These are the best places to travel this summer

Clermont-Ferrand

France Travel Guide

Shop

Get even more with a Lonely Planet guide.

Shop Book
A busy arts and ceramics market in the Place Saint-Jean in Lyon

© Shutterstock / Irina Crick

LONELY PLANET’S RECOMMENDED eSIM

Stay connected in Clermont-Ferrand

with

Saily is an affordable eSIM service that helps you stay connected and secure, anywhere in the world.

Get your eSIM

Overview

In Clermont-Ferrand, the skyline is as moodily Gothic as the ambience is sunny and good-humoured. Dark volcanic stone gave the city its distinctive hue, layered into its 18th-century townhouses, dozens of fountains and the magnificent twin-turreted cathedral at its cobblestoned heart. As the Auvergne's largest city, Clermont-Ferrand is a hub not only for business but cuisine, with plenty of restaurants serving modernised cuisine auvergnate, and culture (in the form of fizzing art, film and live-music scenes). Beyond the winding lanes of its old town, the Auvergne’s capital is an industrial powerhouse, home to the Michelin automotive empire.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Notre Dame Cathedral in Clermont-Ferrand, France.

    Cathédrale Notre Dame

    Clermont-Ferrand

    Clermont-Ferrand’s skyline broods with volcanic stone, but its most impressive edifice is Cathédrale Notre-Dame, whose 108m twin spires pierce the sky…

  • Musée d'Art Roger Quilliot

    Musée d'Art Roger Quilliot

    Clermont-Ferrand

    Housed in an Ursuline convent 3km northeast of central Clermont, the city’s premier gallery takes design cues from NYC’s Guggenheim, its white spiral…

  • "Michelin Adventure" facade, a French museum dedicated to the Michelin group located in Clermont-Ferrand, France.

    L'Aventure Michelin

    Clermont-Ferrand

    Yes, it’s a temple dedicated to the Auvergne’s world-famous tyre brand, but the 'Michelin Adventure' is a crowd-pleasing attraction. Gallery spaces are…

  • Statue of Vercingetorix at Place de Jaude in Clermont-Ferrand, France.

    Place de Jaude

    Clermont-Ferrand

    Just southwest of the old city, lined with bars and hotels, Clermont-Ferrand's monumental pedestrianised square is overlooked by a statue of heroic Celtic…

  • Musée Bargoin

    Musée Bargoin

    Clermont-Ferrand

    Assembling a motley collection of ancient artefacts and modern design inside a stately 1903 building, the Bargoin is a good primer on Clermont old and new…

  • Basilique Notre Dame du Port

    Basilique Notre Dame du Port

    Clermont-Ferrand

    This architectural gem has all the key elements of a Romanesque church: semi-circular arches, a bulky silhouette and a broad headpiece. But its…

  • Musée d'Histoire Naturelle Henri-Lecoq

    Musée d'Histoire Naturelle Henri-Lecoq

    Clermont-Ferrand

    Clermont’s natural history museum is a pleasant enough rainy-day diversion. The first floor pays homage to the city’s most famous son, 17th-century…

  • Musée de la Résistance

    Musée de la Résistance

    Clermont-Ferrand

    In a simple, schoolroom format, this small museum details the chronology of events following 21 June 1940, when Nazi troops marched into Clermont-Ferrand…

Plan with a local

Get a book. Get inspired. Get exploring.

in partnership with getyourguide

Book popular activities in Clermont-Ferrand