Orcines - Royat via the Chemin des Crêtes

Departure from the Orcines Bourg TAD stop.

(S) Stop on the right, follow the street towards the library and, at the fork in the road, keep left, following the signs for Le Puy de Dôme. Pass the private school on your left, continue for a few metres then follow the street that branches off to the left. Ignore Chemin des Meuniers on the left, follow the bend in the street to the left and continue until you reach the D942.

(1) Cross very carefully and continue straight ahead towards Le Cheix. At the first intersection, turn left down towards Place de l'Oche and the fountain-wash house, pass to the right of it and continue straight ahead on the street. At the fork, take Chemin des Sables on the right, then leave it almost immediately at the next fork, keeping to the left. At the next fork in the road, shortly afterwards, keep to the right. You will arrive at a crossroads at the Le Cheix signpost.

(2) Turn left at the four-way crossroads, continue straight ahead and arrive at Villars.

(3) Follow the street to the right, cross a street to reach a covered fountain and wash house on Place de la Pierre Levée, then continue, passing a beautiful little Christianised menhir on your left, to enter Allée des Hirondelles. Further on, pass a fountain, wash house and drinking trough on your left and continue straight ahead on a path. At the left-hand bend, ignore the path that branches off to the right, then a few metres further on, turn onto the path on the right. Further on, ignore a hairpin bend to the left and you will come to a T-junction.

(4) Here, take a detour to explore the hamlet of Fontanas. Follow the path, Chemin des Crêtes, to the right and join a road, Route des Dômes. Follow it carefully to the left to reach Fontanas.

(5) Ignore the first street on the left (Rue de la Cascade) and take the second, Rue du Tourne Roue (note the small leat on the right). At the intersection, turn left along the leat, then turn right (note the waterfall on the right). Continue to the bridge over the Tiretaine, then retrace your steps. At the waterfall, continue straight ahead (note the working village farm on the right with the barn on the ground floor) to reach Route des Dômes.

(5) Following the reverse route of the outward journey, turn right, then turn right onto Chemin des Crêtes. Return to the intersection at the start of the round trip.

(4) Continue straight ahead on the beautiful Chemin des Crêtes, well known to Royat residents as a place for walking. Follow it, continuing straight ahead, ignoring a few side paths, until you reach the first houses of Royat, at a path leading off to the left (Puy de Chateix signpost).

(6) Continue straight ahead towards Royat Tiretaine. The path turns into a street. 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.

(7) Follow it a few metres to the left to cross safely with better visibility, then, on the other side, take the stairs down to the Parc Thermal. 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 panel), then climb the stairs. You will arrive at a crossroads at the Rue du Château signpost in the old town of Royat.

(8) Continue towards Charade and ignore 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 as it turns 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 Royat Pépinière (E) bus stop for line 5, opposite.

Difficulty: Easy, no difficulty at all on this stage, but standard hiking equipment is recommended.
I recommend the Visorando app.

Outward journey: Jaude, line A (Les Vergnes) => Gaillard then TAD => Orcines Bourg.
Return: Royat Pépinière, line 5 (Gaillard) => Gaillard then line A (La Pardieu Gare) => Jaude.
TAD.

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

After leaving Orcines, the route passes through the hamlet of Villars, which has preserved its old houses and numerous fountains, as well as a small Christianised menhir.
A round trip also allows you to discover the hamlet of Fontanas, whose inhabitants took advantage of the proximity of the Tiretaine by creating leats that once powered numerous mills.
You then take the beautiful Chemin de Crêtes, which overlooks the Tiretaine valley and has a Mediterranean feel, before descending to Royat.
We begin our exploration of this small town, which will continue during the next stage, with a visit to part of its thermal park and then its old town, passing by the former gemstone cutting workshop.
An interesting link on the history of Royat can be found here.