A quiet town on the edge of the Massif Central, Ussel’s clutch of 15th-16thC houses gather around the turreted Renaissance Hôtel des Dues de Ventadour, and a museum of folksy arts and crafts.

North of the town, the weatherbeaten uplands of the Plateau de Millevaches support a few isolated farms and wandering sheep. To the east, hikers and skiers descend on the dramatically beautiful Parc National des Volcans d’Auvergne.