Explore Marcenat, Cantal, Auvergne's hidden gems

Guided by the Bonjon stream, you'll enjoy a breathtaking view of the Massif du Sancy, Mont Chamaroux and a lovely view of Marcenat, where you can see the dome of the Orthodox monastery.

Return trip to Chaos de Landeyrat, Espace Naturel Sensible du Cantal, from La Roussille parking lot, beside the D679 road (Allanche exit on the right, towards Marcenat).

At Landeyrat, we take the opportunity to ride the vélorail, then wander through the estives and around the peat bogs, passing through the basaltic chaos, not forgetting the Roche d'Apcher - a great program!

Marvel at the Orthodox monastery, cool off next to the Saillant waterfall and enjoy the peace and quiet of the great outdoors.

Cette petite balade familiale vous permettra de découvrir 2 petites cascades et de profiter d'une très belle vue sur les estives et la montagne de Courbières.

A complete change of scenery, you're in the mountains, in the middle of summer pastures, and all around you are burons, gentian and beautiful Salers cows whose bells ring out in this immensity.

C'est l'occasion d'apprécier le point de vue sur la vallée de la Santoire une fois à la chapelle Valentine mais aussi de découvrir un patrimoine exceptionnel

A hike that takes you on a journey to Scotland thanks to the ambience of the peat bog, a stroll through the forest and a refreshing visit to the listed fountain at Ségur-les-Villas.

Follow the red kite to discover the moors and peat bogs of Frau de Vial. Thematic panels will help you better understand these unique landscapes, between the Santoire valley and the Limon plateau.

Relaxation for all at the foot of Puy Mary. On your return from a hike, or after a breath of fresh air, come and enjoy the relaxing benefits of hot water!

Sound and light effects taking you through the gallery of pictures enabling you to relive moments from the resistance and the deportation, illustrating how some of the people of Murat survived in the concentration camp during the war. Not advised for the under twelve years old.

The Parc Animalier d'Auvergne is a unique reserve for rare and endangered species, with a European reputation. Over a 45-hectare area, you can learn about biodiversity and discover almost 350 rare and endangered animals of 60 different species. Come and meet snow panthers, red pandas, wolverines, tigers, Amur panthers, takins, Tibetan black bears, Rothschild's giraffes, Hartmann's zebras, primates, two-toed sloths, dholes, pygmy hippos, cheetahs and, more generally, 350 rare and endangered animals! The Park is set in an exceptional natural site, where you can admire many incredible views over the Cézallier and discover the various actions put in place for animal welfare and species conservation, while visiting a site that is proving its difference on a European scale. Indeed, the Parc Animalier d'Auvergne stands out in many respects: Europe's largest enclosure for Amur panthers and, new for 2024, the first park to house Thorold deer, the integration of an animal nutritionist and an educational manager into the team, the creation of an association dedicated to ethology and another to learning about biodiversity through new technologies, the offer of novel mixed-use enclosures and a wide variety of immersive activities to familiarize visitors with the animals (family safaris, special encounters, vacation courses, etc.)...). A must-see! Enjoy spectacular enclosures where you can walk right up close to the animals: chamois/bouquetins, lemurs or sika deer, and numerous walkways allowing you to get up close to the animals (red pandas, bears, wolves, giraffes). The Parc Animalier d'Auvergne is deeply involved in the conservation of endangered species around the world, including in Auvergne, notably through the Play for Nature endowment fund, and participates in numerous international breeding programs for endangered species. Located in Ardes-sur-Couze in the Puy-de-Dôme region, the park is just 45 minutes from Clermont-Ferrand and Besse/St Nectaire/Murol, and 15 minutes from exits 15 and 17 of the A75, near Issoire. For the 4th year running, it has been awarded the TripAdvisor certificate of excellence. It has also been awarded the Qualité Tourisme label, and is starred in both the Michelin Auvergne guide and Le Petit Futé. A company with a mission, it received two trophies for its concrete commitment to the environment in 2023, and joined the "Entreprise engagée pour la nature" program.

Situated in an exceptional area of the Regional Park of the Auvergne volcanoes, Régine and Laurent will be happy to welcome you. You will taste the specialities as “truffade”, “patranque”, “tripoux” and beef in a calm and quiet environment. Situated in an exceptional area of the Regional Park of the Auvergne volcanoes, Régine and Laurent will be happy to welcome you. You will taste the specialities as “truffade”, “patranque”, “tripoux” and beef in a calm and quiet environment. Selected as a “valeur du parc” (local quality brand) for its authenticity. Groups welcome.

