La Bourboule, located on either side of the Dordogne river at an altitude of 850 metres, is both a spa resort known for its curative water and an approved Green Resort (resort paying particular attention to its natural environment) and Station Kid (resort making childrens' facilities and activities a priority). It attracts a large number of spa patients and even more kids! Les Grands Thermes thermal baths, featuring typical belle-époque architecture, specialises in treating respiratory and skin conditions. It also offers well-being and fitness breaks.

Not far from the baths is the charming Parc Fenestre, a beautiful wooded park to wander round and relax in.

The spa resort's very green surroundings are a favourite destination for walking fans who go there for sites like La Vernière and Plat à Barbe waterfalls, and Banne d'Ordanche and Roche Vendeix mountains.

Puy de Sancy mountain, part of the Dore mountain range in the Auvergne Volcanic Regional Nature Park, reaches an altitude of 1,886 metres, making it the highest peak in the Massif Central. Accessible during the summer season either via cable car or a path with 864 steps, the summit offers a magnificent view of the unspoiled landscapes of the Dore, Cézallier and Cantal mountains. In winter, Puy de Sancy's snowy slopes, which can be reached via the ski resorts of Super Besse and Le Mont-Dore, are very popular with skiers and snowboarders.

Nestling in a peaceful, green setting in the heart of the Auvergne Volcanic Regional Nature Park between the Dôme and Dore mountains is Notre-Dame d'Orcival basilica, a masterpiece of Romanesque art built most likely at the start of the 12th century by the Counts of Auvergne and the Bishop of Clermont. It boasts a magnificent chevet and, inside, fantastic carved capitals and a striking statue of the Virgin in Majesty that attracts numerous pilgrims on Ascension Thursday. One of the most beautiful churches in the Auvergne!

Built on a basalt outcrop overlooking the Couze valley and Chambon lake, the Château de Murol is a medieval fortress complete with keep, rampart walk, fortified gatehouse and towers. Modified over the centuries and bearing traces of the Wars of Religion, this listed historic building described by French writer George Sand in her novel Jean de la Roche is a must-see site for fans of medieval architecture.

Chambon lake is located in a beautiful wooded setting in the heart of the unspoiled scenery of the Auvergne Volcanic Regional Nature Park not far from Chaudefour valley and near the town of Chambon-sur-Lac. The calm water of this vast, 60-hectare lake attracts both sporty types and those looking for relaxation. Among the many activities on offer are swimming (supervised in July and August), canoeing, kayaking, windsurfing, fishing, walking and horse riding around the lake, a children's playground and pedalos. The ideal destination for both recharging your batteries and getting fit!

Famous for its cheese of character of the same name, the peaceful village of Saint-Nectaire in the Monts Dore mountain area is dominated by its superb 12th-century Auvergne Romanesque church built by the monks of La Chaise-Dieu abbey in honour of Saint-Nectaire. This listed historic monument houses no fewer than 103 stunning carved capitals, as well as a treasury containing, among others, a bust of St Baudime in gilt copper and one of the Virgin of Mt Cornadore. It is absolutely stunning!

At the foot of the church lies Saint-Nectaire-le-Bas, a spa town with over 40 springs, and the Maison du Saint-Nectaire cheese centre dedicated to the famous creamy cheese with hints of hazelnut.

Enjoying a unique natural setting in the Sancy mountain area in the heart of the Auvergne Volcanic Regional Nature Park, the village of Besse-et-Saint-Anastaise features narrow paved streets, pretty boutiques and black lava stone houses with slate and lauze stone roofs. The medieval and Renaissance quarter is lovely to stroll around and home to historic buildings and monuments like the half-Romanesque, half-Gothic Saint-André church, which contains beautiful historiated capitals, the Maison de la Reine Margot, home to the Skiing museum (Musée du Ski), a bell tower and the Château du Bailli (former bailiff's castle). All this, as well as the many outdoor activities on offer in the surrounding countryside, make it an ideal destination for a summer or winter holiday.

As for fine food, Besse-et-Saint-Anastaise is located in the heart of AOC Saint-Nectaire production country. Attention all cheese lovers!

With a surface area of 395,000 hectares, the Auvergne Volcanoes Regional Nature Park is the biggest Regional Nature Park in mainland France! Straddling the departments of Puy-de-Dôme and Cantal, this vast territory is ideal for hiking and contains four volcanic massifs, which are the Chaîne des Puys, the Mounts of Dore, the Cézallier and the Mounts of Cantal, as well as an old granite plateau, the Artense.

