Location: Auvergne < France
Nearest Airport:
Clermont-Ferrand at 45
Kilometres
Nearest Train:
Vichy at 35
Kilometres
Nearest Motorway:
Gannat at 15
Kilometres
Car: recommended
Auvergne is virtually a white spot just in the middle of France. Until now bypassed by the major tourist streams going to Paris, Cote d'Azur, Provence, Dordogne, Pyrenees, Bretagne and the Alps.
It is now opening up thanks to the new North-South Motorways A71 Paris-Montpellier-Spain, and East-West A89 Geneva-Lyon-Clermont-Ferrand-Bordeaux. About 5 hours from all french borders.
Auvergne has few inhabitants (1,3 million) but large magnificent landscapes with volcanoes, clean streams and rivers, high plateau's with free roaming cattle and plenty of beautiful medieval village and churches. Allier has the highest concentration of Castles in France about 500, so one every 2-3 km. The air is clean, (not much industry), and the evening sky clear and beautiful with stars (no evening light pollution). And the food. Many of the most famous cheeses in France come from Auvergne, and the local dishes are prepared with the unpolluted local products.