If you love the countryside, come and discover "La Bergerie" located in a hamlet above Bort-les-Orgues: an old farmhouse entirely renovated inside, with a panoramic view of the Orgues and the town of Bort, where you'll find all the shops, supermarkets, restaurants, summer entertainment, etc. Situated on the borders of the Cantal, Corrèze and Puy de Dôme departments, you'll be able to visit many tourist sites in the surrounding area: close to the Bort dam, the Chateau de Val (beach, water sports, exhibitions, etc.), the Dordogne gorges - on the Cantal side, the Puy Mary, the medieval town of Salers - on the Puy de Dôme side, the Sancy, spa resorts of La Bourboule and La Bourboule.on the Cantal side, Puy Mary, medieval town of Salers - on the Puy de Dôme side, Sancy, La Bourboule and Mont Dore spas, Fenestre park, Puy de Dôme, Vulcania, ........ Numerous outdoor activities between lakes an

Situated between the Auvergne and Limousin regions, in Bort les Orgues, Eric and Joëlle welcome you to their old farmhouse which has been completely renovated. Formerly overlooking a valley, it is now located on the banks of one of the largest hydroelectric complexes in the country on the edge of its huge artificial lake.

Very quiet hotel located on the riverside, 700 m from the town centre. For a gourmet stopover between Auvergne and Limousin.

Ideally located on the borders of Auvergne and Limousin, the Central Hotel offers a warm and friendly welcome. Agnès, Alain and all the team of the Central Hotel are at your disposal to make you spend a pleasant moment in their establishment. During your stay, take advantage of the wellness area, spa, jacuzzi and hammam. We also offer relaxing weekends to come and recharge your batteries.

The Museum's 1,000 m² of exhibition space features some twenty different machines used to process hides. This is complemented by a video and old photos showing the tanner's work, from raw hide to finished leather. The Museum also offers a Leather Workshop, where visitors can make a leather object to take home as a souvenir. New at the Musée de la Tannerie is the Petit Musée de l'École. It's a recreation of a classroom, with objects, furniture and documents from the old school in Bort les Orgues. The exhibition evokes emotion and even nostalgia, with desks, inkwells, the smell of wax, geography maps, moral phrases, textbooks? Another part presents the great figures who forged the Republic's school system (Jules Ferry, Jean Jaurès)

Photographs, objects and documents, texts and audiovisual testimonials illustrating the affection Georges Pompidou, Prime Minister, Deputy, and President of the Republic maintained for his birth place.

This city is composed of two very different lakes. The lake situated at the bottom of the village has a glacier origin, and dates back to 10 000 years. Before wide of 50 ha, it’s only 15 today. The vegetation colonized the lake, forming a peat land after several thousand years. In 1975, this pond and its sides were classified Natural Reserve under the name of Sagnes, to protect the exceptional biodiversity of the peat land. The lake situated in the upper village is a volcanic lake. This lake has a crater old of 113 000 years, and it is 44m deep. It covers a circular area of 14 ha, whose sides in gravels are void of vegetation. Its cold and transparent waters are poor in nutritive elements: it’s one of the most oligotrophic lakes in Europe. It’s also the water reserve of the village.

At the extreme south of the Puy-de-Dôme, the Luguet signal is the highest point of the Cézallier mountains (1551 metres). It offers a spectacular panoramic view of the Cantal, the Sancy massif and the Livradois mountains. The "Signal du Luguet" is the highest peak of the mounts of Cézallier at 1551m. It corresponds to old lava lakes formed 5 million years ago. The erosion erased the reliefs that overlooked them and the rock found itself in a culminating position. Below, at the east, you can see the crater of Artout. It’s one of the most beautiful glacier valleys of the Massif Central. 20 000 years ago, the snow mopped up by the winds coming from the west accrues at the east. It formed a glacier owing to the weak exposition to sun. We still can find moraines on the slopes. From the hamlet of Parrot, it is possible to go around the "Signal du Luguet". It is a 7,2km hike offering a round trip to the top of the highest peak of the Cézallier, count 2H30 to do the tour. In winter, this hike is also possible with snowshoes.

In the Cézallier, in the hamlet of Jassy, you can find this little waterfall on the Couze of Ardes.

