museum
L'Aventure Michelin
Michelin's flagship museum in its home town of Clermont-Ferrand, tracing 130+ years of tyres, guides and mobility - from early aeroplanes to the rail-riding Michelines and modern motorsport.
2 km · about 5 min drive
Rhône-Alpes, France · Europe
Clermont-Ferrand works well as a base: 5 minutes from Aubière, 10km from Puy de Dome.
Clermont-Ferrand is a city located in Rhône-Alpes, France. With a population of 147,865, it is an important destination in Europe.
On a road trip, Clermont-Ferrand sits in France, where you drive on the right. It's in the Europe/Paris time zone. Below you'll find where to stay, things to do nearby, and everything you need to add Clermont-Ferrand to your route.
Clermont-Ferrand is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,351 (2023). Its metropolitan area (aire d'attraction) had 510,669 inhabitants in 2022. It is the prefecture (capital) of the Puy-de-Dôme département. Julien Bony is its current mayor.
Clermont-Ferrand sits onRead more
the plain of Limagne in the Massif Central and is surrounded by a major industrial area. The city is known for the chain of volcanoes, the Chaîne des Puys, which surround it. This includes the dormant volcano Puy de Dôme, 10 kilometres (6 miles) away, one of the highest in the surrounding area, which is topped by communications towers and visible from the city. Clermont-Ferrand has been listed as a "tectonic hotspot" since July 2018 on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
One of the oldest French cities, it was known by the Romans in the first century as the capital of the Arvernie tribe before developing in the Gallo-Roman era under the name of Augustonemetum in the 1st century BC. The forum of the Roman city was located on the top of the Clermont mound, on the site of the present cathedral. During the decline of the Western Roman Empire it was subjected to repeated looting by the peoples who invaded Gaul, including Vandals, Alans, Visigoths and Franks. It was later raided by Vikings in the ninth and tenth century AD as the Carolingian Empire weakened in the early Middle Ages. Growing in importance under the Capetian dynasty, in 1095 it hosted the Council of Clermont, where Pope Urban II called the First Crusade. In 1551, Clermont became a royal town, and was declared an inseparable property of the Crown in 1610.
Today Clermont-Ferrand hosts the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival (Festival du Court-Métrage de Clermont-Ferrand), one of the world's leading festivals for short films. It is also home to the corporate headquarters of Michelin, the global tyre company founded in the city more than 100 years ago. With a quarter of the municipal population being students, and some 6,000 researchers, Clermont-Ferrand is the first city in France to join the UNESCO Learning City Network .
Along with its highly distinctive black lava stone Gothic styled Cathedral, Clermont-Ferrand's other famous sites include the public square Place de Jaude, in which stands a grand statue of Vercingetorix astride a warhorse and brandishing a sword. The inscription reads in French: J'ai pris les armes pour la liberté de tous, lit. 'I took up arms for the liberty of all'). This statue was sculpted by Frédéric Bartholdi, who also created the Statue of Liberty.
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Clermont-Ferrand offers many attractions including tourist sites, museums, parks, and local restaurants. Explore famous landmarks, scenic roads, and natural wonders on our interactive map and plan your visit.
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Clermont-Ferrand is located in Rhône-Alpes, France, Europe. The coordinates are 45.7797 latitude, 3.0868 longitude.
Clermont-Ferrand has a population of approximately 147,865 people, making it a city in France.
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Full driving guide for France4 notable places within an hour's drive.
museum
Michelin's flagship museum in its home town of Clermont-Ferrand, tracing 130+ years of tyres, guides and mobility - from early aeroplanes to the rail-riding Michelines and modern motorsport.
2 km · about 5 min drive
racetrack
Spectacular circuit wrapped around extinct volcanoes near Clermont-Ferrand, once dubbed the 'French Nurburgring'; its full 8 km lap hosted the French Grand Prix four times in the 1960s and 70s.
6 km · about 10 min drive
natural wonder
A dormant volcanic dome rising to 1,465 meters in the Chaine des Puys, offering sweeping views over 80 volcanic cones in the Auvergne.
10 km · about 20 min drive
photogenic
Cliff-edge viewpoint behind Queuille's village church over an almost-closed loop of the Sioule river wrapped around a forested peninsula: an Auvergne panorama that stays remarkably crowd-free.
28 km · about 35 min drive
April to October
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