South Limagne villages: Plauzat and La Sauvetat

Arriving in La Sauvetat on the D630, park in the car park on the left of the road (Rue de la Gazelle).
This walk is not signposted.

(S/E) With your back to the car park, follow the road to the left. At the first crossroads, turn left, then left again on Chemin des Fauconniers. Follow this path as it bends to the right, ignoring the grassy path that continues straight ahead.

Turn left behind the cemetery onto a wide grassy path and continue along the wall. You will come to a small road (still Chemin des Fauconniers), and follow it to the left. Ignore all the signposts on either side.

(1) At the crossroads, continue straight on along Rue la Chareyrade into the town of Authezat. You will come to a small square with the church and its bell tower on your left and a large cross on your right. Walk around the church to the right down an alleyway (red and white crosses and yellow markings).

Leave an entrance to the church on your left (closed at the time of our visit) and continue. The alley bends to the right and ends up on Rue Guyot Dessaigne. Turn right into a square with a fountain. Turn left into Rue Coudert (signposted ^GR®® Red and White).

(2) At the crossroads, with a beautiful carved stone cross in the centre, turn right onto Chemin des Pales (^GR®® signposting). At the next junction with a track, bear left, again following the ^GR®® signs. Continue straight ahead, passing a wooden post bearing ^GR®® and ^PR®® markings, then a post with a yellow cap (gas marker) bearing a ^GR®® cross. You will come to a T-junction with a vineyard on your right.

(3) Turn right, go past a walnut hedge on the right, some of which are trimmed, then turn left onto the next track.

(4) Turn onto the first track on the right (at an irrigation hydrant) and continue straight on until you reach a crossroads with four tracks.

(5) Turn right along a stream, the Charlet (which may be dry at certain times of the year), lined with shrubs. Shortly afterwards, the path crosses the ditch and the hedge of trees and shrubs is on your right.

(6) At a small water treatment plant, turn left onto a road. Follow it to the right.

(7) Turn left (Chemin de Coude) at the T junction to enter the town of Plauzat. Follow the Rue de la Treille until you see the Fontaine Notre-Dame on your left.

Continue as far as the crossroads marked with a stone cross and continue opposite Rue du Terrail. Take the first turning on the right, Rue des Gras Bordeaux, and immediately turn left into an alleyway. At the T-junction, turn left to rejoin Rue du Terrail at a stone cross and the Fontaine Saint-Austremoine.

Follow Rue du Terrail to the right. Further on, turn right at another stone cross at the Rue Saint-Jean (you can go back and left as far as the Fontaine Saint-Jean), continue along the Rue du Terrail which bends to the right to reach the Fontaine-lavoir de la Coste. Go down to the wash-house and then up a few steps onto the street.

(8) Turn right into Rue Saint-Roch and then right into Rue de Laugane. At the corner of no. 9, turn left into a quiet alleyway (Rue Pinel) and end up in Rue des Gras Bordeaux. Continue left, following the right-hand bend in the street until you reach a busier street, Avenue Guyot Dessaigne. Cross the road to reach the square opposite, and the Fontaine-lavoir de la Place.

(9) Turn right into the square to discover the Fontaine aux Faunes.

Take the Petite Rue Megemont, which runs perpendicular to the avenue. At the next intersection, turn left, leaving Rue Megemont on your right. Take Rue du Foirail and follow it to the left, passing below the town hall.

Immediately afterwards, you will see the covered Lavoir du Foirail on your right. Continue straight on along Rue du Foirail and then, at the corner of the church, turn left into Avenue Guyot Dessaigne. About thirty metres further on, you will come across the beautiful Fontaine aux Lions.

(10) With your back to the fountain, cross Avenue Guyot Dessaigne and follow Rue Sainte-Agathe slightly to the right. Ignore a street on the left and come to a crossroads where there is a stone cross. Continue straight ahead, skirting the cemetery and then continuing along the path that runs alongside the street, leaving the village to return to the fields.

Go straight ahead at the junction with a road, then straight ahead again at the junction with a track, then straight ahead again at the junction with a grassy path.

(11) At the T-junction with another track, turn right as far as the road, follow it to the right for just under 200m, then take the wide track on the left. Ignore a track on the left, go straight ahead at the junction of four tracks, then turn right at a large shed and machinery.

(12) At the next junction, turn left, cross the D978 with care and continue along the track opposite. At the junction with the road, go straight ahead to Allée de Chalanat, then at the T-junction, turn left, then the first right. Continue along the sports field.

(13) At the T-junction, turn right towards the village of La Sauvetat. Pass by a square tower, then a fountain with a dragon-head tap.

Turn left into Rue du Parc, then take the first turning on the right into Rue Dodel. At the next crossroads with Rue de la Barbarade, notice a fountain on your left and continue straight ahead. Then take the first street on the right, Rue Chapitel.

(14) Just after, turn left into Rue des Remparts. At Rue de l'Ormeau, turn right into a square with a fountain. Before reaching the square, however, turn right down a cobbled lane. Arrive opposite Maison Vedrine and turn right. The alley bends left once, then twice, to reach the entrance to the church. You can visit the Virgin in Majesty dating from 1319.

(15) On leaving the church, turn left to pass in front of the chapel, leaving on the left a door leading to the courtyard of the Maison Charbonnier (return journey possible), then pass under the arched gateway of the ramparts.

On the other side, turn right and pass under another gate, level with an information panel about the Friends of the Commanderie.

Turn right again, pass under the large tower, then under another arched section of the ramparts to reach a square with a fountain and a beautiful enamelled lava on a house.

(16) Go left, then left again on Rue de l'Ormeau. Reach a square with a fountain and turn right into Petite Rue de l'Ormeau. End up in Rue de la Gazelle and follow it to the left to quickly find the car park (S/E).

Moderately difficult hike, standard hiking equipment.

Alternative car parks: Near the cemetery or near the sports fields, two places through which this walk passes.

For easier orientation in the villages, it is best to use the OSM base map.

See also in this sector (route only and photos)
Three villages in Limagne

Discover more hikes in this area with a description or the Visorando app here

Some photos here

This hike is particularly worthwhile for discovering the villages. The landscapes you pass through are not particularly breathtaking: very open countryside criss-crossed by wide paths.

In Plauzat and La Sauvetat, there are numerous tall carved stone crosses and fountains.

The fortified village of La Sauvetat forms the heart of the village. It includes the fortified Saint Pierre church to the north, which is listed as a Historic Monument, and the castle.

La Sauvetat: the village is typical of the Limagne plain, with altitudes between 360 and 400 metres, and extends over the south-western slope of the Puy de Corent. The plain is mainly devoted to cereal crops, while vines partially cover the hillside.
The village has been certified as a "Petite Cité de Caractère" (Small Town of Character) since May 2018.