Montferrand, the forgotten town

Take the tram and get off at the Musée d'Art Roger Quillot stop or park near the museum. The route is dotted with information points on the history of Montferrand but does not follow the itinerary suggested by the Tourist Office.

(S/E) Head west, keeping the museum on your right, cross Place Louis Deteix and continue along Rue des Baillis. When you reach Place Marcel Sembat, walk past the wash house and continue straight ahead to find the first information terminal on the other side of the square, at the very beginning of Rue du Séminaire. This round square and the ring of houses that now surround it mark the site of the former Château de Montferrand, built in the early 12th century.

Continue along Rue du Séminaire. At the junction with Rue Montorcier, on the right, at a small square behind the church, you will find the information terminal about the medieval market town and squares. Also note the fountain leaning against the church wall and the beautiful building with mullioned windows against which the information point is leaning, the Hôtel d'Étienne Pradal (no. 22).

Continue along Rue du Séminaire. Notice, to the right of the Hôtel d'Étienne Pradal, a beautiful half-timbered building (hairdressing salon on the ground floor), then other beautiful buildings on either side of the street. At No. 3 on the street, on your right, note the old cloth market, built in 1520, with its basket-handle arches.

You will arrive at the Carrefour des Taules, at the intersection with Rue Jules Guesde and Rue des Cordeliers. An information terminal tells you that this crossroads is the intersection of two major historic roads in Auvergne. Notice the stone heads carved under the corbel of the wall behind the terminal and on the building to its left (bistro). Still at the crossroads, but on the other side of Rue des Cordeliers, the Maison de l'Apothicaire dates from the 15th century. Under its roof, wooden figurines represent the owner's profession.

(1) Continue straight ahead on the street, which changes its name to Rue de la Rodade, between the half-timbered buildings. You will arrive at the intersection with Rue Docteur Pierre Balme and Rue Marmillat, where another marker awaits you. It tells the story of the Countess of Montferrand, who made her town very prosperous at the end of the 12th century. At this crossroads, note the small tower of the Maison de l'Échauguette.

Turn left for a short walk to No. 11 Rue Docteur Pierre Balme. This is one of the oldest façades in Montferrand, built in arkose. It dates from the end of the 12th century. Upstairs, notice the windows framed by monolithic columns and topped with a semicircular arch. Further on, at No. 11, don't hesitate to enter the courtyard of the second Hôtel d'Albiat to discover a gallery decorated with ancient sculptures.

Back on Rue de la Rodade, continue to the left. Shortly afterwards, on the left, you will see the Borne entre les Deux Villes (Boundary Stone between the Two Towns), which marked the boundary between the towns of Montferrand and Clermont. This boundary stone was located at the Pont de Grioule bridge, at the bottom of what is now Avenue Barbier-Daubrée. Opposite, at the top of the façade of the Hôtel de Bailliage, where legal and tax matters were dealt with, note the gargoyles. Continue along Rue de la Rodade to Place de la Rodade, where you will find an information terminal. Around 1420, this square was home to the most notable market in Auvergne. In its centre, the Four Seasons drinking fountain was erected in the 19th century.

(2) Turn back onto Rue de la Rodade, then turn left onto Rue du Moulin. At the intersection with Rue de la Cerisière, turn right. Then go up Rue d'Aline on the right and turn left to walk along Place Poly and the market halls. Continue straight on Rue Poly, then turn right onto Rue de Marmillat for a round trip to L'Hôtel de la Porte, at No. 5, to admire its beautiful courtyard adorned with a tower. Then turn back onto Rue de Marmillat, then turn right onto Rue de la Cerisière. Just before the next crossroads, notice the courtyard of a beautiful building on your right. On the other side, on your left, is the Hôtel la Faye des Forges. If the courtyard entrance is open, don't hesitate to go in and admire the staircase and the tympanum above the door.

When you reach the junction with Rue des Cordeliers, you will see a marker on your left. It explains the general layout of the mansions. Then turn right onto Rue des Cordeliers. Shortly afterwards, on your right, you will see a beautiful shop front on the ground floor of a blue-painted building (no. 9). Continue to the junction with Rue du Séminaire.

(1) Continue straight ahead on Rue Jules Guesde. Ignore the steps on Rue Notre Dame on your left and notice the beautiful door frame on the façade of the Hôtel Mallet-de-Vendègre, at the corner of Rue Jules Guesde and Rue Notre-Dame, at balcony level (above the tobacconist's). On your right, you will find an information terminal.

A little further on, at No. 11, note the yellow façade of the Hôtel d'Albiat with its mullioned windows made of Volvic stone. In the courtyard, the door of the staircase turret is surmounted by a shield representing a centaur and a centauress. Right next door, at No. 13, don't hesitate to enter the courtyard of the Hôtel Fontenilhes, whose gallery features Doric, Ionic and Corinthian capitals. Just after that, at the junction with Rue Sainte-Marie, note the information terminal on the grand private mansions.