In the department of Puy-de-Dôme, nature-lovers must be sure to explore the Chaîne des Puys range, whose most famous - and most frequented - site is the Puy de Dôme. There are exceptional views of the Auvergne volcanoes from the top! Further south, the top of the Puy de Sancy also offers a superb view, of the Mounts of Dore landscapes this time.

The Tuilière and Sanadoire rocks (remains of ancient volcanoes separated by the Fontsalade Valley), Lake Guéry (the highest lake in Auvergne), the Chaudefour Valley and its nature reserve, the Chambon, Pavin and Aydat lakes, the peaceful Cézallier mountains, or Murol Castle and the Romanesque churches of Orcival and Saint-Nectaire are some of the places worth discovering.

Places to visit: Vulcania, the European volcanology park, located near the Puy de Lemptegy in the municipality of Saint-Ours-les-Roches. This is a fun and interactive information centre devoted to the world of volcanoes and volcanic phenomena around the world.

To find out more about the Auvergne Volcanoes Regional Nature Park, the Park House (Maison du Parc) at Montlosier Castle in Aydat offers plenty of information, exhibitions and themed hikes.

Aydat lake, located in the Dôme mountains in the Auvergne Volcanic Regional Nature Park, is the largest natural lake in the Auvergne and a special site that's a popular destination with holidaymakers and fans of water-based activities. Edged by wooded shores, a beach with amenities and a water sports centre, it offers numerous activities, including windsailing, kayaking, catamarans, dinghies and pedalos.

Nestling in a pine, beech and spruce forest not far from Besse-et-Saint-Anastaise is a beautiful volcanic crater lake called Lac Pavin (surface area 44 hectares, depth 92 metres). Take the footpath surrounding the lake for a peaceful and very romantic hour-long walk. The water is teaming with trout so it's also a popular place for fishing enthusiasts.

The ski resort of Super Besse was built in 1961 and is located at an altitude of 1,350 metres on the south side of Puy de Sancy mountain not far from the village of Besse-et-Saint-Anastaise. Its ski area comprises both downhill and cross-country ski runs and has the benefit of being linked to the pistes of the resort of Le Mont-Dore. Super Besse also has a swimming pool and an ice rink.

The 1,465-metre-high Puy de Dôme is the symbol of the département and the highest volcano in the Chaîne des Puys mountain range. Part of the Monts Dôme range in the heart of the Massif Central mountain region, around 15km from the city of Clermont-Ferrand, this high peak is a designated "Great Site of France" and can be reached by foot via a Roman path from Col de Ceyssat pass or by cog railway. At the summit are ruins of a Gallo-Roman temple dedicated to Mercury, a meteorological observatory and a visitor information centre that includes a room devoted to volcanology. However, this natural site that has been dormant for around 12,000 years is above all worth visiting for its wonderful panoramic view, on a clear day, of the Chaîne des Puys, Monts Dore and Monts du Forez mountains, Clermont-Ferrand and its suburbs, and the Limagne plain. A footpath around the top with several viewpoint indicators is the perfect way for visitors to fully appreciate the beauty of the place.

The Puy de Dôme is also a favourite launching point for paragliding and hang-gliding enthusiasts.

The old village of Saint-Saturnin, where the Counts of Auvergne once lived, towers above the Monne gorges from the top of a lava flow and has inspired a whole host of painters and writers. Its places of interest include a 12th-century Romanesque church topped with a fine octagonal bell tower, a medieval fortified castle that was once the property of the queens Catherine de Medici and Marguerite de Valois, a Renaissance fountain and picturesque narrow streets – all of which have contributed to it being recognised as one of France's Most Beautiful Villages.

A stop on the Route Historique des Châteaux d'Auvergne discovery trail, the Château de La Batisse near the village of Chanonat is an elegant 15th- to 18th-century, southern-French-style manor house flanked by round towers and surrounded by formal gardens by the school of French landscape architect Le Nôtre. The guided tour of the interior highlights beautiful 16th-, 17th- and 18th-century furniture, as well as frescoes and tapestries.

The gardens are on France's official "Remarkable Gardens" list and their water fountains, rock-work grottoes, plant maze, rose garden and waterfalls make them a lovely place to wander around.

Nestling on the banks of the Bort-les-Orgues reservoir, in the municipality of Lanobre in Cantal, Val Castle is a beautiful medieval building from the 14th and 15th centuries, flanked by six pepper box towers with machicolations.

