Domaine du Lac

The lake, its floating pool, its bar and its boat hire should keep you busy for quite some time when you arrive at Le Lac; once you're ready to get out around Cantal and the Auvergne areas, a tourist info area is on site to minimise any dithering about what to do. The site is around 15 minutes' drive from the Cantal commune of Saint-Gérons, in a south-central France setting about an hour and a half from the famed rocky town of Rocamadour and France's biggest volcano the Puy Mary. Cantal mountain hiking is a popular pastime around here as the mountains make up the widest stratovolcano in Europe (Puy Mary is the biggest): make for the GR 400 hiking path or ask the Domaine du Lac team for info on nearby routes. Around 40 minutes' drive away is the old Haute-Avergne capital of Aurillac, at the foot of the Cantal mountains. It's a lively place well worth a day trip: you could see its volcano museum, ninth-century cathedral and dozens of listed buildings – and then pick up local eats and drinks from its many specialist shops, including a good wedge of Bleu d'Auvergne cheese.