Clermont-Ferrand

Clermont-Ferrand is a city in the Auvergne region, France, with a population of 140,700 (2006). Its metropolitan area had 409,558 inhabitants at the 1999 census.

Clermont-Ferrand sits on the plain of Limagne in the Massif Central and is surrounded by a major industrial area. The city is famous for the chain of volcanoes, the Chaîne des Puys surrounding it. The famous dormant volcano Puy-de-Dôme (10 km from the city) is one of the highest of these and well-known for the telecommunication antennas that sit on its top and are visible from far away.

Clermont-Ferrand is also famous for hosting one of the world’s leading international festivals for short films, the Festival du Court Metrage de Clermont-Ferrand, as well as the corporate headquarters of Michelin, the global tire company created more than 100 years ago in the city.

Clermont-Ferrand’s most famous public square is place de Jaude, on which stands a grand statue of Vercingetorix sitting imperiously on a horse and holding a glaive. The inscription reads: J’ai pris les armes pour la liberté de tous (English: I took up arms for the liberty of all). This statue was sculpted by Frédéric Bartholdi, who also created the Statue of Liberty.

Recently, Clermont-Ferrand was France’s first city to get a new guided light transit system, thereby linking the city’s north and south neighbourhoods.

The team plays at the Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin (capacity 16,334) and wears yellow and blue, which are the colours of Michelin, the tyre manufacturer, which is based in Montferrand and whose founder, Marcel Michelin, established the club for its workers before World War I. L’ASM, as they are also called, are the traditional underdog, always cited among early favourites and praised for their style of play, but never winning come spring. They have reached the French Championship final eleven times, until their eleventh trip in 2010 to the championship. The perennial bridesmaids in their 100th year as a club broke through and conquered France, beating Perpignan in a rematch of the 2009 final.

How to get there.

Clermont is not going to be one of those locations where you can fly in and out on an overnighter as being fairly central in France it is one of the more difficult locations to get to – definitely one for the more committed supporter.

The best option is to fly to Lyon and get one of the regular trains across to Clermont from the Lyon Part Dieu train station. Try Rail Europe for details. It should come in at around £30 for the  2 hrs 30 mins journey. Other options include a flight to Paris CDG and a 5 hour train journey via Lyon.

NOTE: Our man in Clermont has added some more details about the trains and there is a direct train from Paris to Clermont.

There are trains from Paris Gare de Lyon, direct to Clermont , without having to go via Lyon. Unfortunately Clermont is not on the TGV line, however the TGV train goes from Paris to Lyon and then you can change for Clermont…but my advice is to book one of the direct Paris – Clermont trains approx 4 hrs duration – price will vary but generally fairly good value if you book online in advance on http://www.sncf.co.uk or if you like http://www.voyages-sncf.com

Direct flights to Lyon from the UK/Ireland.

Airlines	Destinations	Terminal
Aer Lingus	Dublin	1
British Airways	London-Heathrow	1
EasyJet	Edinburgh, London-Gatwick, London-Stansted. Seasonal: Bristol, Liverpool	3

Where to Stay.

You can view a selection of recommended hotels by clicking here.  

Hotels in general can be on the expensive side so shop around  – most of the ‘older’ hotels are typically French sized rooms (i.e. tiny so be careful who you share with!),  but there are also a selction of more modern chains such as Holiday Inn, Ibis etc. 

The closest to the ground is the Republic, but its away from the centre of town.