Visiting Clermont without going to the top of the Puy de Dôme (1465m) would be like visiting Athens
without seeing the Acropolis. And if you choose your moment - early in
the morning or late in the evening - you can easily avoid the worst of
the crowds.
Clearly
signposted from place de Jaude, it is about 15km from the city centre
by the D941. The last 6.5km is a private road and costs €4.57; when
this is closed (July & Aug 10am-6pm)
there is a shuttle service (€3.20). If you are driving, make sure to
pump your brakes on the descent; otherwise you may find yourself
waiting for a long time before driving off, while your brakes cool
down. Alternatively, you can leave the car at the Col de Ceyssat and climb the Puy on foot in about an hour.
The
result of a volcanic explosion about 10,000 years ago, the Puy is an
abrupt 400m from base to summit. Although the weather station buildings
and enormous television mast are pretty ugly close up, the staggering
views and sense of airy elevation more than compensate. Even if Mont Blanc
itself is not always visible way to the east - it can be if conditions
are favourable - you can see huge distances, all down the Massif Central
to the Cantal mountains. Above all, you get a bird's-eye view of the
other volcanic summits to the north and south, both the rounded domes,
largely forested since the nineteenth century, and the perfect
100-metre-deep grassy crater of the Puy de Pariou , just to the north.
Immediately below the summit are the scant remains of a substantial Roman temple dedicated to Mercury (free entry), some of the finds from which are displayed in the Musée Bargoin in Clermont-Ferrand .
Beside it is a memorial commemorating the exploits of Eugène Renaux,
who landed a plane here in 1911 in response to the offer of a 100,000
franc prize by the Michelin brothers. Today the aviators are
hang-gliders and paragliding enthusiasts, drifting like gaudy birds
around the stern of a ship.
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