Saint-Flour: Apartments and Holiday Homes

Saint-Flour is located on the Planèze, atop a 900-metre-high basalt spur overlooking the Ander. In this striking setting, the town combines medieval buildings, museums and walking tours with insights into its history.

Anyone choosing Saint-Flour as a holiday destination will want to rent a holiday apartment there.

Culture and History

Today’s Saint-Pierre Cathedral was built in the 15th century; extensive alterations in the 19th century gave it its current Gothic appearance. Local volcanic stone characterises the architectural materials used. Inside, the cathedral houses the “beau Dieu noir”, murals, stained-glass windows and contemporary liturgical furnishings by the goldsmith Goudji.

The Musée d’Art et d’Histoire Alfred Douët houses paintings from French, Italian and Flemish schools, sculptures, medieval goldsmithery, Renaissance enamelwork, ceramics, tapestries, weapons and furniture. Behind the Renaissance façade of the Maison consulaire, it also features a cabinet of curiosities. The Maison consulaire has one of the rare Renaissance façades in the Auvergne and is located in a 14th-century building where the consuls’ activities took place from 1354 onwards.

The Musée de la Haute Auvergne is located in the former 17th-century bishop’s palace at the foot of Saint-Pierre Cathedral. It displays archaeological collections and a reconstruction of a buron; the cathedral treasury is housed in the chapter house.

The Halle aux Blés was built at the beginning of the 14th century and converted in 1791 into a covered grain market for grain grown on the Planèze de Saint-Flour. It was completely restored and given contemporary stained-glass windows as well as a monumental rose window measuring more than five metres in diameter.

The Maison de l’habitat et du patrimoine offers a permanent exhibition and a digital model for interpreting Saint-Flour’s historic area. A 3D model, a film and a digital projection explain and interpret this exceptional area.

Activities

The “Circuit la cité historique de Saint-Flour” is an approximately one-hour tourist tour through the medieval town’s most important buildings and sights. It passes through the fortified medieval town and takes in exceptional historic buildings and attractions.

The “Les remparts de Saint-Flour” tour combines a walk inside and outside the historic town walls with views over the lower town and the surrounding countryside. Along the way, it presents the town’s medieval defensive architecture and surviving fortifications.

The digital game “A l’assaut de Saint-Flour” is an approximately 90-minute cultural experience through the historic sites and architectural monuments of the upper town. For cycling, the “Au fil de la Truyère” cycle route begins in the historic centre of Saint-Flour and runs along the Truyère gorges. The “Au fil de la Truyère” circular cycle route has been designated an “espace cyclosport” by the Fédération française de cyclisme (FFC).

Local Life

The organic producers’ market “Marché bio, la cagette champêtre” takes place in the upper town of Saint-Flour on Tuesdays from 5 p.m. Four editions a year, held in spring, summer, autumn and winter, offer beers, soaps, meat, vegetables, bread, cheese, prepared dishes and pasta.

Other destinations: Lafeuillade-En-Vézie, Gourdièges, Vèze, Saint-Urcize, Clavières, Le Rouget, Lascelle, Paulhac

To the main travel overview: Cantal.