From the Jardin Lecoq to the Côtes site via Montjuzet and Amazonie

Leave your vehicle in the car parks at the bottom of Cours Sablon, or take the tram and get off at the Universités stop.

No signposts

(S/E) Enter the Lecoq garden via the entrance at the Cours Sablon/Boulevard de Gergovie/Boulevard François Mitterrand crossroads, opposite the Law School. Cross the park (several fountains, some beautiful trees, pond) heading generally north-west to come out at the Fontaine Desaix roundabout. Turn right, cross Boulevard Lafayette (passing in front of the Bargoin Museum) and go straight up Boulevard Ballainvilliers to the intersection with Rue Maréchal Joffre.

Cross this street, continue straight ahead for a few metres, across the small square opposite, then turn right onto Rue Abbé Girard. Follow this street to the intersection with Rue Grégoire de Tours and continue straight ahead onto Rue Savaron. When you reach Place du Terrail (fountain), continue straight ahead, veering slightly to the right, onto Rue Blaise Pascal. Follow this street until the intersection with Rue du Port. First turn right then left and continue along Rue Barnier (fountain at the beginning of the street). At the end of the street, go down the stairs opposite and you will arrive at Rue Montlosier.

(1) Carefully cross the tram tracks and the street (there is no pedestrian crossing at this point, but there is one a little further to the right if necessary). Continue to the left and then quickly turn onto Rue Montlosier, which branches off to the right and descends downhill. At the stairs (fountain), first turn right then left and continue along Rue Sous les Augustins. Turn right onto Rue Gaultier de Biauzat and continue straight ahead until you reach Place Sainte-George (fountain). Turn left and continue to the intersection with Rue Saint-Alyre. Continue straight ahead for a few metres along Rue du Pont Naturel until you reach the mural by artist Loraine Motti (fountain on the other side of the street), then return to the intersection and follow Rue Saint-Alyre to the left until you reach Boulevard Lavoisier.

(2) Cross it and turn left, cross the two lanes of Boulevard Gordon Bennett, then turn right onto Rue de Montjuzet. Further on, turn left onto Rue des Aubépines and arrive at an entrance to Parc de Montjuzet at the signpost of the same name (fountain). Note the^GR®® signposting^.

Red and white^GR®® markings

Enter the park and climb a flight of steps. Further up, follow the staircase that branches off to the left, then continue along the path that runs alongside a low wall on the left. Continue straight ahead at the end of the wall. Further on, pass a rectangular structure on the right and you will arrive at the orientation table (viewpoint).

No markings

(3) Turn right, keep right at the fork in the path (pass the chromatic induction fountain), join a path and follow it to the left. At the fork in the path, in front of the technical services buildings, turn right. Turn right at the hairpin bend in front of a gate, continue along this path which descends and leaves the park.

Take the street on the left, ending up on Rue Armand Fallières and follow it to the right. Turn left as soon as possible and follow Rue des Chanelles to the left. Turn left onto Rue des Bouys, continue along Rue Jean Monnet and go to the intersection with Rue Jacques Brel, which branches off to the right. Take this street.

(4) Pass immediately in front of the beautiful mural celebrating the Amazon rainforest by the End To End collective. The street ends at Rue de Trémonteix. Follow it to the right until you reach the crossroads, then turn left onto Rue du Clos Perret. Turn right onto Rue Alexandre Geneix, then left onto Rue des Résistants. At the end of this street, turn left to arrive in front of a private property.

(5) Take the narrow path that branches off to the right. Stay on this path, which climbs straight up the slope, steep in places, ignoring a path branching off to the left further up. At the top, when you see a marker, ignore the path on the right and continue straight ahead for a few more metres.

Yellow disc marker

(6) A few steps before the road and the La Plaine marker, take the path on the right, marked in yellow, passing through a wooden gate. After passing over a hillock (panorama), the path arrives at the La Mouchette marker. Follow the signs to Oppidum on the left. Further on, ignore the path that branches off to the left towards the antenna and continue towards the oppidum. You will come to a path; follow it to the left (private road on the right) and, at the signposts, continue towards Oppidum on the right. When you reach the Cordon des Côtes signpost (information panel), continue towards Oppidum on the left, as indicated by the next signposts, until you reach the site of the Gallic oppidum (information panel). After visiting the site, head towards the Oppidum signpost.

