Champeix: Holiday Apartments and Holiday Homes

The Marchidial is a protected historic ensemble consisting of several buildings, towers and surrounding walls on a granite spur. During the restoration of the Saint-Jean Chapel, 12th-century murals were uncovered, including a depiction of the “Feast of Herod”.

When planning a trip, you may wish to make renting a holiday apartment in Champeix the focus of your stay.

Culture and History

At the Marchidial, the base of a Romanesque round tower and the former castle church have been preserved; the castle church can be visited in summer. The Sainte-Croix Church in Champeix dates from the 12th century. The 3.60-metre-high Neolithic megalith Pierre Fichade is located in the hills of Champeix between the edge of the village and Ludesse and can be reached via Rue de Beauregard or Route de Ludesse.

Landscape

The Pailhats of Champeix are terraces with dry-stone walls that are cleared of vegetation and reinforced. To the north of Champeix, the Pailhats form an amphitheatre crossed by paths and steps and are considered an important archaeological and landscape heritage site.

The southern part of the Marchidial site was gradually transformed into cultivation terraces. The Garden of the Sisters of Saint-Joseph comprises an upper orchard terrace and a lower terrace with a central basin that was used to irrigate the vegetable crops. The path offers panoramic views of the Sancy Massif.

Paths and Circular Routes

Champeix has a permanent orienteering course established in cooperation with the Ligue d’Auvergne de Course d’Orientation. The orienteering area includes a section with 20 control points. The family “Rando” course is a signposted 3.5-km walk of low difficulty for discovering the local cultural heritage.

The “Le grand tour entre puys et couze” hiking trail starts at Champeix Town Hall, is 28.5 km long and of moderate difficulty. “La pierre Fichade” also starts at the town hall, is 6.5 km long and takes approximately 1 hour 45 minutes. The “Les caves de Saint-Julien” hiking trail starts on Rue des Halles in Champeix, is 9.5 km long and takes approximately 2 hours 45 minutes.

The “Sur les hauteurs de Champeix” circular route is a moderately difficult 20-km trail loop in Champeix. There is also the difficult 41-km mountain-biking loop No. 5, “Entre grottes et châteaux”, which leads, among other places, to the Château du Marchidial in Champeix.

Village Walks and Events

The “Parcours Champeix” visitor booklet offers a tour for discovering the village of Champeix, running along the Couze Chambon and past the colourful façades on Quai d’Aubary. On request and throughout the year, Champeix Animations organises two-hour, original and fun guided tours of the town.

The annual two-day event “Cité des Jardins” combines a plant market, a discovery walk and a concert.

Champeix can be reached on foot via the Via Arverna, also known as the Chemin de Saint-Jacques de Compostelle. The GR® de Pays “Tour en Pays des Couzes” also leads to Champeix on foot.

More village pages: Lapeyrouse, Parentignat, Le Vernet-Sainte-Marguerite, Vodable, Rochefort-Montagne, Saint-Jean-Saint-Gervais, Condat-En-Combraille, Augnat.

To the higher-level travel overview: Puy-De-Dôme.