Sleepy Brioude has two claims to fame: its spring salmon, and the basalt and sandstone Basilique de Saint-Julien. One of the last Romanesque churches built in the Auvergne, its fat pillars wear traces of frescoes beneath carved capitals, and there are 13th-14thC frescoes in an upper chapel.

For a glimpse of the famous salmon swimming up the Allier, try the bridge at Vieille-Brioude (4 km S), or the one east of town on the road to la Chaise-Dieu (D588).