Tour guides France > Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

5 ideas for guided tours in Auvergne

• Pavin lake

  

  At 1,200 meters, deep in the Monts Dore range, close to Besse-et-Saint-Anastaise, there’s lake Pavin. A near-perfect circle. Edged by pine woods. Formed by a crater. It’s old — around seven thousand years.

  When the sun’s out, it turns deep blue. On cloudy days, darker. Moodier. There’s a path around it, easy to follow. Worth doing slowly.

  You can fish here. Or take a canoe. Or climb the basalt cliffs west of the lake — remains from Puy de Montchal, barely a kilometre off. No need to rush.

• Tronçais Forest

  

  In Allier. A forest, yes — but not just any. Tronçais covers over 10,000 acres and holds some of the tallest oaks in Europe. Some trees over 35 meters. Some alive for nearly four centuries.

  Colbert had a plan for the navy, back in 1675. This forest still echoes it.

  There’s a 40 km trail, but you can ride, walk, cycle. Ponds scattered throughout. Birds everywhere — black woodpeckers, jays, owls. If you’re quiet, deer might show up. Maybe a boar. Maybe not.

• Tournemire village

  

  Nine villages in Auvergne made the official list — “most beautiful in France”. Tournemire, just north of Aurillac, is one of them.

  You’ll see why as soon as you arrive. The Anjony Castle rises, all towers and stone. 15th century. A dungeon. Watchtowers. A rampart walk. Still standing.

  Keep walking. The village stretches around it. Old houses — stone, flowered. Some built from what’s left of a 12th century castle, long gone now.

• The Puy de Sancy

  

  In the Monts Dore, there’s Puy de Sancy. Dormant volcano. 35 km from Clermont-Ferrand. It marks the land.

  Several peaks fused over time. Melted into each other after old eruptions. You don’t always notice at first. The Dordogne river begins here — where Dogne and Dore meet.

  To reach the top: trails wind up, or you take the cable car. Either way, once up there — 1,885 meters — the view stretches far. If it’s clear, you might even catch a glimpse of Mont-Blanc.

• The Cézallier plateau

  

  Between Monts Dore and Cantal. A plateau, volcanic, wide open. Cézallier looks like somewhere else — Mongolia, maybe. Flat land that breathes slowly.

  Lakes, waterfalls, grassland. All spaced out. No fences. No noise.

  To the west: the Jolan and Godivelle bogs. Eastward: streams, valleys. Water from Couze, Sianne, Allanche. In between? Wind and space. For the full picture, better go with a guide. Things are easy to miss otherwise.