Red and white^GR®® markings

(7) Follow the^GR®® markings and the direction of Le Temple and, at the next intersection of paths, continue towards Antenne and walk along the fence of the radio installation on your left. Arrive at the Tour hertzienne marker and continue on the road to the right.

(6) Pass the La Plaine signpost and continue along the road until you reach an intersection with another road, at the Route de la Plaine signpost.

Yellow disc marker

(8) Leave the^GR®® markings and take the path opposite towards Avenue de Clermont. When you reach a road, follow it to the left (cemetery on your right). At the next intersection, you will find GR®® markings^again.

Red and white^GR®® markings

Follow the road to the left, ignore Impasse de Tremonteix on the left, then a few metres further on, turn left onto Rue de Nohanent.

(9) At the roundabout, continue straight ahead, still on Rue de Nohanent, cross Rue Armand Fallières and, a hundred metres further on, turn left onto Rue du Parc de Montjuzet. Ignore the car park entrance on the left and you will arrive at one of the park entrances. Follow the concrete path to the playground on the left.

No signposts

(10) Turn right onto the gravel path and then immediately go down the steps on the right. Stay on this main path/staircase which crosses the Mediterranean garden, gradually descending, and leads to a crossroads of paths. Follow the path that branches off to the left. When leaving the Mediterranean garden, do not continue straight ahead on the path lined with young trees, but turn right at the hairpin bend. At the next three intersections, turn left, then right, then left again at the hairpin bends.

The path then crosses an area with a few fruit trees, then runs alongside the trellis of an eco-grazed area. Go down the stairs at the end of the path and continue on the concrete path that descends and leads to one of the park gates. Leave the park, cross the street and take Rue André Bal opposite. At the bend in the street, continue straight ahead on a very narrow concrete path.

When you reach a street, cross it and follow Rue Victor Dupuy opposite. Turn left onto Rue Eugène Pelletan, then, about 40 metres further on, turn right onto a passageway. Cross Boulevard Lavoisier and continue along the passageway opposite. Cross Rue du Clos Notre-Dame carefully and follow Rue Paul Diomède opposite, slightly to the right.

(11) At the next complex crossroads, continue straight ahead on Rue Jean Bonnefons and you will come to the intersection with Rue Fontgiève. Continue straight ahead (fountain) and, in front of the monumental courthouse door, turn left, then follow Rue de l'Ange to the right. At the intersection with Rue Saint-Dominique, continue straight ahead, slightly to the right, on Rue des Minimes.

(12) Turn right onto Rue Lamartine. Turn left onto Rue Michel Hugues, right onto Rue Blatin, then left onto Rue Bonnabaud (beautiful architecture on this street). Continue to the intersection with Rue Eugene Gilbert, follow it to the left and you will arrive at Boulevard Charles de Gaulle (tram line).

(13) Follow the boulevard to the right and cross it as soon as possible. At the crossroads, keep left onto Boulevard François Mitterrand, still following the tram line, and you will arrive at one of the entrances to Jardin Lecoq. Enter the park (rose garden with fountain on the left), continue straight ahead to find the entrance you took at the start of the walk, at the crossroads of Cours Sablon/Boulevard de Gergovie/Boulevard François Mitterrand (S/E).

This is a moderately difficult hike with only one challenging section: the very steep path leading up to the summit of the Côtes de Clermont. Mostly on roads, the route also takes in paths and trails that are very muddy in winter. Standard hiking equipment is recommended, including a folding walking stick, which is useful between (5) and (6).

Discover more hikes in this area with a description or the Visorando app here and more generally in the Puy-de-Dôme here

Photo album here

The street art on Rue du Pont Naturel and Rue Jacques Brel (follow the links) was commissioned by the City of Clermont using a participatory budget following consultation with Clermont residents.

Panoramic views in Montjuzet Park and on the Côtes de Clermont site.

At the start of the hike, the route passes through the old town centre, which is popular with tourists and shoppers.