Camping Le Pré

The obvious place to start your explorations of the local area is right there in Montaigut-le-Blanc, where you can visit the château (open in summer) and local church or go fishing on the Couze Chambon river. Château de Murol (20 minutes' drive) and Château de la Batisse (half an hour) are close by for more architecture spotting. To see some more of the local scenery, perhaps you’d like to take a waterfall walk in the Chaudefour Valley nature reserve (25 minutes) or head to the top of Puy de Sancy (55 minutes), the highest peak in the Auvergne. Lac Chambon (20 minutes’ drive) and Lac d’Aydat (25 minutes) are both good places for waterside walks, canoeing and swimming. This is volcanic territory, so you may well also want to explore the Puy de Dôme (40 minutes), heading to the top on foot or by the panoramic train, or learn more about what’s going on under your feet at Vulcania (45 minutes). Closer to home, the caves and petrified fountains at Saint-Nectaire (15 minutes) are well worth a stop, too.