Auvergne Location
The Auvergne region is situated in central France surrounded to the North by Centre and Burgundy. On the east is the Rhone-Alpes with the Midi-Pyrenees and Languedoc-Roussillon on its southern flanks. The Limousin region is on the Western side. The departments are: Allier, Cantal, Haute-Loire and Puy-de-Dôme.
Auvergne Landscape
A large part of the Auvergne region is covered by the volcanic Massif Central mountain range, which stretches over nearly one-sixth of France´s total area. The rural landscape is punctuated by a "lunar" landscape where the once active volcanoes have been eroded over millions of years. The Allier river runs North - South across the region.
Auvergne Attractions
The region is famed for its cheeses, exports of mineral waters (Volvic among others), and tires (Michelin). It is also the site of a number of major hydroelectric projects, mainly located on the Dordogne, Cère, and Truyère rivers.
With is sprinkling of lakes and forests, the Auvergne offers its visitors the largest group of extinct volcanoes in Europe - this is highlighted by Vulcania, the unique European Volcano Park. There are two Regional Nature Parks (the Auvergne Volcanoes and Livradois-Forez) plus more than 500 Romanesque churches, nearly 50 châteaux and 10 spa towns.
There are many sport and leisure activities: hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, hang gliding, canoeing-kayaking, swimming, cross-country and downhill skiing or snow shoeing in winter at the several ski-resorts.
Auvergne Gastronomy means delicious food and a hospitality that is so typical of the Auvergnat people.
Auvergne Weather
In summer there are clear blue skies and high temperatures. However thunderstorms can occur higher up in the Massif Central usually after a spell of hot weather. Max temp in the Summer about 25°C. In the Winter - can be cold but with ave. temperatures about 7°C. Relatively high rainfall out of the Summer season.
