Riom’s historic centre

In Riom, park in the car park of the Dumoulin sports complex, near Square Virlogeux.
Please note: this walk is not signposted!

(Start/Finish) Cross Rue Jeanne d’Arc and walk along Square Virlogeux via Avenue Virlogeux until you reach a roundabout. Take care. Cross Boulevard Desaix and take Rue du Marthuret opposite. Pass Notre-Dame du Marthuret Church and carry on straight ahead until you reach Place Félix Pérol. Note the Bar des Tanneries on the left, and the Maison d’Antoine Pandier. Continue straight ahead along Rue de la Harpe, then turn right onto Rue Simon.

(1) You’ll reach Rue Hippolyte Gomot at the fountain known as the Adam and Eve Fountain (with its beautiful caryatids). Turn left for a short detour to the city gate, noting, on your right, the curved facades, which indicate the presence of spiral staircases inside. Return to the Adam and Eve Fountain.

(1) Continue straight on for a few metres, then turn left into Rue Fleurus to reach Place de la Fédération. Head to the right towards the Basilica of Saint-Aimable (open to visitors). Turn left in front of the basilica onto Rue Languille, then turn right onto Rue Victor Basch. At the fountain, turn right onto Rue Malouet, then continue straight on along Rue Caisse d’Épargne. You’ll come back to Rue Hippolyre Gomot; turn left onto it.

(2) Turn left onto Rue du Commerce. At the junction, carry straight on along Rue de l’Horloge. Near the Clock Tower, note the Hôtel Arnoux de Maison Rouge (No. 7) and the Hôtel Guymoneau (No. 12 – a visit to the courtyard is well worth it). At the Fontaine des Lions, turn right onto Rue de l’Hôtel des Monnaies. Further on, walk past the prison on your left.

(3) Turn right onto Rue Saint-Louis. Walk past the Sainte-Chapelle, which forms part of the Palais de Justice complex, and arrive at Rue de l’Hôtel de Ville, near the small Jardin de la Cour d’Appel. Follow Rue de l’Hôtel de Ville to the right. Walk past the Hôtel de Ville (you can visit the courtyard) and, at the junction with Rue Croisier, take note of the beautiful Maison des Consuls.

(4) Follow Rue Croisier to the left, then Rue Marivaux, also to the left, and finally take the second street on the right, Rue Daurat, which leads back to the roundabout at the corner of Square Virlogeux. Take care. Cross the square (with its beautiful cedar tree) to return to the car park (S/E).

Very easy city walk – comfortable shoes are all you need

A few photos here

Between (S) and (1): Notre-Dame du Marthuret Church. The present church was built in 1308 to replace a chapel destroyed by fire. It is the northernmost example of Languedoc Gothic architecture, featuring a single nave flanked by chapels. Designed without supporting structures (buttresses), it contrasts with the highly articulated buildings of the north and favours solid walls over openings.

The House of Antoine Pandier, a wealthy master tanner of^{the 16th} century. A Latin inscription in almost faded Gothic script crowns the door. It translates as: ‘Peace be upon this house and upon those who dwell therein, 1534’.
On the corner of the house, a niche framed by pilasters, dated 1550, houses a statue of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of Antoine Pandier. At his feet, his familiar animal, a small pig, wears a bell around its neck.

Between (1) and (2) lies the Basilica of Saint-Aimable. In^{the 5th} century, Amable, a priest from Riom, built a church and a baptistery on the site of a chapel. Upon his death, around 475, he was proclaimed blessed and buried in the church he had built. Miracles occurred and the building was enlarged to accommodate pilgrims. The choir, with its ambulatory and radiating chapels, dating from 1230–1235, is one of the earliest examples of Northern Gothic architecture in Auvergne.

(2) Note the old tourist sign on the wall to the right on Rue Hippolyre Gomot.

Between (2) and (3), the Clock Tower is the town’s former belfry, a symbol of the municipal freedoms acquired through the Alphonsine Charter of Franchise granted in 1270 by Alphonse de Poitiers. Built from 1391 onwards to house the consular bell and the jacquemart donated by Duke Jean de Berry, the lower section—with a square plan—serves as the base for the octagonal tower erected around 1530. Alterations in 1785 further transformed the upper sections with the addition of a dome.

Hôtel Arnoux de Maison Rouge. At No. 7 Rue de l’Horloge, with an^18th-century façade. Courtyard dating from the early^17th century. Above the French windows are the coats of arms of the Mazuer and Chambray families. In the arched pediment are those of the Arnoux family.

Hôtel Guymoneau, at No. 12 Rue de l’Horloge. Free entry to the courtyard. The layout of the Hôtel Guymoneau is characteristic of^16th-century townhouses. It is built on a narrow, strip-shaped plot comprising, in succession, the commercial wing, the courtyard with its spiral staircase and galleries, then the residential quarters and, finally, the garden. Built around 1530, its inner courtyard features a spiral staircase on the first flight of which is a scene of the Annunciation in high relief. Above the entrance door to the private quarters, two figures in Louis XII-style costume are thought to represent the Guymoneau couple, who commissioned the mansion. On the gallery balustrade are the Cardinal Virtues: Fortitude, Justice, Prudence and Temperance. Medallions in the classical style complete the décor on the other walls of the courtyard.

Between (3) and (4) is the Sainte-Chapelle. Built by Hugues Foucher, master builder to the dukes of Auvergne, the Sainte-Chapelle is the only part of the residence built in the late^14th century for Jean de Berry that remains in situ. Since the^19th century, it has formed part of the buildings housing the Court of Appeal, which replaced the ducal palace. It belongs to the Ministry of Justice.

Town Hall. Probably built in the 1510s, the present town hall bears witness, through the grandeur of its proportions, to the privileged status of its patron, Amable de Cériers, a burgher of Riom who was ennobled by François I in 1527. The Town Hall houses two bronze sculptures by Rodin: *Gallia Victrix* (1904) and the bust of Clémentel (1917), as well as a marble sculpture by Rivoire: *Le Baiser de la Gloire*.

(4) Maison des Consuls at No. 30 Rue de l’Hôtel de Ville. Dating from between 1535 and 1540, it owes its name to the terracotta medallions on the façade depicting two busts of Romans. The mansion comprises four buildings arranged around a courtyard. Facing the street, the façade stands out for its decorative features. On the ground floor, six fluted columns support the low arches of the portico. On the upper floor, the mullioned windows are flanked by carved pilasters and surmounted by friezes of foliage. The dormer windows are crowned with pediments and candelabra. On the corner, a watchtower is topped with a bell-shaped roof.

Find out more on thetourist office website.