Montaudoux–Montjuzet circular loop via the Banque de France

Park in the north car park of the Clinique de la Châtaigneraie; parking is available only on Saturdays and Sundays. On weekdays, it is best to start the walk from a bus stop, anywhere along the route. If you wish to complete the circular route as described, the nearest bus stop to the start is “Châtaigneraie”, on line 8.

(Start/Finish) To the north-west of the car park, take the path leading into the Bois de la Châtaigneraie. Ignore all the paths branching off to the right and left until you reach a junction with a wide track (Rue du Docteur Lepetit). Information sign: Bois de la Châtaigneraie and old quarry on the left.
Follow the path to the right. Further on, pass a few houses on the left and arrive at a crossroads. Turn left (Ancien Chemin de Royat à Beaumont) to climb the slopes of the Puy de Montaudoux. Ignore a path on the left, then – still keeping to the left – a track leading up to the summit of the puy (steep climb); then let a path branch off to the right, and ignore yet another track on the left leading up to the summit (also a steep climb). You’ll reach a T-junction.

(1) Turn right (Chemin de Montaudoux) and join a narrow road. Follow it to the left, taking care as the verges are very narrow. You’ll reach a T-junction with Rue des Montagnards.

(2) Turn right, go through the tunnel under the railway line (take care: the tunnel is narrow and there is alternating traffic). On the other side, keep right to follow Rue de Bellevue. Cross Boulevard Gambetta and continue straight ahead along Rue Édouard Branly.

(3) At the T-junction, turn right onto Rue des Galoubies, then keep left to follow Avenue Jean Jaurès after the left-hand bend. Follow it until you reach Rue Pasteur, opposite the high wall of the Banque de France’s printing works.

(4) Turn left, walk alongside the building and take the first street on the right, Avenue de Montjoly, which joins Boulevard Duclaux at a large junction. Follow the boulevard – which becomes Boulevard Berthelot on the left – until you reach the next large junction. Cross the two streets on the right to reach the entrance to Square Amadéo.

(5) Walk through this small park and exit onto Rue Antoine Menat. Cross the road and follow Rue Amadéo opposite, which, after a wide right-hand bend, joins Rue de Fontgiève. Cross the road and continue straight on along Rue Pierre Besset.

(6) At the next major junction, turn left onto Rue Paul Diomède. Cross Rue du Clos Notre-Dame, then Boulevard Lavoisier. Shortly afterwards, turn right onto Rue Victor Duruy, then ignore Rue Eugène Pelletan on the right. At the next junction with Rue Jules Favre, continue straight ahead along the path on Rue André Bal. This leads to Rue des Fées; continue straight ahead until the junction with Rue de Beausoleil.

(7) Cross the road and head straight ahead onto a narrow path (behind a green gate, which should be open). Follow it up into Montjuzet Park, join a path and follow it to the left. Further on, turn right to reach the Mediterranean garden, where you can see the tall yew trees. Walk up through this garden until you reach a large open space (picnic area); go round it on the left and continue eastwards. Head towards the Volvic stone sculpture and the viewpoint overlooking the town (orientation board, benches) and continue eastwards (Chemin des Aubépines). At the end of this path, a flight of steps leads down to one of the park gates, near a fountain.
Whilst in the park, you are of course free to temporarily leave the described route to explore at your leisure.

(8) Leave the park via Rue des Aubépines, turn right onto Rue de Montjuzet, then right again onto Rue de Beausoleil, and then turn left onto Rue Ernest Picard. Further down, cross Boulevard Lavoisier, continue straight ahead along Rue des Portes d’Argent, then cross Rue du Clos Notre-Dame and continue straight ahead to reach a large junction.

(9) Cross two streets to the left and follow Rue Jean Bonnefons on the right-hand side of the square. Go straight on at two junctions until you reach Rue Fontgiève, opposite a striking fountain-streetlamp. Cross the road, continue straight on along Rue du Docteur Gautrez and, opposite the porch of the former chapel of the Hôpital Général, turn right into Rue Sainte-Rose. Continue straight on, crossing Place de la Liberté, until you reach Rue Gabriel Péri at the traffic lights.

(10) Turn left onto this street, then take the first right onto Rue Jean-Baptiste Torrilhon. Continue straight on, passing the Lycée Amédée Gasquet on your right, then Square Amadéo, until you reach the junction with Boulevard Berthelot.

(5) Turn left onto it and carry on straight ahead until you pass, this time, the beautiful buildings of the Banque de France’s printing works. At the next large junction, keep left and go round the roundabout on the left to pass the Cathédrale des Eaux fountain.

Continue round the roundabout, then follow Rue Gourgouillon (sign for the entrance to Chamalières at the corner of the street). Immediately afterwards, turn left onto the small Rue Fabert. As the street bends to the left, follow the narrow lane on the right which joins Rue Saint-Simon. Follow it to the left; after the left-hand bend, turn right onto Rue du 8 Mai 1945. Ignore Rue de la Rochefoucault on your left, then you’ll reach the junction with Rue des Salins.

(11) Follow it to the right and reach the junction with Boulevard Aristide Briand on the left and Boulevard Jean Jaurès on the right. Cross the road and turn left, then turn right onto Rue André Theuriet. Go straight on at every junction until you reach the junction with Avenue des Cottages.

(12) Follow it to the right, then turn left onto Rue de Wailly. At the junction, follow Rue Riquet to the right, cross the railway line and immediately turn left onto Rue du Pavin, which runs alongside the railway line and leads to Avenue de la Libération.

(13) Follow it to the right. At the traffic lights, go straight on, then, at the next set of traffic lights, turn right onto Rue Jean-Baptiste Toury. Go straight on along the one-way street; at the top, ignore Rue Robert Noël on the left and, at the roundabout, keep right onto Rue de Ceyrat. Turn right onto Rue Henri Pourrat. At a fire hydrant, turn left into a steeply sloping lane and, at the top, turn right onto Rue de la Veyre and follow it to the right. Ignore the road leading down to the right. At the end of the tarmac, turn left onto the track leading to the clinic’s car park (S/E).

Difficulty: Medium, leaning towards Easy. An urban route with sections of footpaths, so walking boots are recommended.
Please note: this is not a tourist route; it is intended more for locals who wish to walk around town without expecting too much in the way of points of interest in the neighbourhoods they pass through.
Please note! Urban parks are closed in strong winds

A few photos here

Two superb architectural complexes along this route: the Banque de France Printing Works and the Lycée Amédée Gasquet.

The Banque de France Printing Works was established in Chamalières between 1916 and 1918, right in the centre of France, far from the borders (particularly the German ones). Follow the link for more information.

The Amédée Gasquet High School, designed by the architect Ernest Pincot, is an architectural complex typical of the 1920s. Originally, it was a secondary school for boys and a practical school of commerce and industry; it is now a vocational college. Note its superb monumental gates made of wrought iron and Volvic stone. Follow the link for more information.

(S/E) A remnant of a much larger chestnut grove which is gradually shrinking due to the (more or less legal) expansion of the clinic and the construction of housing estates, despite the site being classified as a sensitive natural area. Some of the chestnut trees are very old; others, which are diseased, are being treated. The Beaumont chestnut grove once housed a pozzolan quarry, of which a rugged landscape of red rocks remains.

Between (7) and (8), Montjuzet Park is the largest park in Clermont-Ferrand. It occupies a small volcano which overlooks the city to the north and from which it takes its name. Of course, it is possible – indeed, advisable – to deviate from the route described here to explore the park further.