Located thirty minutes south of Clermont-Ferrand, Montpeyroux is a fortified village that has the look and feel of a Tuscan citadel. Surrounded by the Limagne campagne — a vast plain of wheatfields and wildflowers — the town is a picturesque assemblage of cypress-lined terraces, sun-washed villas, and vine-clad alleyways.
Like so many Auvergnat communes, it’s a place where time seems to stand still. Cars are, for the most part, nowhere to be seen (non-residents are required to leave their cars in an allotted parking area beyond the city’s gates). As you wind your way through Montpeyroux’s cobblestone streets, the olden days of romance – with their lancet-windowed cloisters and lute-playing troubadours – seem to emerge like living dreams from every corner.
Among Montpeyroux’s many treasures is La Charmeraie — a bed and breakfast situated near the base of the city’s twelfth-century donjon (a crenellated tower). Accessed via a secluded courtyard on montée due Guetteur, La Charmeraie provides guests with their own private apartment. The double bedroom, which is furnished with the host’s own art, opens to a Mediterranean-style garden terrace with spectacular views of the rolling countryside below.
The guest apartment also features a refurbished wine cellar that serves as a private bar and lounge. Here, beneath the stone-vaulted ceiling and wrought-iron chandelier, you and your partner can relax with a glass of wine in the thoroughly chiaroscuro atmosphere.
For breakfast, you can expect a homemade repast of eggs, pastries, yogurt and other local foods. The hosts are attentive, warm, and generous – and this makes La Charmeraie feel truly like a home away from home.
No stay in Montpeyroux would be complete without it.
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