Hauts de Royat and Chamalières via the Roman road

Park in the Royat sports complex car park. T2C line no. 5, Royat Pépinière stop.

No signposts

(S/E) Return to the roundabout at the car park entrance, go around it on the left, crossing a single road, and take the path that climbs up opposite, to the left of the large house. Further up, you will reach the Chemin des Crêtes.

Yellow disc signposting

(1) Follow it to the left and immediately ignore a path on the right at the directional signs (follow Fontanas).

(2) A few dozen metres before the farm buildings, at the intersection with directional signs, turn right towards Montroreix.

No markings

Shortly afterwards, at the fork in the path, leave the yellow markings and turn right. Stay on this path, ignoring any vague side paths (heading north-east).

Yellow markings

(3) At the T-junction with a path, turn right, then immediately ignore a path branching off to the right. Ignore a path on the left and you will come to a T-junction with a track.

No markings

Follow it to the left. When the track turns left, turn onto a path descending to the right. You will come to a T-junction with the old Roman road, a beautiful path that is still paved in places.

Markings: Yellow disc and red and white^GR®®

(4) Turn right. At the Chamalières sports complex, ignore the paths that branch off to the right and continue along the Roman road until you reach a street in Chamalières with directional signs.

(5) Immediately take the path that branches off to the left, towards Hauts de Chamalières, and continue until you reach this marker.

No signposts

(6) Walk a few metres to the left to find the Pierre Carrée signpost. Turn left towards La Pierre Carrée for a round trip to a viewpoint on the edge of the D941 with a view of the Clermont-Ferrand metropolitan area and orientation tables. Return to the Hauts de Chamalières signpost by following the same route as on the way there.

Yellow disc and red and white^GR®® markings

(6) Turn left towards Chamalières centre. When you reach an orientation table, turn left to join a street at the Paul Cézanne marker. The^GR®® markings disappear (the IGN map is not up to date at this point).

Yellow disc markings

Follow the signs for Chamalières centre, crossing the road and then following it on the right. When you reach the Edgar Degas signpost, follow the signs for Puy de Chateix along a concrete path that crosses a park. Continue straight ahead at the crossroads and join a street after a wide right-hand bend.

(7) Follow it to the right, go down the stairs on the left and, at the bottom, follow the path that joins a street below the railway line. Follow the street to the right, turn right at the intersection, cross the street at the pedestrian crossing and continue to the right until you reach Allée du Gymnase, which branches off to the left. Follow this road and turn right at the car park to find the path that climbs into the woods.

(8) Follow this path and ignore a trail on the left that crosses to the other side of the valley. You will come to a track. Follow it to the right (the markings have disappeared at this point). Further on, at a viewpoint, follow the track as it curves to the left.

(9) At the crossroads, turn left. At the next crossroads, continue straight ahead (turning right). Further on, ignore a track that descends to the left, then another that climbs to the right (neither of which are marked on the IGN map). Further on, ignore a path that descends sharply to the left and arrive on the Chemin des Crêtes at the Puy de Chateix marker.

(10) Turn left towards Royat Tiretaine. The path turns into a street in Royat. At the T-junction, opposite the "castle", turn right onto Rue du Paradis. Turn onto the first street on the left, Rue Docteur Alexandre Petit. At the end of the street, go down the steps and turn right to join a busy road, the M68.

(11) Follow it a few metres to the left, crossing carefully when visibility is good, then, on the other side, take the stairs down to the thermal park. At the bottom, find the Tiretaine signpost and continue straight ahead, along this river on your right, towards Charade. Cross a footbridge, on the other side, continue to the left, cross a bridge to return to the right bank of the Tiretaine, then turn immediately right.
Just before another bridge, turn left, immediately pass in front of the Grotte des Laveuses (information sign), then climb the stairs. You will arrive at a crossroads at the Rue du Château signpost.

(12) Continue towards Charade, ignoring the stairs and then a street on the left. You will arrive at a street just before a crossroads with traffic lights. Cross carefully and continue opposite, between the road on your right and Tiretaine on your left, along a footpath. Leave the old Taillerie de Royat (gemstone cutting workshop) on your left and follow the street that veers to the left. Shortly afterwards, do not take the footbridge but continue along the footpath overlooking the river. At the end of this concrete path, continue straight ahead on the grass. When you reach a road, cross it carefully to reach the car park (S/E) opposite.

Moderate difficulty hike, with only a slightly steep start.
Standard hiking equipment.

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Photo album here

The Roman road linked Lugdunum (Lyon) to Mediolanum Santonum (Saintes), via Augustonemetum (Clermont). The section used by this route is still paved.

There are beautiful views of the Puy de Dôme from the Chemin des Crêtes, in the first part of the hike, above Royat. Then, above Chamalières, there are numerous viewpoints towards the city of Clermont-Ferrand to the east. In (6), the orientation tables are mainly intended to encourage potential tourists passing by on this road to take a short walk downhill. The view is no different from the one a little further along the route.

On the heights of Chamalières, the transformation of the beautiful forest trails into wide tracks was completed at the end of 2022. Officially, this is the creation of DFCI tracks. Many Chamalières residents suspect a large-scale property development project. To be continued...

At the end of the hike, walk along the Tiretaine, passing by the Grotte des Laveuses, a wash house built in a hollowed-out pocket of slag, and the former Taillerie (fine stone cutting workshop) of Royat.