Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand is the historic capital of both the département of Puy-de-Dôme and the region of Auvergne.  It is located west of Lyon on the Tretaine River. To the east, the town looks out onto the Limagne Plain.  To the north, west and south, it is surrounded by hills.

Augustonemetum was Roman name for the town the Romans built on the site of the capital of the Gallic Arverni tribe, which is now known as Clermont-Ferrand.  The Arverni were converted to Christianity in the 3rd or 4th century AD by Saint Austremonius, who became the first bishop of Clermont.  Its bishopric gave it great ecclesiastical importance during the Middle Ages  In the 9th century it became known as Clarus Mons and, in 1731, it was merged with the 11th century town of Montferrand, thus becoming Clermont-Ferrand.

Under the Caroligians, Clermont-Ferrand was the seat of a countship.  From 886 to 918, William the Pious was the ruling count.  After his rule, the viscounts of Clermont usurped the hereditary title of counts of Auvergne. 

In the 19th century the town grew into a large manufacturing center.  The city is now highly industrialized, producing processed foods, furniture, clothing, linen, electronic equipment, bicycles, heavy machinery, precision tools, chemicals and rubber products.  The Michelin Tire Company, which is one of the largest employers in the area, is located there.  There is a nearby airport located at Aulnat.

The city is noted for its picturesque Renaissance houses and its Romanesque ecclesiastical architecture.  The church of Notre Dame du Port, which was built in 1150, and the 13th century cathedral are among its architectural attractions.  Notre-Dame-du-Port is an interesting example of Auvergnat Romanesque architecture.  The cathedral is mostly built of dark volcanic rock.  The same rock was the building material of choice for the construction of most of the houses in the old town of Clermont.

The 6th century historian, Saint Gregory of Tours, was born here as was the philosopher-mathematician Blaise Pascal, who was born in 1623.  The Renaissance Maison des Architectes houses the Musée du Ranquet, which is devoted to both the town's history and to Pascal.  The city also boasts of the universities of Clermont-Ferrand I and II.  The university was started in 1810. 

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Le Puy-en-Velay
Le Puy-en-Velay, which until 1998 was called Le Puy, is the capital of the département of Haute-Loire.  The Romans called it Anicium.  It is located near the Loire River, on the Massif Central, about 66 miles southwest of Lyon.  The town of Le Puy-en-Velay is surrounded by an area bristling with volcanic peaks.  It is one of the most picturesque cities in France.

By the 4th century, Le Puy had become a Christian center.  During the 6th century Muslim invasion of the area the bishop of a nearby town sought refuge there.  Subsequently, the town became one of France’s pilgrimage centers.  In the latter half of the 16th century the town sided with the Catholic League during the Wars of Religion.

Of note is the red cast-iron, 53 foot high statue of Our Lady of France that was erected in 1860 on the town’s highest hill.  Below it, in the Old Town, is the 11th to 12th century Romanesque Cathedral of Notre-Dame that has a decided Byzantine influence.  The Byzantine affect is seen in the file of octagonal cupolas (or domes) and their decoration.  The cathedral also has zebra work in the masonry.  A similar Byzantine influence, also representing Muslim motifs that came by way of Spain, can also be seen in Burgundy.  Along side the Cathedral of Notre-Dame is a Romanesque cloister with Carolingian capitals.

At the edge of town is a 260 foot high volcanic needle with the 10th – 11th century chapel of Saint-Michel d’Aiguilhe purched upon it.  The church was ingeniously designed and constructed upon the rock’s irregular surfaces.  The ruins of the 14th century castle of Polignac are located on a basalt plateau about 3 miles away.

Le Puy has been a lace-making center since the 17th century.  Currently, the town’s lace making is in decline.  The Crozatier Museum has a substantial lace collection.

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Montluçon
Montluçon is located in the département of Allier, northwest of Clermont-Ferrand.  It sits on the Cher River a little below the point where it emerges from the gorges of its upper course.

Montluçon’s old town surrounds a chateau that is perched on a hill.  New districts have surrounded the old town and have spread to both banks of the Cher.  The old town has a number of 15th and 16th century wooden houses nestled among its winding streets.  A museum is now quartered in the 15^th and 16th century Chateau that belonged to the dukes of Bourbon.  The town’s library is housed in a former convent.

Montluçon is an industrial, commercial, and administrative centre, with metallurgical works, plastics, tire, electrical, and chemical factories.

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Moulins
Moulins is the capital of the département of Allier.  Moulins is located on the Allier River northwest of Lyon.

Principal among the town’s tourist attractions is its Flamboyant Gothic Cathedral of Notre-Dame.  This 16th to 17th century structure houses the 15th century triptych by the painter Jean Perréal, of Lyon, who was known as the Master of Moulins.  The cathedral’s stained-glass windows are from the same period.

Across from the cathedral is the town’s library containing a wonderful illuminated 12th century manuscript from nearby Souvigny Priory, which is located 7 miles to the southeast.  In a Nearby 15th century tower is a Jaquemart automated clock.  The chateau of the dukes of Bourbon is the town’s prison.

Moulins is an agricultural market town with some light manufacturing.  Current products are footwear, food processing and appliances.

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Riom
Riom, which was the capital of the country of Auvergne during the Middle ages, is located just north of Clermont-Ferrand on the Ambène River.  It is at the western edge of the Limagne Plain.

When Auvergne became a part of France, Riom continued to be the seat of the judiciary for the province of Auvergne.  Today, the old town, that surrounds the ancient church of Saint-Amable, is encircled by the wide boulevards that replaced the town’s ramparts.

In 1942, the Vichy collaborative government of Marchal Petin set up a supreme court of justice to try two former premiers of the Third French Republic, and others: Leon Blum and Edouard Daladier (Paul Reynaud, an other former premier of the Republic was not tried). General Maurice Gamelin was also a defendant.  They were tried, by Vichy, for their responsibility in the German defeat of France.  The trial began in Riom on February 19, 1942.  This process marked the beginning of Vichy’s decline in prestige; the coup de grace to Vichy’s prestige was the strong British Commando raid on Saint-Nazaire, and its consequences, on March 27, 1942.  Germany seized Vichy France on November 11, 1942.

Pharmaceuticals and tobacco products are manufactured in Riom.

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Vichy
Vichy, which was known to the Romans as Vicus Calidus, is the best known health spa in France.  It is situated on the Allier River.  Its two largest hot water spa centers face the river.  They are separated from the town by the parks that surround them.  The town has the appearance of being modern with more than its share of hotels.  Due to its alkaline springs and spas, Vichy had become famous by the 17th century.

The Vichy spas were long the favorites of the European royalty for ‘taking the waters’.  The French kings followed an almost ritual pattern for their visits to Vichy, and this pattern was continued through the reign of Napoleon III in the last half of the 19th century.

During WWII, following the collapse of the French army and the Franco-German Armistice of 1940, Marshal Philippe Pétain set up his collaborationist government in Vichy.  The collaborationist government soon became known as the ‘Vichy government’.

Today, more than 140,000 people go to Vichy to ‘take the waters’ every year.  Additionally, Vichy water is bottled and sold throughout the world.  In France,
a bottle of Vichy water is commonly ordered to accompany a restaurant meal. 
 

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