| Twenty-seven kilometres southwest of Clermont and about 20km north of Le Mont-Dore, lush pastures and green hills punctuated by the abrupt eruptions of the puys enclose the village of ORCIVAL, the home town of ex-President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. A pretty, popular, little place, founded by the monks of La Chaise-Dieu in the twelfth century, it makes a suitable base for Hiking in the region. Orcival is dominated by the stunning Romanesque church of Notre-Dame (daily 8am–noon & 2–7pm), built of the same dark-grey volcanic stone as the cathedral in Clermont and topped with a spire and fanned with tiny chapels. Once a major parish, it counted no less than 24 priests in the mid-1200s, and the ironwork on the north door, with its curious forged human head motif, dates from that era. Inside, attention focuses on the choir, neatly and harmoniously contained by the semicircle of pillars defining the ambulatory. Mounted on a stone column in the centre is the celebrated Virgin of Orcival, a gilded and enamelled twelfth-century statue in typical Romance style; the object of a popular cult since the Middle Ages and still carried through the streets on Ascension Day. There's no public transport to Orcival itself; the nearest bus station is at Rochefort-Montagne, 6km away, served by buses from Clermont-Ferrand. There is, however, a helpful tourist office (June & Sept Tues–Sat 2–6pm; July & Aug daily 10am–12.30pm & 2–7pm; Oct–May holiday periods only 2–6pm; tel 04.73.65.89.77), just below the church. Modest accommodation can be found at the Hôtel des Touristes (tel 04.73.65.82.55, fax 04.73.65.91.11; €30–40; closed mid-Nov to mid-Feb; restaurant from €10) and the Hôtel Vieux Logis (tel 04.73.65.82.03, fax 04.73.65.88.07; under €30; closed Nov to mid-Dec), both near the church. One kilometre away on GR30–GR441, the gîte d'étape La Fontchartoux (tel 04.73.65.83.04; under €30) has an adjoining restaurant run by the gîte proprietor. There's a lakeside campsite, Camping de l'Étang de Fléchat (tel 04.73.65.82.96; closed mid-Sept to April), 2km outside Orcival, but a better bet is the municipal site at St-Bonnet, 5km to the north of the village (tel 04.73.65.83.32; closed Oct–April), set on a hillside with wonderful views of the surrounding mountains.
Pages in section ‘Orcival’: Walks around Orcival.
| 
