Via Allier à vélo – Étape 09 – Vic-le-Comte > Issoire

Don’t miss
● Vic-le-Comte: Église Saint-Pierre: this Romanesque building was remodeled in the Gothic period.
● Pignols: Sainte-Magdeleine church: of Romanesque origin, it is listed as a historic monument and features a remarkable collection of paintings dating from the 12th to 16th centuries.
● Pignols and Vic-le-Comte: production of AOP Côte d’Auvergne wine.
● Coudes: suspension bridge: built in 1846 over the River Allier. It comprises a single span suspended by cables, 100 m long and 4.4 m wide. The bridge was destroyed by the Germans in 1944 and rebuilt after the war. Replaced by a modern structure inaugurated in 1976, it has now lost much of its usefulness. It is no longer open to cars.
● Issoire :
L’abbatiale Saint-Austremoine: This masterpiece of Auvergne Romanesque art, dating from the late 11th and early 12th centuries, is the largest Romanesque church in the Basse Auvergne region. |
Tour de l’Horloge: panoramic view of the town and surrounding countryside. Temporary exhibitions, lectures, screenings and workshops.
Espace Culturel Jean Prouvé: art exhibitions.
Auverdrive: car collection.
Center d’Art Contemporain Karoutzos: around 300 works of varying sensibility and expression by regional, national and international artists.
Jardin du château d’Hauterive: 17th- and 18th-century gardens. Terraced vegetable garden, groves with green cabinets and hornbeams. Wine cellar, icehouse, bread oven, wine-press room.
● Parentignat, suspension bridge: in 1831, this was the first bridge to cross the Allier, replacing the Parentignat, Orbeil and Les Pradeaux ferries. Comprising a wrought-iron suspension span and two masonry arches, it was 120 m long and 6 m wide. Since 1976, it has been disused and replaced by a more modern bridge.
● Château de Parentignat and English park: dubbed the “Little Versailles of Auvergne” by Henri Pourrat, the château was built at the end of Louis XIV’s reign and remodeled in the late 18th century.
● Markets: Vic-le-Comte: Thursday morning / Coudes: 2nd Sunday of the month / Issoire: permanent market Saturday morning and flea market every 3rd day of the month from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. (flea market and garage sale).