Puy de la Nugère. The Volvic brand uses Puy Pariou, recognisable by its appearance, as its emblem for its bottles.

Volvic stone

Volvic stone is a volcanic rock that has been widely used in construction, particularly in the Clermont-Ferrand and Riom areas. Most of the stone comes from quarries near Volvic. Volvic stone is trachy-andesite. It comes from the lava flows of the puy de la Nugère.  It is a grey stone with numerous small bubbles and feldspar. It is resistant to frost and chemicals. It has a low coefficient of expansion. All these characteristics make it an interesting material for construction.

Château de Bosredon and Sahut Museum

Construction (château): 14th and 15th centuries

Opening (museum):  1988.

Style: Italianate.

History: the château is built in the Italianate style, with large windows, an abundance of quoins and bands of grey stone framing white render, a balustrade at the edge of the roof, outside staircases and a terrace. In 1901, the commune of Volvic bought Château de Bosredon and part of the outbuildings. From the early 20th century until 1982, the château housed a retirement home. Between 1985 and 1988, the château was converted to house the Sahut Museum, which was inaugurated on 30 March 1988.

Current purpose: the Sahut Museum is an art museum with French Museum status, specialising in Volvic stone and enamelled lava. It bears the name of Marcel and Yvonne Sahut, whose personal collection was the inspiration behind the creation of the museum.

Listed as: Historical Monument since 2010.

Chamalières (Pop: 17,170)

A spa town near Clermont-Ferrand, Chamalières is best known as the home of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, President of the French Republic from 1974 to 1981. His son Louis is mayor of the town. But it is also the birthplace of many other personalities, including former minister Michel Charasse, who died in February 2020, chef Bernard Loiseau, TV presenter Danièle Gilbert, film director Pierre Schoendoerffer and international rugby player Olivier Merle. The town boasts a number of listed buildings, including the Notre-Dame church, the railway station, the spa and the Majestic hotel, all of which bear witness to the golden age of the spa industry in the town.

Grotte du chien (Dog’s cave)

Grotte du chien contains a mofette, a well that gives off carbon dioxide fumes. This phenomenon made the area very popular with tourists in the 19th century. To demonstrate to the public the reality of these fumes, in the past a dog would be lowered into the well, but after a few minutes it would stagger away because it was asphyxiated. The animal was then brought back out into the open air, where it could breathe normally again. Nowadays, a candle is lowered down and extinguished immediately, or soap bubbles are floated. The public could also go down and sit on the "mother-in-law bench" where, after a few minutes, you would feel dizzy and your nose would tingle (rumour has it that a visitor had his mother-in-law sit there to asphyxiate her). This curious spot is no longer used commercially and has been closed to the public since 2004.

Charade circuit

This circuit hosted four Formula 1 Grands Prix between 1965 and 1972, all won by world champions (Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart twice and Jochen Rindt). Deemed obsolete, it was abandoned by F1 after gravel splashed onto it, costing Austrian driver Helmut Marko an eye at the 1972 French Grand Prix. Refurbished, it continues to operate and aims to become the first mountain e-circuit. The project is backed by the GCK group, led by Guerlain Chicherit, four-time world champion in extreme skiing and a rally-raid driver who finished 5th in the Dakar Rally, before moving into the low-carbon energy sector. In 1998, the French road cycling championship was held on the Charade circuit, with Laurent Jalabert raising his arms.

Saint-Bonnet-Près-Orcival (Pop: 570)

5 km from Orcival, a religious and tourist hotspot in Puy-de-Dôme.

5 km in Orcival : Basilica of Orcival

Foundation: 12th century.

Style: Auvergne Romanesque.

History: Notre-Dame d'Orcival church was built between 1146 and 1178. In the 11th century, a church to the east of the village housed a highly venerated statue of the Virgin Mary. Legend has it that it was sculpted by Saint Luke. There is every reason to believe that the present-day basilica was built in response to the growing success of a pilgrimage. Notre-Dame d'Orcival then became the new home for the famous statue, which is now kept in the sanctuary of the church and has since been the subject of an annual pilgrimage on Ascension Thursday.

Characteristics: This is one of the five major Romanesque churches in the Auvergne. They have a very similar plan, but the Orcival basilica has a distinctive feature: the Saint-Jean door, the main door of the building, is on the side, as the church backs onto the mountain. Its cedar windows predate the 13th century and feature splendid ironwork and hinges ending in animal and human heads. The basilica at Orcival is the only major Romanesque church to have preserved its bell tower virtually intact. Of remarkable proportions, it contains some very fine capitals, once painted.

