Top French Cities - Clermont-Ferrand at a glance
For more information, visit the Clermont-Ferrand Tourism at www.clermontferrandtourism.com
City region: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Population & what they are called: 141,365 municipality inhabitants (2014 census), called Clermontois
Access from Paris:
by road: about 4 hours (263 miles) via the A10 and A71 autoroutes
by train: about 3 h 45 min by direct intercity train from the Gare de Bercy
by plane: 1 hour to Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne airport
Famous native daughters & sons:
André and Édouard Michelin, founders of Michelin
Audrey Tautou, actress
Aurélien Rougerie, international rugby player
Most distinctive and/or unique fact or trait (or little known fact):
One of the city's nicknames is "France's Liverpool" due its more than 800 artistic groups and the many music, theater and film festivals.
Just west of Clermont-Ferrand, the Puy-de-Dôme is the highest volcano in the the Chaine des Puys, a chain of 80 volcanoes located in an area more than 28 miles long and three miles wide.
Notable sites:
Place de Jaude – the city's most famous public square, with a large statue of Vercingetorix by Auguste Bartholdi, sculptor of the Statue of Liberty
Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption Cathedral – built of black lava stone and crowning the hill in Clermont’s historic center
Notre-Dame-du-Port Basilica – 12th-century, Romanesque church included on UNESCO’s World Heritage List
Top annual events:
Festival du Court-Métrage de Clermont-Ferrand – one of the world's leading international festivals for short films (clermont-filmfest.com)
Contre Plongées de l’Eté – summer festival of garden readings, circus acts, shows and screening (clermont-ferrand.fr/contre-plongees)
Europavox Festival – the best in European music (europavoxfestivals.com/en/)
Most notable museums:
Musée d'Art Roger-Quilliot (MARQ) – the city's foremost cultural venue with six levels of art from the Middle Ages to contemporary times
Muséum Henri-Lecoq – a journey of discovery into the history of science and the region’s nature heritage
L’Aventure Michelin – an exhibition devoted to the Michelin Group’s past, present and future (laventure.michelin.com/en/)
Culinary specialties:
cheese – the custom is to sample the Saint-Nectaire, Cantal, Salers, Fourme d'Ambert and Auvergne Bleu at Saint-Pierre Market or beneath Saint-Joseph Hall
truffade and aligot – two typical potato-and-cheese dishes best eaten in a little local restaurant
petit salé aux lentilles vertes du Puy – salted pork meat served with green lentils from Le Puy
Local wines & spirits:
Côtes d’Auvergne wine – vintages such as Boudes, Châteaugay, Corent, Chanturgue, Madargue and Saint-Pourçain (the last of which now has a protected name)
Chateldon and Volvic mineral waters – naturally sparkling mineral waters from the region (Chateldon is only served in the finest restaurants)
Shopping:
city center – the pedestrian zone of antique dealers and booksellers
fruit paste and jellies – Cruzilles (cruzilles.fr) is the last confectionary business remaining in Clermont-Ferrand, which has a confectionary history that goes back almost 800 years
knives – made in the nearby city of Thiers (lagrandecoutellerie.fr)
Most popular night spots:
Bell’s Australian’s Pub – a little piece of Down Under right in the center of town, next door to fnac at the Place de Jaude
Place de la Victoire, near the Cathedral – restaurants and bars with large terraces that are ideal places to watch ASM rugby team play
L’Appart – how about a glass of wine in the bathroom of this bar designed like an apartment?
Local population’s favorite activities (or hangouts):
Puy de Dôme – from the top (accessible via a cog railway) there are sensational views over the city and 80 inactive volcanoes
rugby match – become a one-day supporter of the local ASM Clermont-Auvergne Rugby team, French champion in 2017
learn about volcanoes – in a natural setting like the Volcans d’Auvergne Regional Natural Park or a theme park like Vulcania Park that invites discovery of the extraordinary tale of volcanoes
Local industries:
Michelin – the company headquarters are in the city, where manufacturing has given way to the Research, Development and Innovation Campus called Urbalad.
seeds – Limagrain, based in Auvergne, is the 4th largest seed company in the world
In Pop Culture:
The Sorrow and the Pity (Le Chagrin et la pitié) – Clermont-Ferrand is the basis for this two-part 1969 documentary by Marcel Ophüls about the collaboration between the Vichy government and Nazi Germany
My Night at Maud's (Ma nuit chez Maud) – a dramatic 1969 film by Éric Rohmer set and filmed in Clermont-Ferrand, the third in his series of Six Moral Tales.