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The route starts at the foot of the equestrian statue of Vercingétorix, at Place de Jaude. Tram stop: Jaude.
(S/E) With your back to the statue’s plinth, on the ‘À Vercingétorix’ side, head straight towards Rue Blatin but, without turning into the street, walk a few metres to the right, towards the Church of Saint-Pierre des Minimes , skirting a bank to find, on the wall of this bank – built on the site of the former Minimes convent – a commemorative plaque marking ‘the Puy de Dôme experiment’. It was here that Pascal measured his mercury columns whilst his brother-in-law was taking the same measurements at the top of the Puy, which it is now time to head for.
Before you do so, check the atmospheric pressure reading on your smartphone’s weather app and make a note of the figure! Retrace your steps by crossing Rue Blatin again to the other side of the square, following the tram line. At the corner of the Jaude shopping centre, turn right onto Rue Julien. At the junction with Rue Bonnabaud, carry on straight ahead. You’ll come to a large roundabout with a monumental fountain on your left.
(1) Go round the roundabout on the right and head towards the junction with the numerous road signs. Cross Boulevard Duclaux at the pedestrian crossings opposite these signs to reach a small car park on the corner of the Banque de France printing works. Take the street to the left of the building, marked by the sign for the entrance to Chamalières (this is Rue Pasteur, though there is no street sign). Continue along this street, running alongside the rear of the printing works on your right, until you reach the junction with Rue Montjoly at the corner of the printing works. Turn left; further on, you’ll pass a park on your right and arrive at a junction with traffic lights near the school canteen of the École Montjoly.
(2) Turn left onto Avenue Paul Bert and quickly turn right into the second street on the right, Avenue Massenet. Just before the Paul Bert bus stop, turn right onto Avenue Pierre et Marie Curie. At the T-junction with Rue Emmanuel Chabrier, continue left, still on Avenue Pierre et Marie Curie. Ignore Rue du Remondet on the right and then Rue du Serpent on the left. Turn right at the next street, at the corner of the Hôtel Radio, onto Rue Auber. You will arrive at Avenue de la Gare (no street sign). Turn left and you will immediately come to a small roundabout below the railway viaduct, with the Grotte du Chien on your left.
(3) Carry on straight ahead and pass under the viaduct, then enter the grounds of the Chamalières-Royat Thermal Park opposite. In the park, go straight on, passing the casino on your left and the thermal baths on your right; go past the refreshment bar and you’ll arrive at the centre of the Royat spa district, opposite the Place Allard bus stop. Cross the road, carry on straight ahead, passing to the left of the bus stop, walk alongside the car park on your right, then past Royatonic, and continue through the Royat Thermal Park. In the park, carry on straight ahead, crossing the Tiretaine, until you reach a playground. Go round it on the right; do not cross the river. You’ll come to a path leading uphill to the right at a Tiretaine hiking signpost. Head up to the right to reach a road (Avenue de la Vallée).
(4) Cross the road carefully and head left, then turn right onto Avenue Antoine Phelut. Shortly afterwards, just before the house at No. 5, take a flight of steps leading up to the left. These lead to the end of Rue du Dr Alexandre Petit. Follow this street and, at the T-junction, turn right (Rue du Paradis – there is no street sign here). Ignore a street on the left, walk past the “château” on your right and, at the Fork in the road by the car park, turn left into the cul-de-sac. When the road ends, carry on straight ahead to quickly reach a junction of paths and the Puy de Chateix signpost.
(5) Carry on straight ahead; this is the Sentier des Crêtes. Ignorea path leading down to the left and, further on, a track to the right. You’ll join a road as you reach Fontanas.
(6) Carry on straight ahead along the road; at the Fork in the road, turn right (Rue des Montagnards). Continue straight ahead at the junction with Rue des Sources (there’s a fountain and washhouse on the right-hand side of the street). At the end of Rue des Montagnards, at the junction, carry on straight ahead along Rue des Fauvettes, past a joiner’s workshop, until you reach the main road that runs through Font de l’Arbre.
(7) Follow it to the right, then take the steps on the left (Rue du Maréchal Ferrant) to reach the square with the fountain and washhouse. Turn right, ignore the street on the right (which crosses over the Ruisseau de la Tiretaine) that joins the main road, and turn left. Leave Rue Blaise Pascal on your right, continue along Rue de la Combe and, at the next Fork in the road, keep left onto Rue de la Tour. At the next junction, turn left onto Rue de la Côte Folle. This becomes a track before reaching a crossroads. Carry on straight ahead, still on Rue de la Côte Folle. At the next junction, as you arrive in Montrodeix (Roman milestone topped with a cross on the right), turn left, pass the large fountain and drinking trough on Rue des Fonts Vieilles, and ignore the road on the left.
(8) At the crossroads (large fountain and washhouse on the square to the left), turn right, pass the bus shelter and, a few metres further on, take Chemin du Château Fort on the left. At the signposts, carry on straight ahead. At the Fork in the road, keep to the right. At a junction with a path not shown on the IGN map, follow the bend to the right.
(9) At the T-junction with a path, turn right. Ignore two paths branching off to the right, cross a road and follow the path opposite. You’ll come to a busier road (D942).
(10) Cross carefully and continue along the path straight ahead, slightly to the left, then turn right after about 100 m. At the junction with three paths, turn left towards Col de Cessat onto a wide path. When you reach a wide open space, ignore a path on the right. The path then narrows and becomes a track that climbs steadily to reach the Col de Ceyssat.
(11) Cross the road carefully and take the narrow path opposite, signposted ‘Chemin des Muletiers’, which climbs slightly before skirting the car park on the right. You’ll reach the memorial to the Maquis des Ardents and some directional signs. Continue along the path on the right towards the summit of the Puy de Dôme. After a fairly gentle start to the climb, you’ll reach the ‘Voie du Panoramique’. Cross the track and continue straight ahead on the ‘Chemin des Muletiers’, which climbs more steeply in a series of hairpin bends. Fifteen numbered bends lead to a terrace near the restaurant at the summit of the Puy. Continue the climb up a flight of steps, past the Temple of Mercury, to reach the first orientation tables.
Now is the time to use your weather app to check the atmospheric pressure. Then go round the antenna on the right, heading down slightly. You’ll reach the second set of orientation tables. Continue along the tarmac path towards a third set of orientation tables, which you can see to the south-west. Then head to the Panoramique station and go up to the esplanade where you’ll find a fourth set of orientation tables.
(E) To return to Place de Jaude, and for trail runners, see the Practical Information section.
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