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Set off from the Royat Pépinière stop on Line 5.
(S) Head towards the roundabout and take the road on the right leading to the sports complex car park. Walk to the top of the car park, then follow the path westwards, running alongside the sports pitches on your right. The path soon turns into a woodland track which, before long, runs alongside the Tiretaine stream at a higher elevation.
(1) Further on, the path veers southwards whilst continuing to run alongside the Tiretaine. On the other side of the stream, there is now a small road. Further on, the path joins the road
(2) Follow it to the left. About 200 m further on, take the hairpin bend to the left onto the path leading into the arboretum. At the fork just after this, turn right, heading south. About 300 m further on, take a hairpin bend to the left, ignoring the path that branches off opposite. Continue straight on until you reach the yellow signposts (Forêt de Royat marker).
(3) Turn right towards ‘Charade direct’ and, just after, ignore the two paths branching off to the left. Further on, walk past the treetop adventure park before reaching a car park (marked ‘Charade’). Join the access road to the car park.
(4) Follow the path to the left, walking alongside the golf course on your right and ignoring a path on the left. Further on, ignore another path on the left and continue for a few metres.
(5) Turn right onto a path. When you reach a T-junction with another path, turn right (PR®® sign) for a return trip to the summit of the Rocher du Salut. Retrace your steps, leaving the path you took on the way there on your left, and rejoin the path you left earlier.
(6) Take the path on the right again and, further on, ignore the sign on the right for Royat via Les Rivaux. You’ll reach some houses in a neighbourhood of Royat.
(7) Go through the barrier and continue left along the road. Ignore all the streets on the right and arrive at the chapel. Continue along the street leading down to the left (Rue de la Chapelle) and come to a roundabout.
(8) Carry on straight ahead, then, shortly afterwards, turn left onto the one-way street. You’ll come out onto the D5E; cross it and carry on straight ahead, keeping to the right of the Barreiras bus stop, until you reach Rue Nationale. Walk a few metres to the left and turn right onto Rue A. Cohendy, towards the church, then turn right onto Rue Cordemoy.
Then turn into the narrow lane on the left. Join a street, walk a few metres to the left until you come to the Escalier du Temps, built into the wall of the church forecourt (lift on the right), then take a sharp right-hand bend. Take the steps down to the level of the Tiretaine, passing in front of the Grotte Siméoni (information panel), and you’ll come out at the banks of the Tiretaine, by a bridge.
(9) Without crossing the river, carry on straight ahead along the road as it climbs; ignore a hairpin bend to the right and you’ll come to a busy road opposite Villa Lysbeth (with its pretty façade). Turn left. Further on, veer left to cross a small car park and take a narrow lane that leads down towards the spa park. At the blue gate, do not enter the park but head down the street on the right. This leads onto a busy road, Boulevard Barrieu, opposite a restaurant.
(10) Turn left (note, on the right, the turreted house, Castel Sévigné, and further on, still on the right, at the junction of Rue Jean Heitz, Villa Stella and the post office with its old-fashioned charm). Carry on straight ahead along the boulevard (note the many beautiful façades of former hotels or family-run guesthouses), until you find yourself opposite the superb Pavillon Majestic, just as the boulevard takes a sharp left-hand bend. Continue straight ahead for a few metres to reach the entrance to the Parc du Pavillon Majestic, at the junction with Place Landouzy.
(11) Turn right (Avenue de la Gare) in front of the entrance and walk alongside the building on your right (note here too the superb façades lining this street). As the street curves to the left, leave the station on your right, passing to the right of the former Hôtel Terminus. Before passing under the railway bridge, go up the steps on the left and continue along the street (Rue des Roches). You’ll come out onto Avenue de la Gare; follow it to the right to reach the junction at Place Landouzy, then keep to the right onto Boulevard Vaquez. Walk along the upper edge of the Parc Thermal and head down to Place Allard.
(12) Pass a sign for “la Métro en Balade” on your right, then enter the thermal park on the right. Walk to the left of the Buvette Eugénie, then between two beautiful sequoias and the old entrance to the spa, and continue straight on to reach the casino car park. Head left, leaving the ruins of the Roman baths and the very pretty Pavillon Saint-Mart, on the banks of the Tiretaine, on your right. Carry on, leave the thermal park and you’ll come out onto Avenue de Royat.
(13) Follow it to the right, pass under the viaduct, and carry on straight ahead to leave Royat and enter Chamalières. (Further along the avenue, note the pretty façades on either side of the avenue and, in particular, a surprising row of small houses with very original façades.) Shortly afterwards, you’ll reach the Chamalières post office, on the left-hand side of the avenue.
(14) Walk past the post office on your left, then turn left and follow a long right-hand bend through the heart of a modern shopping district. At the end of this bend, do not go down into the street but take the footbridge that crosses over it. On the other side, continue straight ahead through a small park, then turn left to go down a street and find the Place de la Saigne hiking signpost.
(15) Cross the road towards the small Bassin de la Saigne, bordered by a building featuring a mural depicting a mill, then follow Rue du Languedoc, to the right of this building. Turn into the first street on the left and head towards the Tiretaine. Follow the path to the right, passing to the left of the Wallace Fountain and the courtyard of a very beautiful old building, until you reach the end of the path (note the large wash house on the other side of the Tiretaine), then return to the Wallace Fountain and turn left. Immediately afterwards, veer left to pass under the archway of the building, leading onto a street.
Follow it to the right, then turn left into Rue du Languedoc. You’ll soon reach Place des Sarrazins; position yourself as far to the left as possible so that, looking up, you can see the remains of the old Chamalières castle – known as the Mur des Sarrazins – rising above the rooftops on the opposite side of the square. Continue until you reach the Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame on Place Sully.
(16) Walk round the building on the right-hand side.
(16) Back at Place Sully, follow Rue Lufbery straight ahead (to the right of the patisserie). You’ll reach Rue de Royat, opposite Parc Montjoly, which is home to the town hall. Go round the junction on the right to reach the park entrance. Enter the park and choose a route (note the beautiful trees, fountains, the war memorial and the ‘art taupière’) to make your way up to the town hall.
(17) Walk around it and head back down to leave the park through the same gate as the one you entered.
Head to the right, cross Rue Pasteur, then keep to the right to take Avenue de Royat on your right (there is no street sign at this junction). Continue along this avenue, which is lined with some very fine houses. You’ll reach the junction with Boulevard Berthelot (on the left) / Duclaux (on the right), which marks the boundary between the municipalities of Chamalières and Clermont-Ferrand. (Note the memorial on the right honouring those tortured by the Gestapo. Also note the beautiful houses at this junction, in particular the Villa Pingeot opposite. The buildings housing the Banque de France’s printing works are on the right).
(18) Continue straight on along Rue Blatin until you reach, at the end of the street, Place de Jaude (E).
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