www.pays-saint-flour.fr The old capital of Haute Auvergne, Saint-Flour is a pleasant town and handy base for exploring the Cantal mountains to the west. All roads seem to lead uphill to the market square, place d’Armes, and plain, fortress-like fa√笵cade of the 14thC Gothic Cathédrale de Saint-Pierre. There are sweeping views from a terrace behind the cathedral, and two museums on the square. Local crafts, costume and customs are displayed in the Musée de la Haute Auvergne; anything else from furniture to faïence finds itself quartered in the Musée Drouet. For information on both museums, see www.pays-saint-flour.fr.

The Cantal mountains once formed part of an enormous extinct volcano, a serious match for Mount Etna in its day. Three impressive peaks remain, rooted in deep valleys and cloaked in grassy meadows. Saint-Flour is balanced on a tongue of basaltic lava rock which extends west towards the 1,855 m-high Plomb de Cantal, about 30 km as the crow flies by the GR4 hiking route; or 40 km by road via Murat to le Lioran, the Cantal’s main winter ski station.