Clermont-Ferrand

Currency budget France

Euros, and cards everywhere, including the rack railway and the farm shops selling Saint-Nectaire at the door.

ATMs & cards

Bank machines round the Place de Jaude and at the station. Use a bank’s own machine and refuse the offer to convert into your own currency.

Cards are taken everywhere. Refuse any offer to convert.

Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.

Safety all of France

A safe city for a visitor; the risks are in the hills. The Puy de Dôme is 1,465 metres and the weather on top changes within the hour — cloud, wind and cold that the city below never sees. The Chemin des Muletiers is a steep hour up and slippery on the way down. Car parks at the trailheads see break-ins; leave nothing in sight. In winter there is snow on the summits and ice on the minor roads.

Our own assessment, not a sourced index.

Entry & visa France visa rules

Health & emergencies all of France

Required to enter

No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.

Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.

Food tip

Auvergne has five AOP cheeses — Saint-Nectaire, Cantal, Salers, Bleu d’Auvergne and Fourme d’Ambert — and a farm Saint-Nectaire, with the green oval label, is the one to buy. Truffade is potatoes fried with garlic and young Tomme melted through, and it is mountain food in portions to match. Volvic water comes from under the volcanoes, and Châteaugay and the Côtes d’Auvergne make light reds most visitors have never heard of.

Nightlife

A university city of some 35,000 students, and the old town fills with them from Thursday — bars more than clubs, and cheap rather than smart.

• Place de la Victoire — terraces in front of the cathedral
• Rue des Petits-Gras — and the lanes round it, the old town’s wine bars
• Place de Jaude — the big square, and the bars and clubs just off it
• La Coopérative de Mai — the concert hall, for touring bands

Closing: Most bars 01:00 to 02:00; the clubs later. Kitchens stop by 22:00 outside the brasseries.

Getting around

• Tram — one line, north to south through the Place de Jaude; the whole network is free on Saturdays and Sundays
• Train — Paris in about three and a half hours, which surprises people for the distance
• Panoramique des Dômes — the rack railway up the Puy de Dôme, about fifteen minutes; the summit road is closed to cars
• Hire car — for the Chaîne des Puys, the lakes and the Sancy, which the buses barely reach
• Airport: Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne (CFE), 15 minutes from the centre

eSIM

A data eSIM for France, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:Works hereWorks hereRevolutIn the app

Must-see

Nearby day trips

Say a few words

French

• HelloBonjourbon-ZHOOR
• PleaseS'il vous plaîtseel voo PLEH
• Thank youMercimer-SEE
• Yes / NoOui / Nonwee / non

Open with bonjour before anything else. Launching straight into a question without it reads as rude, and explains a lot of reputed French coldness.

Religion

Catholic, and strictly secular

Laïcité is a constitutional principle: religion is kept out of public institutions, and conspicuous religious symbols are banned in state schools. Cover shoulders in cathedrals.

Do's and don'ts

Do

• Say bonjour before anything else, every single time you enter a shop
• Keep your voice down in restaurants and on public transport
• Keep both hands visible on the table while eating, wrists on the edge
• Dress a notch smarter than you would at home — it changes how you are treated

Don't

• Do not ask for a doggy bag or substitutions; the dish arrives as the kitchen intends
• Do not start with English without at least attempting bonjour, parlez-vous anglais
• Do not tip more than rounding up — service is included by law
• Do not eat while walking; it reads as slightly uncivilised