Continue straight ahead, still on Rue Jules Guesde, to discover the 15th-century façade of the Hôtel Gaschier on your right at No. 20. Then pass in front of the Hôtel de Fontfreyde at No. 28. Its courtyard is decorated with beautiful carved medallions. Just after that, on the right-hand side of the street, you will see another information terminal about the mansions.

(3) At the junction with Rue de Beaujeu, continue straight ahead until you reach Place de la Fontaine. Notice the beautiful Art Deco building (pharmacy) on your left. In front of the pharmacy entrance, at the foot of a tree, you will find an information terminal about this square. The fountain dates from 1836. Turn back onto Rue Jules Guesde until you reach the intersection with Rue de Beaujeu.

(3) Turn left, then right onto Rue Docteur Pierre Balme, then right again onto Grande Rue du Languedoc. Soon you will see the beautiful entrance to the Hôtel de Lignat (16th century) on your right. At the junction with Rue Jules Guesde, continue straight ahead onto Rue Sainte-Marie.

Turn left onto Rue Kléber and shortly afterwards, on your left, you will see the Maison de l'Ange at No. 14. Enter the courtyard to admire an angel carved above a door. The next building on the left-hand side of the street is called the Maison de l'Éléphant. The façade of this early 13th-century building features beautiful Volvic stone arcades and, higher up, the remains of a fresco depicting an elephant. Opposite this building, on the other side of the street, is an information terminal.

You will arrive in front of the Church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Prospérité, in front of which there is an information terminal about the church and another about Rue Notre-Dame. The construction of this church spanned from the 14th to the 16th century. After visiting the church, exit onto Rue Kléber and walk around the church via Rue Montorcier (on the south side of the church). Note the Maison d'Adam et Ève (House of Adam and Eve) on the right, at No. 4 (unfortunately not very well maintained). At the next intersection, turn right, then at the next crossroads with Rue Sainte-Marie and Rue Émile Zola, turn left.

At the fork just after, continue on the leftmost street, Grande Rue du Château. Further on, walk along Place des Consuls until you reach the intersection with Rue des Baillis. Turn right to return to the tram station (S/E) via the same route as on the way there. At the crossroads with Rue du Temple, note the information terminal about the Roger Quillot Art Museum.

The route is dotted with information panels on the history of Montferrand but does not follow the itinerary suggested bythe tourist office.

Discover more walks in this area with a description or the Visorando app here

Montferrand was an independent town until the 17th century. The town was founded in the early 12th century by the Counts of Auvergne, who were in conflict with the ecclesiastical town of Clermont. Initially a simple village clustered around the count's castle, Montferrand owes its growth to a charter of franchise granted between 1196 and 1199 to the inhabitants by Countess G and her son, William VIII. This act, which confirmed the city's commercial vocation (difficult to imagine today), had a profound impact on its urban planning, giving it a regular layout and a grid pattern of streets, long before Baron Haussmann.

A royal bailiwick (public finance administration) until 1556, the merchant town became a judicial city. Its fortifications were enlarged several times over the centuries. In 1630, a royal edict ordered the merger of Montferrand and Clermont, leading to the ruin of Montferrand. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was nothing more than a simple wine-growing village. This activity did not ensure its posterity or notoriety either. This was the era of the expansion of a famous local tyre factory. The outskirts of the old town were turned upside down. Fortunately, the historic centre of the town remained intact. It was classified as a Protected Area in 1964.

In the old centre, there are numerous Romanesque houses, mansions belonging to important figures from the 13th-century count's court, half-timbered houses and rows of former prosperous shops with basket-handle arches belonging to the great merchants of the 15th and 16th centuries, and Gothic and Renaissance mansions belonging to the dynasties of magistrates of the royal bailiwick: a setting that could be used as a backdrop for many historical films.

Recently, the city of Clermont-Ferrand has sought to breathe new life into this neighbourhood, which is quite far from the city centre: moving the Museum of Fine Arts to the Roger Quillot Art Museum (whose collections I leave to the appreciation of specialists) and, above all, providing tram service and creating a tourist route in the old town (which this walk does not follow, see the Clermont-Ferrand tourist office) with the creation of numerous information terminals (some of which are on this walk). If you wish, you can discover Montferrand in photos by following this link.

Countess G. In 1196, following a dispute with King Philip Augustus, the Count of Auvergne, Robert Dauphin, bequeathed the town of Montferrand as a dower to his wife, Countess G, known as Countess Brayère. Between 1196 and 1199, this strong-willed woman granted the inhabitants a charter of franchise in order to promote the commercial development of the city for several centuries. Her son, William VIII, succeeded her, while the countess, suffering from leprosy, retired and created a leprosarium in Herbet, where she devoted herself to charitable works.

Volvic stone. Andesite is a volcanic rock that began to be quarried at the very end of the 12th century, particularly around Volvic. It was widely used for the construction and decoration of mansions in Clermont, Riom and Montferrand, particularly in the 15th and 16th centuries.