Occult Auvergne: Witches and Fatsillères
I fancied that Auvergne was a country far, very far off, where strange things were to be seen, and where one could not travel but with great danger and under the safeguard of the Mother of God. -François René de Chateaubriand In many ways, Old Auvergne was the “Transylvania of France”, a realm that — […]
Where to Stay: Clos Beaumont
Tucked away on the periphery of Clermont-Ferrand, Clos Beaumont is a stately hotel that once belonged to a family of winemakers.
Occult Auvergne: 5 Spine-Chilling Legends
“Among the Auvergnats a host of tales and legends has grown up, including circumstantial accounts of wizard meetings on the puy de Dôme, stories of curious and unaccountable phenomena of earthquakes, each attributed to some occult power and giving rise to bloodcurdling narrations about ghosts and ghouls…” -E.C. Vansittart In his iconic Gothic novel Dracula […]
Wolves in Auvergne: A Thrilling Tale from the 19th Century
Auvergne was once home to man-eating wolves. This 19th-century tale describes a thrilling encounter with these creatures of the night.
5 Ways to Experience the “Wild West” in Auvergne
Ruggedly beautiful, Auvergne shares many similarities with the American West. Here are five ways to experience the Wild West in Auvergne.
What to See: The Strange Chapel Built Inside a Volcanic Monolith
Deep in the heart of the Cantal mountains lies a quiet, out-of-the-way village called Fontanges. Overshadowed by the larger, more far-famed towns of Aurillac and Salers, it’s the sort of place that doesn’t appear on most trip itineraries. In fact, most tourists have never heard of it. Yet Fontanges possesses a one-of-a-kind treasure: the Monolithic […]
A Wellness Paradise: Mont-Dore and the Fountain of Youth
Mont Dore is a charming resort for the tourist, the holiday-maker, the rest-seeker who wishes for lovely scenery, mountain air, and all the light-mindedness and amusement of an exclusively French watering-place. The antiquarian can combine business with pleasure; for while he sits in the shade at one of the little white-topped tables outside the Café […]
Gentian: Herbal Drink of the Auvergne Highlands
Made from the root of the gentian plant (Gentiana lutea) — a tall herb that grows in the Auvergne highlands — gentian has been an integral part of Auvergnat drinking culture for over a century.
A Visit to the Puy de Dôme…in 1879
What was visiting the puy de Dôme like in the 19th century? Here’s an account from writer and feminist Matilda Betham-Edwards.
Is Le Puy the Most Picturesque Place in the World?
For us, therefore, wandering in a “fairyland of travel,” there was something of the joy of the discoverer when the forgotten cathedral town, to which work was our guide, turned out to be “the most picturesque place in the world,” something of the pride of the pioneer when we settled down and made ourselves at […]
