| LA BOURBOULE is just 7km down the road from Le Mont-Dore. Known as the sister to Le Mont-Dore, it's another traditional spa – the "capital of allergies" – but with a more open feel and, because of its lower altitude, temperatures a degree or two warmer. The big casino, the domed Grands Thermes baths and several other Belle Époque buildings which once housed privately run baths are ornate, gilded and wonderfully vulgar, with a faded, permanently off-season look to them – much like the whole town. Searching for a La Bourboule hotelthis website has a lot of choice. All in all, it's a cool, tranquil place to unwind: as the tourist office's leaflet says, "You will be able to put your vital node to rest in La Bourboule". Behind the Hôtel de Ville, the large wooded Parc Fenestre has a téléférique taking you right up to Plateau de Charlannes (1300m), where it's possible to stroll in the woods or ski in winter; the tourist office in the Hôtel de Ville on place de la République (April–June & Sept daily 9am–noon & 1.30–6pm; July & Aug daily 9am–7pm; Oct–March Mon–Sat 9am–noon & 1.30–5.30pm, Sun 9.30am–12.30pm; tel 04.73.65.57.71, www.bourboule.com) sells a booklet of local walks. Hotels here are plentiful, three good bargains being the Aviation Hôtel, in rue de Metz (tel 04.73.81.32.32; 30–40; closed Oct–Dec 20; restaurant from 12.20), with indoor pool; the welcoming, Art Deco-style Le Pavillon, 209 av d'Angleterre (tel 04.73.65.50.18, fax franç[email protected]; under 30; closed Oct–April; restaurant from 13); and Les Fleurs on avenue de Mussy (tel 04.73.81.09.44, fax 04.73.65.52.03; 30–40; closed Nov, Dec & part March; restaurant from 13.70). There's also a good selection of campsites, with the Camping municipal on avenue Maréchal Lattre-de-Tassigny (tel 04.73.81.10.20), and another at Murat-le-Quaire, 4km away, along the Mont-Dore road (tel 04.73.65.54.81).
Pages in section ‘La Bourboule’: Walking and Skiing.
| 
