If you are looking for culture you will be fulfilled by the Auvergne. The region has an abundance of Roman churches and monasteries and is a real treasure of Roman art. There are more than 250 buildings dating from the 11th and 12th centuries. The Roman heritage of the Auvergne is one of the most imposing in Europe.
A very popular town which remains authentic is the Puy-en-Velay, the departure point for routes to Saint Jacques de Compostelle (GR 65), UNESCO World Heritage: The Via Podiensis.
The cathedral at Puy-en-Velay, the travellers hotel in the town and the French pilgrimage route are listed in the World Heritage site by UNESCO. The remainder of the town equally merits a visit – the narrow streets, the soft colours of the roofs and the temperament of its inhabitants – everything here smells of the south and you could imagine you are in Italy.
Le Puy-en-Velay is often called by the name ‘St Michel Mountain of the Auvergne’. It is built on and around balsalt rocks of volcanic origins. It is without doubt one of the most interesting towns in France. One of the rocks has the name “Dyke d’Aiguille”. A Roman chapel, consecrated to Saint Michel, was built at the summit.
In one of his novels George Sand describes the town as follows: It isn’t Switzerland, it’s worse; it’s not Italy, it’s more beautiful, it is the centre of France with its Vesuvius extinct (see www.puy-en-velay.com).