The 14th-century Church of Saint Jean-Baptiste is Gothic in style. However, the wooden gallery of the bell tower is remarkable. The "Saint Martin's wheel": according to a local tradition, young unmarried girls would spin the wheel. If the biggest bell stopped at the top, they would find a husband within the year! This well-preserved wheel is known as the "Saint Martin" wheel. It was used for weddings and christenings, as well as for the patron saint's day. The bell wheel in the Trémouille church. Let's take a trip to the northern Cantal region, where the church of Trémouille conceals a curiosity known locally as "Saint Martin's Wheel". This bell wheel, listed on the Inventaire Supplémentaire des Monuments Historiques in 1975, hangs 3.50 m high in the choir of the church. Resting on a stone support, it comprises an ironwork base in the shape of an inverted heart, ending in a fleur-de-lys at the top. The base supports a metal wheel, approximately 50 cm in diameter, placed vertically and with its axis fixed to the wall for greater stability. The wheel is surrounded by bells of different sizes. A rope-operated lever turns the wheel and rings the bells. Originally there were probably 16 bells, but today only 15 remain. One of the bells - perhaps the oldest - bears inscriptions in Gothic letters, while others bear the names of the founders: "Louis Dubois" (practicing in the 18th century), "Dubois Robert" (practicing in the late 18th and early 19th centuries) and "Jan Driac", all of whom made clarines in Le Puy en Velay. The Cantal Department of Antiquities and Works of Art dates this work to the late 16th or early 17th century. It is highly probable that some of the bells were replaced in later periods. The Gothic lettering on one of the bells suggests the existence of a previous wheel whose bells were reused. It was a local tradition for unmarried girls to turn the wheel. If the biggest bell stopped at the top, they would find a husband within the year! This well-preserved wheel is known as the "Saint Martin wheel". It was used for weddings and christenings, as well as for the patron saint's day. What's more original is a local tradition whereby unmarried girls would spin the wheel and wait for the largest bell to come to rest in the upper position. If it did, they were supposed to find a husband within the year! In the national inventory of bell wheels The inventory by Messrs Fabre and Sutter has identified and studied four Saint Martin's wheels in Auvergne, all of which are in Cantal (at Trémouille, Coltines, Villedieu and Virargues). Two others in the department have since disappeared. This inventory tells us a great deal about the existence of bellwheels, attested in archives as far back as the 9th century. Placed in the choir for greater sound range, the wheels were used as a musical instrument during liturgical times. However, we don't know if they existed in all churches. They may have been replaced by the altar bell, which is smaller and easier to move around the building. Bell wheel, Musée dOrosi Costa Rica. Photo credit Pascale ChappotBellwheels were found all over Europe; they still exist in France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Portugal, as well as in the New Orleans church, and in South and Central America (we "discovered" one in a small museum in Costa Rica). In France, many are to be found in Brittany, Savoie and the Pyrénées Orientales. The wheels we found are made of iron or wood (some are solid), or a combination of the two. They measure between 30 cm and 1.70 m in diameter, and bear different names depending on the region: "rodella" in Roussillon, "roue de guérison" in Brittany, "rouelle" in Savoie, "roue de prière et de vœux" in Burgundy, "roue de saint Martin" in Auvergne. The number of bells varies according to instrument and region, ranging from 6 to 24 for the wheels inventoried. The wheel's circular shape is symbolic, recalling the solar or lunar disk, the cult of Isis or the Gallic sun god. It represents perfection and universal harmony. The wheel's rotation generates cycles and eternal recommencement. Pascale Chappot, tour guide

An easy, beautiful walk around the lake to admire the scenery.

La Belle endormie" is strangely solitary, lost in the grasslands of a plateau 1100 meters above sea level, above the Sianne valley. This 11th-century Romanesque jewel is in the purest condition, free of any plaster or whitewash.

Lac de la Crégut is the largest natural glacial lake in the Massif Central, covering almost 37 hectares. Kesako : Glaciers have great abrasive power, eating away at even the most supple rock to create overburden. The passage of the Artense glacier 13,500 years ago left a basin that was filled by runoff from several streams and the sub-lacustrine springs of La Crégut. Its depth (two pits of 16 m and 26 m) and the fact that its natural water supply is low in nutrients, have prevented it from becoming a peat bog. Swimming is forbidden, but you can walk around, fish or picnic around the lake. → PR 2: Water story ←

Located at the heart of Cezallier, this endless pasture territory was, in the past, a beech forest and a plantation that was destroyed by clearings and that disappeared in the Middle Ages. Nowadays, this territory is mainly dedicated to pastures and therefore to mountain summer pasture for bovine farming, that’s why there are mountain houses, called “burons”. Tourism expands itself little by little thanks to winter sports, this territory being really favourable towards doing northern ski and hiking with snowshoes (northern domain of Parrot). The Signal du Luguet, made of volcanic rock, is the high point. It saw the light with solidified lava flows, eroded by glaciers. There, there is an unique panorama on the whole territory. Below, you will discover one of the most beautiful valleys of the Massif-Central: the corrie of Artoux, where we still can find moraines on the sides.

