Thermes de Royat walks

In the Clermont-Ferrand area, climb the small puys of Montaudoux and Gravenoire, visit Bargouin Park and Royat Thermal Park. This is an easy hike if you skip the climb to the summit of Montaudoux.

Hike along the slopes of the Montaudoux and Gravenoire puys to reach the viewpoint of the Rocher du Salut. On the way back, you can visit the town and the Royat spa district.

Set in the Clermont-Ferrand green belt, this walk takes you past an old pozzolan quarry, a beautiful viewpoint at the top of Montaudoux, the Parc des Thermes de Royat and the woods on the heights of Chamalières and Royat, passing via the Puy de la Charité and the Chemin des Crêtes . A ‘Moderate’ difficulty walk if you skip the ascent to the summit of Montaudoux.

On 19 September 1648, Blaise Pascal stood before his Torricelli tube in the Jardin des Minimes – now Place de Jaude – in Clairmont (Clermont). His brother-in-law, Florin Périer, had set off earlier with his own Torricelli tube for the summit of the Puy de Dôme. Over the course of the day, 17 experiments were carried out to measure the mercury level in the tubes, which had been placed at different altitudes; these experiments would go on to confirm the hypothesis of the “weight of the air”, which would later become known as atmospheric pressure. At both locations, once filled to the brim, the tube was turned upside down so that its open base was in contact with the mercury contained in a vessel. Due to its weight, the liquid inside the tube dropped under the effect of gravity. In Clermont, the mercury remains at a height of 71.2 cm. At the summit of the Puy de Dôme, it drops to 62.70 cm. This difference of a few centimetres is the result of a height difference of 1,078 metres, which I invite you to appreciate for what it is.

This seventh and final stage, which is partly urban, allows you to continue exploring Royat, which you started at the end of the previous stage, first in the wooded hills of the town, passing by the Rocher du Salut promontory, then through the streets and park of the spa district, with its beautiful seaside architecture. Finally, the return route to Clermont allows you to discover the centre of Chamalières.

In the Clermont-Ferrand metropolitan area, the Transport à la Demande (TAD) service, in addition to regular bus and tram lines, allows you to travel quite far around the city. This seven-stage itinerary takes advantage of this. Each stage begins and ends at a bus or TAD stop. In between, the routes allow you to discover the villages of the metropolitan area's green belt and the foot of the Puy de Dôme: the built heritage of their old wine-growing or mountain villages, their spa resorts, their natural environments and a few geological curiosities. The first stages follow the course of the Artière, and the last ones follow the course of the Tiretaine, two pretty little rivers, tributaries of the Allier, which originate at the foot of the puys.See "Practical information" for a 4-stage variant with accommodation.

A walk to discover all the facets of the city of Royat: the spa district with its superb buildings, the old medieval town overlooking the Tiretaine valley, Bargoin Park, which, although officially part of Chamalières, is well integrated into the centre of Royat, just like the Spa Park.