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St-Nectaire
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ST-NECTAIRE
lies some way to the south of Orcival, midway between Le Mont-Dore and Issoire. It comprises the tiny spa of
St-Nectaire-le-Bas
, whose main street is lined with grand but fading Belle A?poque hotels, and the old village of
St-Nectaire-le-Haut
, overlooked by a magnificent Romanesque
church
. Like the church in Orcival and Notre-Dame-du-Port in Clermont, this is one of the jewels of the Auvergne's Romanesque architecture, with the same delightful features: patterned stonework, intricate arrangement of apse and radiating chapels and richly carved capitals within.
On the narrow valley floor, where the main street runs, two of the old hotels have been refurbished and provide a quiet and comfortable place to stay. One, in particular, the friendly HA?tel RA©gina (tel 04.73.88.54.55, fax 04.73.88.50.56; 220-300F/a?¬34-46; closed Nov-March) has an excellent restaurant with menus from 88F/a?¬13.42. The Thermalia (tel 04.73.88.30.28, fax 04.73.88.52.59; 220-300F/a?¬34-46; closed mid-Oct to March), next door, has more character and also provides a good meal from 88F/a?¬13.42. The best-value campsite is the ClA© des Champs (tel 04.73.88.52.33), and there is also a gA®te d'A©tape , Le Clos du Vallon (tel 04.73.88.50.92; closed Nov-March), for walkers on the GR30. This heads north from here to Lac Aydat in five hours, or west to the forest-girt Lac Chambon in three hours via Murol. There's another gA®te on the way at Phialeix (tel 04.73.79.32.43; closed Nov-March).
For shorter walks out of St-Nectaire, take the D150 past the church through the old village towards the
Puy de Mazeyres
(919m), and turn up a path to the right for the final climb to the summit (1hr), where you get a superb aerial view of the country round about. Alternatively, follow the D966 along the Couze de Chambon valley to
SAILLANT
, where the stream cascades down a high lava rock face in the middle of the village. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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France,
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