Guides by the blacksmith, you will enter into the workings of the forge. The visit will finish with a demonstration with the fire.

In the heart of the Cézallier, magnificent, fully restored buron. Home cooking, local produce, local meat, quality and tradition.

The simple pleasure of dining by the lake... a creative cuisine that draws its influences from both land and lake, using the resources of the greenhouse, kitchen garden and forest to create recipes that revisit local produce with the seasons.

Country inn with view on the valley. Wood-fired cooking (truffade and Salers meat). Breeders, producers and transformers, beef and veal sausages, aligot, farm cheeses.

This restaurant is located close to Lastioulles water sports centre and to the municipal campground. Tourist area for fishing, hunting and mushrooms gathering. Bar - tobacconist’s - restaurant - catering delivered Menu during high season - closed on Mondays during low season

Small grocery restaurant in the heart of the Santoire valley, overlooking the Rocher de Laqueuille. The friendly, almost family atmosphere is created by the fact that you can see the chef working behind the counter.

Armegyn and Antoine offer refined cuisine, featuring local produce. Everything is homemade, including the bread and puff pastry. Lovely shaded terrace in summer. Warm dining room with wood-burning stove in winter.

Warm, friendly little inn in the heart of Murat. Homemade, traditional cuisine, fresh produce, meat and homemade pizzas/burgers to eat in or take away. Daily specials for lunch.

Sandrine and Pascal offer (gluten-free) galettes, crêpes, salads and Auvergne cuisine. A galette and a crêpe of the moment vary every week!

Luxury gîte for 8 to 10 people. All comforts on 1 hectare of land surrounded by forests and set in the owner's Auvergne farmhouse. This tastefully renovated gîte is located in the Parc Naturel Régional des Volcans d'Auvergne, with a magical panoramic view of the Sancy massif and close to Lac de Lastioulles, which has been awarded the "Pavillon bleu" label (equipped beach, supervised swimming in July and August). Living room with fully-equipped kitchen, dining room, sitting area with TV, WIFI, library, board games. -2 bedrooms, each with 2 boxspring beds, shower and washbasin. -2 bedrooms with 2 boxspring beds each, using the large bathroom with oval bathtub, shower and two washbasins. This room has 4 additional beds and a cot. -Washrooms and two toilets. -3 terraces equipped with outdoor furniture. -Heated swimming pool surrounded by a deck and adapted furniture as well as changing room, heated shower, washbasin, WC and heated outdoor shower. -Washing machine, dryer and barbecue on request. -private parking Minimum stay 7 days from Saturday to Saturday (less than 7 days on request).

Self-contained gîte with garden and views of the Monts du Cantal and Sancy. Just 5km from Lake Lastioulles and its water sports center. Fully-equipped kitchen, living room with dining area and sitting area with fireplace. 3 bedrooms, shower room and separate WC.

House in the woods, in the heart of the lakes, between Puy de Sancy and Puy Mary. Relaxation guaranteed. Lovers of nature, hiking, fishing, skiing, Auvergne gastronomy... It's the ideal place. Wake up in the company of deer, martens and squirrels, with only the sound of birdsong or the distant bells of Salers cows. The property is located on the edge of a forest, 15 minutes from all amenities. The exterior is very peaceful, with a dining and relaxation area, a brazier, board games and outdoor games. 3 bedrooms (1 with en-suite shower room), fully equipped kitchen, bathroom, 2-settee living room with 180° view of the forest, 1 veranda with dining table, the feeling of being outside, even in winter, but warm! 2 terraces, private parking. Not overlooked. Wood (stove) + electric heating.

Located in the heart of a 5-hectare natural site, near the Lastioulles and La Crégut lakes. Unlimited pitches with or without shade, electric hook-ups, communal washing machine and tumble dryer, children's games, table tennis, peace and relaxation guaranteed. Groups welcome except from 01/07 to 31/08.

6 cottages in a self-catering village near Lac de Lastioulles. 3 bedrooms, one on the mezzanine (1 double bed - 5 single beds), shower room, shared washing machine and dryer (summer), terrace. Peace and quiet with mountain views. Groups welcome.

Located in the heart of a 5-hectare natural site, near the Lastioulles and La Crégut lakes. Unlimited pitches with or without shade, electric hook-ups, communal washing machine and tumble dryer, children's games, table tennis, peace and relaxation guaranteed. Capacity: 25 pitches