Special features: it contains a statue of the Virgin Mary, contemporary with the basilica, and its location is such that it is struck by a ray of sunlight at midday on 15 August, coming from the stained-glass window of Saint-Jean. It is made of painted wood covered with silver and vermeil plates and set off with precious stones. Every year on Ascension Day, the Virgin Mary is carried in procession on a stretcher by the male inhabitants of Orcival, who walk barefoot along the Way of the Cross to the Calvary. On the outside of the basilica, there are chains and cannonballs attached to the façade. These are ex-votos offered by freed prisoners.

Listed as: Historical Monument in 1840.

Château de Cordès

Construction: 13th and 15th centuries.

Style: feudal.

History: the castle belonged to the de Chalus family, lords of Cordès (since at least 1427) and Orcival (acquired in 1503), who borrowed its coat of arms. Members of the Chalus family include Amblard de Chalus, baron of Orcival, lord of Cordès, master of the waters and forests of Auvergne (1547) and lieutenant-general of Lower-Auvergne and Jean de Chalus, son of the former, baron of Cordès and Orcival, born in 1540 at the château de Cordès, honorary valet to the Dauphin (1554) and knight of the King's Order (1563). The château was sold in 1659 by Gilbert de Chalus to Emmanuel d'Allègre. His son, Yves de Tourzel, Marquis of Allègre, Governor and Lieutenant-General of Metz and Marshal of France, had the magnificent formal gardens designed by Le Nôtre in 1695.

Special feature: in 1984, it was used as Frankenstein's castle during the filming of The Bride(starring Sting as Baron Charles Frankenstein).

Listed as: Historical Monument in 1933.

Col de la Croix-Morand (1,403 m)

The Tour de France has ridden this pass six times, the first in 1951 and the last in 2008, when Sylvain Chavanel was first at the top. The pass also owes its fame to Jean-Louis Murat's song of the same name, released in 1991. A great fan of the Tour de France, the singer died in 2023 nearby, in Orcival, where he lived.

Murol (Pop: 610)

Murol Castle

Construction: 12th to 16th centuries.

Style: medieval. History: the castle was built on the remains of a basalt flow at the intersection of three ancient Roman roads (Limagne, Le Mont-Dore, Clermont-Ferrand). It was enlarged and strengthened between the 12th and 15th centuries. In the 15th century, it became the property of the d'Estaing family following the marriage of Jehanne de Murol to Gaspard d'Estaing. Their descendant François I d'Estaing built a vast enclosure at the foot of the basalt dyke, on which he erected a grand Renaissance palace. During the Ancien Régime, Richelieu spared the castle because of the prestige of the d'Estaing family, but the site was abandoned. It was also spared during the Revolution, when it was used as a prison. In the 19th century, the Count of Chabrol sold it to the municipality of Murol.

Characteristics: the castle has two chapels attached to the large circular tower that serves as the keep. The first chapel, which is the larger of the two, dates back to the 12th century. Guillaume de Murol then built the keep and the second chapel (14th century), in Romanesque style, to serve as his funeral chapel. The inner wall is polygonal and follows the contours of the basalt base.

Trivia: the castle was used as a backdrop for certain scenes in the film Kaamelott, the first part directed by Alexandre Astier in 2019.

Listed as: Historical Monument in 1889.  

Murol School Museum

The Murol School reached its peak between 1910 and 1930, a period that coincided with the presence of Léon Boudal (1858-1934), appointed parish priest of Murol in 1890, and Victor Charreton (1864-1936), leader of the movement and co-founder of the Salon d'Automne with Pierre Bonnard. The painters agreed to work together on the same motif. The artists were seduced by mountain landscapes, vistas, woods and streams, and particularly by snow, light and mountain skies. They also used local people going about their business as models for genre scenes. Different styles were used, derived from Impressionism and heralding Cubism. Murol had been approached by ministers Étienne Dujardin-Beaumetz and Étienne Clémentel to become the winter landscape painting school of the Paris Fine-Arts Academy, but ministerial instability prevented the project from going ahead.

Saint-Nectaire cheese

Murol borders Saint-Nectaire, famous for its church, a jewel of Auvergne Romanesque art (listed MH in 1840), for its thermal waters and above all for its eponymous cheese. Saint-Nectaire cheese is made from raw cow's milk and matured for at least four weeks. It was awarded the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) in 1964 and the AOP in 1996, guaranteeing its authenticity and quality. Saint-Nectaire cheese can be enjoyed throughout the meal, from the aperitif to the cheese platter, served by top chefs in Auvergne or Paris, and is also widely used in cooking, such as in truffade.