Auvergne ?
 

Hi !
we will be in France for 35 days in july august with our kids (10 and 14 years old). We will stay for 5 nights in Dordogne (after Paris, Bormandy and Britanny). We would like to throw some mountains sights in our trip. Auvergne which is ''besides'' Dordogne seems to have some nice sights.

Anyone have been there and can add some ideas for that region ? We would have 4 to 6 nights for that region ? Is there a good base (or 2) ?

Thanks !

My wife & I have spent 4 weeks in the Auvergne. There was some info about it in the Puy du Dome itinerary which I attached in your other thread. We've also spent a considerable amount of time (7 weeks) in the Pyrenees/Pays Basque - which I think is more dramatic and interesting than the Auvergne.

It is 4 3/4 hrs from Sarlat to le Puy in the Augergne
4 1/2 hrs to Argeles Gazost in the middle of the Pyrenees
4 hrs 20 mins to Espelette in the Pays Basque - western Pyrenees.

My Wife's Shutterfly book for the Pays Basque & Pyrenees
https://stududley.shutterfly.com/31

Click "Full screen"

See Attached

Stu Dudley

Le Puy-en-Velay is impressive:

https://flic.kr/p/7DbsvY
As for mountains, they are not as impressive as the Pyrénées or the Alps:

https://flic.kr/p/7D7xrp
and I find this to be more typical of the area:

https://flic.kr/p/cMETR5 https://flic.kr/p/7D7zez
Moudeyres has an interesting farmhouse museum:

https://flic.kr/p/7D7EzT
Unless you have recommendations that grab you, going to the Pyrénées might make sense.

https://flic.kr/p/7T6NCh
Stop in Carcassonne on the way.

https://flic.kr/p/oyT3cB

Two of the main places worth seeing in Auvergne are the Puy de Dôme and Vulcania.

If you want mountains then head to the far east of Auvergne region, into Isère, Savoie or up to Jura and Doubs in Bourgogne Franche-Comté, or even the Vosges further north still.
Puy de Dome area has extinct volcanoes, and the Puy de Dome is interesting, but for mountainous looking mountains you have to go further east.

Thanks for your answers/suggestions !

About the Pyrennes, they seems to be spectacular, but that would add time to our backtracking to Paris to catch our return flight. We wont be there for the Tour de France so it's not something we should put in the mix. I've made some reading last night and it seems that driving in The Pyrénées is not always easy. I have driven in the italian Dolomites and mountains in Slovenia and in Western Canada (not always easy !) I dont know how the Pyrénées compare to those.

I,m not sure about Vulcania, ratings are not very high and it seems to be more for young childs (between 4 ans 7)

. I've made some reading last night and it seems that driving in The Pyrénées is not always easy.

Same is true for the Alps. You could check and see if there are some cheap flights from Tarbes to Paris, or from Toulouse.

""You could check and see if there are some cheap flights from Tarbes to Paris, or from Toulouse.""

Or trains. No-train-change departures for the 5 1/4 hr trip from Tarbes depart at 10:43 & 12:39. From Toulouse at 10:38 (4 1/4 trip) & 12:32 (4 3/4 hrs). Lots of really fast trains from Bordeaux. IMO, I would choose a 4-5 hr train trip from center of town to center of town over a 1 hr flight between out of town airports - especially if CDG is one of the airports.

Stu Dudley

We had a great week there 6 years ago. Lots of photos here: https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...ergne-1136691/

I love the Auvergne, second only to Provence. Le Puy is an obviously spectacular destination as well as the nearby Polignac. We did a short hike up to a bowl of one of les puys, also unique. The food is great, especially interesting cheeses. There are some very imposing medieval chateaux (Anjony is classic) and Orcival is a really fine village, well situated for surrounding exploration. So many great villages and farms. Search out for places to eat that feature auvergnat specialties. BTW, there is a really good restaurant in Pairs, Ambassade d'Auvergne. You'd need to reserve. Go for the warm lentil salad, you can't eat better than that.

I guess you are right, but I wont go in the Alps ! For the train, our car is booked and must be return to Paris.

Thanks shelemm ! It's good to read that because some people seems to say that Auvergne is a boring/dull/without interest destination !

We also like the Auvergne and spent a week in the Cantal in 2016 and a week in the Puy de Dome in 2018. We are a retired couple so do not need to consider activities for children, but there is plenty of hiking you could do and lovely scenery. These are my reports on our trip. The Cantal was the first week and Puy de Dome is the fourth section. We also stayed in the Haute Loire department in 2012 and visited Puy en Velay then.

2016- https://www.sloweurope.com/community...y-france.1683/

2018- https://www.sloweurope.com/community...ck-roads.4049/

I think you could have a very nice stay for a few days. As already said, there is good food- great cheeses, jambon. Look out for pounti in the Cantal.
Good luck.