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At weekends, park in the car park of the Clinique de la Châtaigneraie in Beaumont. The start of the trail is in the north-western corner of the car park. Accessible via T2C line 8.
Please note! This route is not signposted as such.
(S/E) Take the path to the right of a ‘No Motor Vehicles’ sign, marked by a wooden post bearing a Yellow Disc. Immediately ignore the path leading down to the left and continue straight ahead, skirting the chestnut grove on your left. You’ll come out onto a wider track with an old pozzolan quarry on your left.
(1) Turn right and carry on to the next crossroads.
(2) Turn left between a meadow and a property. Continue along this wide track, which climbs gently up the slopes of Montaudoux.
(3) Further on, at a signpost marked ‘Puy de Montaudoux (steep climb)’, turn left; immediately ignore a path on the left at the signposts and head straight up a very steep path, following yellow butterfly markings to the summit of Montaudoux.
Warning! The climb to the summit of Puy de Montaudoux is dangerous in wet weather and in the event of snow or ice.
There are some lovely views along the climb. Descend on the other side via a steep path, following the same markings, and rejoin the wide path you left earlier.
(4) Follow it to the left. Shortly afterwards, the path leads onto a small road, in front of some houses. Turn left onto the road and continue to a junction – in the form of a small roundabout – with the Chemin des Montagnards. Carry on straight ahead and, shortly afterwards, you’ll find Parc Bargoin on your right. Walk along the right-hand side of the park until you reach its entrance.
(5) Carry on straight ahead and, shortly afterwards, at the junction, go down the small street on the right (yellow markings). Continue to the junction with a wider, busier street, Boulevard Dr Barrieu.
(6) Turn left onto the boulevard. Shortly afterwards, you’ll notice two very beautiful buildings: one on the left (HR) and one on the right – the Victoria, with its yellow shutters. Cross the boulevard carefully and, opposite, just to the right of the Victoria, take a covered passageway. Continue down the steps leading from it to reach Boulevard Vaquez.
(7) Follow it to the left, then walk alongside the car park for the Tourist Office and RoyaTonique. Beyond the car park, enter the park via a concrete path on the left. Cross the bridge over the Tiretaine and continue straight on, keeping the stream on your left. Further on, cross the Tiretaine again and follow the path straight on until you reach a small hill topped by a gazebo. Turn right to cross a stream, go round the playground on the right, then continue alongside the Tiretaine on your right. Head back up Avenue Auguste Rouzaud to leave the park via the steps leading up to the right.
(8) Cross carefully, then follow the avenue to the left for a few metres before turning right onto Avenue Antoine Phelut. About fifty metres further on, take the steps on the left to come out onto Rue du Dr A. Petit. At the next junction, turn right onto Avenue du Paradis until you reach the junction with Boulevard du Dr Rocher on the left.
(9) Take the path which branches off to the right of Boulevard du Dr Rocher (sign prohibiting motor vehicles). At the top, you’ll reach Chemin des Crêtes at a signpost marked ‘Puy de Chateix’.
(10) Continue straight up towards “Hauts de Chamalières”. About 100 m further on, at a fork in the road, head left, following the wooden signs indicating ‘Villars via the Bois de Villars’. Further on, ignore the path on the right (which does not appear on the IGN map) and continue in the direction indicated by the sign ‘À la découverte des ambiances forestières’.
(11) At a junction, with a bench on the right and “À la découverte des ambiances forestières” signs pointing both right and left, continue straight ahead, leaving the yellow markings behind. Further on, enjoy a beautiful view of Clermont-Ferrand, then turn westwards along the path. Go down a few steps and turn right. Shortly afterwards, you’ll come across information signs about the plants of the undergrowth. Go down a few more steps, turning left, and you’ll come out onto a road.
(12) Turn left, following the direction of the sign for “Discovering the forest atmosphere”. Continue along the path that runs alongside the road to go round the Colombier stadium. At an information board about birds, look out for a sign saying “Discover the forest atmosphere” a little further on, opposite. Head towards this sign and you’ll come out onto a wide, beautiful path, an ancient Roman road.
(13) Follow this path to the left and keep an eye out for a wooden post on the right-hand side of the path bearing the Yellow Disc signpost. Shortly afterwards, leave the path and head up to the left. At a Fork in the road, keep left.
(14) At the junction with wooden signposts, a “PR®®” sign and a “Discover the Forest Atmosphere” sign, turn right towards “Villars” and “Fontanas”.
(15) At the junction, by the wooden signposts indicating “Royat par les Graviers”, carry on straight ahead for a few metres, then follow the path to the left (marked with a Yellow Cross), which climbs to the summit of the Puy de la Charité and then descends. At the junction with a path, follow it to the left to reach, shortly afterwards, another junction (a yellow ‘Route du Paradis’ sign and a wooden ‘Côté Tiretaine’ sign).
(16) Turn left towards “Royat via the Chemin des Crêtes” and follow the Yellow Disc markings again. Further on, you’ll come across an information sign about “Royat, its thermal baths and its church” before reaching the end of this circular route.
(10) Ignore the path you took on the way out to the right and carry on straight ahead along the track. Join Avenue du Paradis and follow it to the right.
(9) Follow the outbound route back to point 7 by continuing straight on, then turning left into Rue du Dr A. Petit. Go down the steps, take Avenue Antoine Phelut on the right, cross Avenue Auguste Rouzaud (take care!) and head down into the Parc des Thermes.
(8) Cross the park again, then the car park, following the same route as on the way there to reach Boulevard Vaquez.
(7) Cross the road and follow this boulevard to the right, noting a very beautiful façade on the right-hand side of the street. Ignore the streets on the left, walk past the magnificent Pavillon Majestic, then past the former Hôtel Majestic (brick façade and green shutters) and arrive at the junction with Rue Jocelyn Bargoin.
(6) Follow the same route as on the way there, heading uphill to the entrance to Parc Bargouin
(5) Walk along the edge of the park to the small roundabout. Carry on straight ahead until you reach the Fork in the road and take the right-hand path to the small sign pointing to Puy de Montaudoux on the right (the path you took on the way there to come down from the hill).
(4) Carry on straight along the path to reach
(3) then carry on straight ahead along the same route as on the way there to reach the junction you took on the way there.
(2) Ignore the path you took on the way there on your right and carry on straight ahead. Reach the end of a street, Impasse de la Veyre, and carry on straight ahead along the path which takes you back to the car park at the Clinique de la Châtaigneraie (S/E).
Visorando Member
Easy 
Moderate 
