Was once upon-a-time two cities that are now joined – Clermont and Montferrand. It is famous for being the birthplace of Blaise Pascale (mathematicians and scientists will know his name) and Michelin Tyres (pneus in French means tyres).

Surrounding the city is a ring of (now dormant) volcanoes – Chaînes des Puys, which impacts the city’s climate. It tends to be colder in winter and warmer in summer than neighbouring towns and cities.

To get here, Mick and I caught a train from Montpellier. I was able to get us the best priced online tickets you can buy for trains in France – €1 each for the five hour trip. I don’t know why you can sometimes buy tickets that cheaply, but you can.

This trip was amazing as it took us up almost from sea level to over 700m and then gradually down the mountains to Clermont-Ferrand, much of the trip was alongside the Allier River, which eventually feeds into the Loire.

The views were amazing, and they certainly kept Mick occupied for most of the trip. Look closely at the above picture and you can see the fast flowing water through Mick’s reflection.

There was hardly anyone on the train, and the conductor made a point of telling us all about the river, the salmon that come here to spawn each year (one of three rivers in France), and how the train track was constructed by Italian workers paid for by a local farmer more than a hundred years ago. The conductor loved his job and loved this trip.

On our first night here we really only had time to settle into our accommodation and to find somewhere for dinner. Our studio apartment is down this cute street, and thankfully the awnings on the ground floor (in the photo on the right) are to our room. No stairs!!

We are staying very close to the Cathedral – Notre Dame de l’Assomption.

And this square that has loads of restaurants and bars.

There was a distinct chill in the air, and even at 10.00am the place was relatively empty. Very different to how we found it the night before around 9.00pm.

We spent some time inside the Cathedral after watching an interesting video at the Office de Tourism which explained how and why the church was designed and decorated as it was. (The train conductor we had met the day before had told us to go there, and lucky he did too otherwise we would not have known to ask if we could watch it. There was no information that we could see telling us about the film, and the theatre was down some steps that we probably wouldn’t have explored.)

The city has a lovely open air feel to it, mixed also with cute narrow streets with interesting shops and restaurants and wine bars. There is a real blend of old and new.

Mick and I had come across the trams in Montpellier that ran on the same level as the footpaths and actually you could walk across them after checking for trams. Well it was the same here with one noticeable difference. There was only one track per tram and they ran on electricity wires above the trams, and used pneumatic tyres (probably Michelin) to keep them balanced and the ride smooth.

We could easily have spent more time here,  but our summons to Montpellier for our visa appointments earlier in the week resulted in a change of plans. Perhaps we will be back after our next house sit.

We head to Montluçon tomorrow by train. The trip will take almost two hours, and those tickets cost us €15.30 each. I clearly didn’t buy those ones at the right time.