Once overlooking the Upper Dordogne Valley, before the dam was commissioned in 1952, the majestic Val fortress is now a very romantic sight, with its peninsula bathed by the lake's peaceful waters and its green surroundings.

A listed Historic Monument, the castle fort welcomes you for a guided or audioguide tour, a very special experience during which you will discover the Gothic chapel dedicated to St. Blaise, the monumental staircase, the beautiful Renaissance fireplaces, the wall walk and its splendid views of the surroundings, or the ceremonial courtyard planted with flowers.

In the vicinity of the castle, lovers of outdoor pursuits can enjoy a landscaped beach where bathing is supervised in July and August, and a water sports centre with pedalos, canoes, licence-free motor boats and inflatables. You can also take a boat cruise on the lake between May and September.

Formerly called Merdogne plateau, the vast Gergovie plateau, located 15 kilometres south of Clermont-Ferrand, is famous for being the site of the famous Battle of Gergovia that took place between Vercingetorix and Julius Caesar's armies in 52 BC. A commemorative monument erected by Napoleon III in honour of Vercingetorix stands on one edge of the plateau. From this site, there's a fantastic view of Clermont-Ferrand, its suburbs and the Limagne plain below.

Worth visiting: the Maison de Gergovie, an information centre devoted to the geology, archaeology and history of the plateau.

Two not-to-be-missed events take place on the plateau: Les Arverniales, a weekend-long archaeology festival every July that features living history displays of the Gallic period; and Cervolix, an impressive annual kite festival every second weekend of October.

Clermont-Ferrand enjoys an ideal location between the Limagne plain and the Chaîne des Puys mountain range. The capital of the Auvergne region and the birthplace of the famous French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal, it boasts a rich heritage of numerous fine mansions, like the Hôtel de Fontfreyde, Hôtel Savaron and Hôtel de Chazerat, and beautiful religious buildings in the old town, including the Gothic Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption cathedral which is made of black lava stone from Volvic and has preserved superb original stained-glass windows, and the Romanesque Notre-Dame-du-Port basilica, a UNESCO World Heritage Site containing a striking choir decorated with carved capitals and a crypt with a Black Virgin that attracts a large number of pilgrims each year.

Strolling around Clermont's old quarter, visitors will also see Rue Pascal street, which is lined with elegant houses, the picturesque Rue des Gras and Rue des Chaussetiers streets, and pretty lava stone fountains like the fantastic Renaissance Fontaine d'Amboise.

A must-see is the immense Place de Jaude square with an equestrian statue of Vercingétorix by sculptor Bartholdi in its centre – it's the liveliest square in Clermont-Ferrand and the heart of the city's shopping district.

The Bargoin archaeology museum located near the pleasant Jardin Lecoq gardens houses prehistoric and Gallo-Roman collections of objects unearthed during excavations in the region, including a striking group of 1st-century wooden votive offerings found in a shrine at the mineral springs known as the Source des Roches (rock spring) in Chamalières.

Events not to be missed: the famous international short film festival, which takes places each year at the beginning of February, and the Montferrand medieval festivals every June.

Auvergne, a land of volcanoes, naturally wanted to offer the public an insight into the world of volcanism. It achieved this in 2002 by opening the Vulcania theme park, in the municipality of Saint-Ours in Puy-de-Dôme, around fifteen kilometres from Clermont-Ferrand.

Located in the middle of the Puys range at the heart of a Regional Natural Park - which led to objections by defenders of nature when the project was first announced - Vulcania is now an unmissable attraction for anyone wishing to discover and understand the mechanism of earthquakes and how our planet works.

This site dedicated to volcanology is half underground and conical in shape, like a volcano. It was dug into a 30,000-year-old lava flow.

It makes learning fun, thanks to the experiences on offer: 5D films, dynamic platforms, animatronics, interactive exhibitions, a scientific theatre, a tethered balloon and more. Vulcania also offers an expedition to learn about deep oceanic volcanism, aboard the bathyscaphe "Abyss Explorer" at depths of 2,500 metres; an encounter with the Jurassic giants; and a giant screen adventure about the lives of tornado hunters.

You might be bowled over by one of Vulcania's most popular attractions, a 4D animation that answers the following question: what would happen if the volcanoes of Auvergne were to re-awaken?

To complete the visit with an immersion in the site's environment, Vulcania offers visitors a scenic tour of around ten minutes aboard the "Volcanbul", a GPS-guided electric vehicle. For a more spectacular experience, climb aboard the "Ballon des Puys" tethered balloon to admire volcanic landscapes from 100 metres above ground, an attraction that's unique in Auvergne!