puy-de-dome

Sun shiining, we decided to know the countryside all around & we chose to visit the Puy-de-Dome, which is the main hill in Clermont-Ferrnad.You get there by train and the facilities are very much in line with the best attractions in th USA. Museums, restaurant, brasserie, shop, museum. The train goes all around the Puy de Dome, giving you access to the most amazing sceneries.At the top, the Temple of Mercury 2nd century AD. Extraordinary!

We hiked up the Puy-de-Dome in absolutely terrible weather after having a lot of trouble getting out there due to missing the bus from the station in Clermont-Ferrand. Despite this, we had a great time on the ruthlessly steep climb - it was just a shame we could not see anything from the summit!Some pictures and details of our hiking route can be found here: http://peak-exposure.com/adventures/2013/8/17/le-massif-central

The Puy de dome is a tough steep walk, and relentless, but the top gives magnificent views and if you are lucky there will be baloonists or paragliders to watch.

The entire surrounding countryside comes alive from atop Puy-de-Dome. Take the train to the top and hike around this beautiful, windy, sometimes foggy mountain top. The excavation of the Temple of Mars is incredibly interesting and great for camera buffs. But the best pictures are of the countryside surrounding the mountain. On a clear day, you will have 360 degrees of France's Heartland open out before you. It is truly breath-taking to behold. Don't miss out on an opportunity to see France like nowhere else. Go to enjoy Puy-de-Dome.

The whole area is charming. The presence of calm nature is overwhleming.Vales, sights, wild animals at the edge of the forests and prairies coming out at dusk (deer, eagles, foxes). And then... the Puy de Dôme. I remember climbing on top of it by car with friends in the summer of 1998, you could fly with a guy on a kind of big kite, a deltaplane. The horizon was far away. The sky was clear. In summer 2013 it was no longer possible to take your car to the top. You took a train after purchasing a ticket at the station at the bottom of the shall I call it mountain? So that's what my father, mother, niece, nephew, their father and I did. Through misty white clouds we could glimpse the panorama but at the top it was so foggy that you found yourself as if in another era, the middle ages for instance. The same kind of thing happened to me on the Aran islands in 1987. Always worth it though. I did not have the choice of July 2013 for the date so I chose the closest one available.

Hiking Puy-de-Dome is wonderful for an outdoor activity. Hiking Puy-de-Dome only takes about 45 minutes to an hour but keep in mind that the ancient volcano is very steep. The view from the top and along the way is magnificent and I suggest going during the spring time. At the top, there is a gift shop and a cafe. If hiking isn't your thing, you can always take the little tram to the top.

Originally from Clermont-ferrand and now living in London, each time I go back to Clermont-ferrand, I save a day, a night or a morning to climb the puy-de-dome to re energise and revitalise myself. All this with my friends or family. Try it for the sunset or the sunrise or simply in the afternoon and you will always get a spectacular view of the volcano chain and the city. I definitely recommend.

Puy de dome is an extinct volcano, about 1400m high. We drove to near the base, and took the tram up and back (Euro 6 one way, 10 return) which leaves every 40 mins in off season and every 20 minutes in high season. From the top there are spectacular views over the Auvergne national volcano park, with scenery boards to show you what you are seeing (including a very faint distant glimpse of Mont Blanc). The peak is topped by a TV transmitter, and weather station, but the most impressive building is the remains of a large roman temple to Mercury. There is a small modern museum dedicated to this (mostly targeting kids) and a cafe and restaurant round off the attractions. Allow 1-2 hours at the top depending on museum time/eating or not. Go early on a clear day for the best views - haze builds up during the day.

We had a. Beautiful clear day views are beyond compair. Fantastic trails to walk up the dome and really good train service. My boys 11,10 and 7 walked up and we got the train back.

Spectacular views; in a good day you could see Mont Blanc!At the top, do not miss the ruins of temple of Mercury. There is a good french food Cafeteria to have lunch there.

This was spectacular! We took as bus (Navette de dome) out to Puy-de-dome as we didn't have a car. It was about a 15 minute ride. There is a tram that takes you to the top of Puy-de-dome. We chose to hike up so I don't know how much it costs. The hike was about an hour up and was fairly steep. Once you get to the top the views are spectacular! You can see chains of ancient volcanoes for miles! At the top there are ancient ruins for the temple of Apollo (if I remember right). When we went they were working to restore it. There is a small cafe and museum at the top with a bathroom. There were lots of hang gliders taking off from the top of Puy-de-dome. It was quite spectacular to watch them glide over the chains of volcanoes. From the top, or even from the parking lot at the bottom, you can access a bunch of other trail systems. We took a trail behind Puy-de-dome that went to some of the other smaller volcanoes. There are a few that have trails going up and around the rims and inside the volcano! It was quite an experience to be inside a volcano! As we were hiking around these smaller volcanoes there were sheep grazing and even a hot air balloons that launched! We had a very memorable time here! It's definitely worth the visit!

The most prominent landmark in Clermont-Ferrand, this gorgeous Puy overlooks the city. It is particularly beautiful when it is dusted with snow and it can be seen from all over town. This is para-sailers Heaven, so don't be surprised to see these bright birds floating around in great numbers. A very good hike here, too, a very good workout after indulging in great French cooking!

This place is a dead volcano near Clermont Ferrand. This town has an airport serving mostly a large area of central France. Its known as Massif Central Auvergne. The puy de dome is accessible from Lyon as largest nearmost airport. The Auvergne cheese is also famous. It has mostly nature glory. There is not much man-made wonders like palaces or chateaux you can see here. Large parks, rivers, mountains (not steep) are good to visit here. March onwards should be a good season here than dull autmn and winters as they are chilling places. Clermont is an ex-industrial city with Michelin tyre maker base, not very cute city.

A great way to see and experience the surrounding volcanic countryside. The train up is a pleasant way of getting to the summit quickly however, on a sunny day the walk up would be more satisfying.

There are two ways to get to the top. One is by tram, the other on foot. We chose the second option. It's a 1h30 walk from the tram station. The trail leads through a forest to a car park, and then climbs steeply to the top of the mountain. The views are great: you can see the Chaine des Puys stretching on both sides of Puy de Dome. You can take a different route back to the tram station (one is called Chemin des Muletiers, the other Chemin des Chevres).One appalling thing: there's a Roman temple at the top, dating from the 1st century AD. At present it's being... rebuilt. So instead of seeing Roman ruins, we saw blocks of concrete.