Le Mont-Dore: Holiday Apartments and Houses

Puy de Sancy is located in the Auvergne region, in the Puy-de-Dôme department, is 1,885 metres high and is the highest point of the Monts-Dore massif. It is also a volcano and stratovolcano, as well as the highest volcano in European France.

I would like to rent a holiday apartment in Le Mont-Dore.

Nature

With a drop of 32 metres, the Grande Cascade is the highest waterfall in the Auvergne. The Cascade du Queureuilh plunges more than 20 metres over basalt organ pipes. Above the Grande Cascade, the plateau offers views of the Haute Dordogne valley and Puy de Sancy.

La Dure-Bise passes the source of the Dordogne and then climbs to subalpine heathland. The Parc thermal du Mont-Dore is crossed by the young Dordogne and includes a landscaped footpath along its banks.

Hiking

La Dure-Bise is a difficult 10.8-kilometre circular hike in Mont-Dore that takes around two hours and includes 586 metres of ascent and 587 metres of descent. Another difficult hike starts in the village of Mont-Dore, leads via the Grande Cascade to Puy de Sancy and returns to Mont-Dore via the Salon du Capucin. It follows the GR4 and GR30, is 17 kilometres long, has 1,050 metres of elevation gain and takes around six hours.

The “Les crêtes du Sancy” route leads via stairs and a footbridge to the base of the Grande Cascade. The easier ascent to Puy de Sancy is by cable car, followed by a wooden staircase with 864 steps.

Culture

The Etablissement thermal du Mont-Dore was built between 1817 and 1823 on the site of Roman thermal baths in the Neo-Byzantine style. It contains paintings and polychrome mosaics, some of which date from the 19th century, as well as excavated Gallo-Roman remains. The Thermes du Mont-Dore are partially protected as historical monuments of France.

At the entrance to the Parc thermal du Mont-Dore, the park preserves the remains of the former Roman Pantheon. The Musée Joseph Forêt displays archives and objects from Joseph Foret’s personal collection. Mont-Dore also has the themed walk “Le Mont-Dore, ville thermale”.

Activities

Built in 1898, the Funiculaire du Capucin is protected as a historical monument and is considered France’s oldest electric funicular railway. The cable-operated railway travels at a speed of one metre per second.

The climbing sector at Capucin faces east and northwest and has 74 routes ranging from 15 to 80 metres in length, one to three pitches and grades from 4a to 8a+. Pic du Capucin is a basalt dome with numerous climbing and via ferrata routes that can be used from April to October.

Mont-Dore Aventures offers self-guided high-rope and tree courses for families and children aged three and over; the activity lasts around two hours and includes 120 challenges. The ski slopes of Mont-Dore are located on the northern side of Sancy at elevations between 1,200 and 1,850 metres.

Other destinations: Saint-Julien-Puy-Lavèze, La Sauvetat, Le Vernet-Sainte-Marguerite, Saint-Maurice-Près-Pionsat, Brousse, Thuret, Teilhet, Saint-Agoulin

To the overarching travel overview: Puy-De-Dôme.