From Riom SNCF buses run to MOZAC, on the edge of town, with a twelfth-century abbey church whose Romanesque sculpture is as beautiful as you'd expect, and continue to the bourgeois spa resort of CHÂTEL-GUYON in around twenty minutes. With thirty different hot springs, great views over the surrounding countryside and puys, and a couple of well-equipped campsites, this is as good a place as any if you want to rest up for a night. For an easy stroll from here, you can wander out along the leafy valleys of the Sardon and Prades.The little town of VOLVIC is also close by, renowned for its spring water and the quarries that furnished the black rock for Clermont's cathedral, as well as so many other Auvergnat buildings. Its Maison de la Pierre, on rue Viallard (guided tours hourly: March, April & Oct to mid-Nov 10am–5pm, May–Sept 10am–6pm; 3.90), features a surprisingly engaging display about the use of lava rock, including a historical and geological explanation, as well as a tour of the disused quarries – a warm jacket is advised.
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