Saint-Genès district of Clermont

This circuit is based on the "Saint-Genès" discovery tour offered by the Clermont Tourist Office. It is marked on the ground by alternating medallions bearing the effigies of Urbain II, Vercingétorix and Pascal. Information panels, mentioned in my description, dot the route.

(S/E) At the fountain on Place de la Victoire, with the tourist office on your right and the cathedral on your left, turn right to pass information panel no. 1 "Porte Dalmas" and leave the tourist office on your left. Turn left into Rue Massillon. Notice information panel no. 2 "Massillon Montboissier" at the corner of Rue de la Treille. Continue straight on Rue Massillon to find information panel no. 3 "Grégoire-de-Tours" at the corner of Rue Abbé Girard. Continue straight on, Rue Grégoire de Tours.

At the intersection with Square Michel de l'Hospital, find information panel no. 4 "Place Michel-de-l'Hospital". Turn right (note the fountain on your right), then, at the next intersection, find information panel no. 5 "Saint-Genès les Carmes". Follow Rue Neuve des Carmes to the right, passing to the left of the church which gives its name to this district, and to this walk.

Soon, on the left, at the entrance to the Conservatoire de Musique Emmanuel Chabrier, look at information panel no. 6 "Centre Blaise Pascal". Follow Rue Abbé Girard to the left, veer slightly right and turn left along the square into Rue Maréchal Joffre.

(1) Cross to the other side, where you'll find information panel no. 7 "Beaux Arts". Continue straight ahead, on the left-hand side of Rue Ballainvilliers. Just before the intersection with Rue Paradis, notice information panel no. 8 "Ballainvilliers", then at the corner with Rue Lecoq, find information panel no. 9 "Place du Toureau". Pass the Musée Bargoin and cross Boulevard Lafayette.

On the other side, enter the Jardin Lecoq to find information panel no. 10 "Jardin Lecoq". Exit the garden and cross Avenue Vercingetorix to the left (Fontaine de la Pyramide on the right, in the middle of the crossroads). Go straight ahead on Boulevard Léon Malfreyt after passing information panel no. 11 "Pyramide". Further on, notice the painted wall of the Hôtel-Dieu enclosure and find information panel no. 12 "Hôtel-Dieu".

With your back to this information panel, cross Rue Lagerlaye (fountain) and continue opposite Rue Georges Clemenceau. Turn left into Rue Meissonnier at information panel no. 13, "Petite Place du Taureau". Turn right twice to get back onto Rue Georges Clemenceau, and follow it to the left. Just before the large crossroads with Avenue du Colonel Gaspard, drive past information panel no. 14 "Clemenceau-Degeorge" and cross the Avenue du Colonel Gaspard.

(2) In front of the Hôtel du Département gate, turn right into Rue Saint-Esprit. At the beginning of this street, you'll see information panel no. 15 "Département Préfecture", then a little further along, on the right-hand side of the street, find information panel no. 16 "Saint-Esprit Saint-Genès". Continue straight ahead at the crossroads, then turn left into Rue de la Treille. Ignore Rue Forosan on your right (note the beautiful carriage door at the end of this street), then turn left into the Place de la Treille (information panel no. 17, which should be there, has disappeared).

Continue straight on Rue Paul Leblanc, then turn right into Rue Saint-Genès to find information panel no. 18 "Place Royale". Pass between the Fontaine Saint-Genès and the beautiful façade of the confiserie Moinet (formerly a pharmacy) to head towards the Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption and the Fontaine du Pape Urbain II (S/E).

It's best not to take this hike on a Sunday: the fountains are often dry, and public toilets and shops are closed!

At the tourist office on Place de la Victoire, at the start of the tour, you can pick up a leaflet with a map of the town.

Information panels along the way tell you all about the history of these streets, and the main monuments to note.

Don't forget to look up to discover the building facades. You'll also find a number of fountains along the way.

Other things I liked:
Between bollards n°1 and 2, before turning into Rue Massillon, notice on the right (at n°6) the facade of the old hotel.
Bollard no. 3, if you like murals, go back and forth a few meters on Rue Savaron to the left.
Post no. 6, take a look at the conservatory courtyard through the gate.
Post no. 9, take a look at the beautiful façade of the Musée Bargoin.
Post no. 10, explore the Jardin Lecoq (beautiful red beech trees, fountains, rose garden).
Marker no. 12, amusing paintings on the wall of the Hôtel-Dieu.
Just after marker no. 16, Rue Saint-Esprit, after crossing Rue Saint-Genès, a painting high up on a building on the right, "L'amour infini que j'ai pour toi" ("The infinite love I have for you"). Then just after, at the start of Rue de l'Arcade, on the right, a Lascaux-style painting.
Between bollards no. 16 and 18, near the middle of Rue de la Treille, at the end of Rue Forosan, on the right, a beautiful red porte cochère.
Bollard no. 18, by the fountain, superb facade of the Moinet confectionery.