Elevation Profile
352–532 m
Starting opposite the tourist information office, take Rue Carnot to the right. At Place du Vigheot, continue straight ahead along Avenue de la Gare.
(1) Cross the D229 and continue opposite; cross the railway line and immediately take the street on the right. At the fork, leave Rue de Bursat on the right and continue left along Rue de la Salette. Go straight through the housing estate and, at the top of the hill, turn left onto Chemin du Petit Turluron (view of Château de Ravel in the foreground and the Forez mountains beyond). At the fork, leave Chemin du Petit Turluron on the left and continue straight ahead on the stony track (view of the town of Billom). At the T-junction, turn left towards Petit Turluron.
(2) At the crossroads of 4 tracks, turn left (leaving the village of Petit Turluron). At the next junction (interpretation panel: Billom, an urban vocation), take the track climbing to the summit of Petit Turluron and continue to the Chapelle de la Salette (360° panoramic view: Clermont-Ferrand, the Limagne plain, La Comté, the town of Billom in the foreground, the Chaîne des Puys, the Monts Dômes, the Sancy massif, Château de Mauzun and the Forez mountains beyond).
(3) From the Chapelle de la Salette, return down the same track to the junction with the interpretation panel. Continue straight downhill.
(4) At the T-junction, turn right and descend towards Tinlhat. Shortly before the first houses, bear left onto the track. Follow it for 1 km through fields and vineyards to the edge of the Bois du Gros Turluron.
(5) Take the path climbing to the left. Cross a path leading to the castle ruins (private), then turn left again before descending into a clearing. Continue until you reach a field. Follow the descending track to the right along the edge of the woods to a junction. Continue straight ahead to an intersection.
(6) Turn right, then left 300 m farther on to descend towards the D229 (take care: heavy, fast-moving traffic). Cross it and follow the track opposite as it bears left. Cross the stream and then the railway line. At the road, turn right; pass the agricultural cooperative and, at the chimney, turn left into Rue du Jeu de Boules.
(7) At the end of the street, at Place du Chauffour, bear slightly left into Rue du Mont-Mouchet. Descend Allée des Marronniers on the right; cross the bridge over the Angaud stream and continue straight ahead along Boulevard de la Porte Neuve. At the stop sign, continue opposite along Boulevard St-Roch.
(8) At the small square, turn left into Rue du Faubourg-St-Loup. Beside the apse of Église St-Loup, descend Rue St-Loup on the left.
(9) 20 m before the stop sign, pass beneath the archway on the left into Rue des Cours-Ste-Marie, then take the first street on the right; continue opposite along Rue du Collège (leaving Rue le Peuple on the right) and go straight ahead to the Angaud stream. Cross it on the stone bridge and climb Rue de l'Etezon.
(10) At the junction, continue climbing the same street towards the medieval quarter. At the top, beside the apse of Église St-Cerneuf and the Maison du Bailli, turn right to descend Rue des Boucheries. On leaving the medieval quarter, turn left to return to the tourist information office.
At a Glance
- Duration
- 2.5hrs
- Distance
- 9.5km
- Elevation +
- +267 m
- Elevation -
- -267 m
At a Glance
Live Weather
Departure / Arrival · Opposite the tourist information office
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Field notes and images
Chapelle de la Salette
Captured by MDT
Billom
Captured by MDT
Explore Nearby
Livradois Circuit — The Châteaux of Livradois (Loop No. 4)
This circuit offers a journey through time, from the Gallo-Roman period to the age of knights.
Bas-Livradois (Road Circuit No. 4)
After admiring the Romanesque priory church at Glaine-Montaigut, pause in Billom, a beautiful medieval town, before climbing the first Livradois foothills to Château de Montmorin and the imposing fortress of Mauzun.
The Fortified Villages
Start: Take the street alongside the war memorial and fountain (a listed sixteenth-century monument) towards Espirat, pass the inn and, 100 m further on, turn right onto Rue Martagère. On leaving the village, take Rue de l’Aullière on the right. At the D 81b (views of Tour de Courcourt on the left, Château de Ravel slightly left, Espirat and the Monts du Forez straight ahead, and Petit Turluron with its chapel and Château de Mauzun on the right), follow it to the left, then take the first earth track on the right. At the end, turn left; 100 m further on, continue straight ahead. At the T-junction, turn left to return to the D 81b. Follow it to the right to its junction with the D 997. 1. Cross it (caution: fast traffic) and take the grassy track straight ahead. At the end of this broad track, after crossing the former railway line, turn right to reach the cemetery. 2. At the cemetery, take the road on the right, cross the stream and enter Espirat. By the gateway, take the street on the right alongside the fortified village. At the end of the fortifications, branch left into the first narrow street entering the fort. Pass the church on its left and continue straight ahead, passing beneath the gateway to leave the fort. On leaving, immediately turn right behind Salle Marcel Fournier (dovecote on the left), then continue straight ahead along Rue des Marronniers. At the Reignat sign, turn right alongside the fort walls. On leaving, pass behind the bar by taking Rue du Moulin on the right. Continue straight ahead on this street to leave Espirat (view of Château de Montmorin straight ahead). 3. Just before Moulin de la Verse, descend to the right on the track. At the next junction, turn left, cross the bridge and follow the Jauron stream. At the T-junction, turn right; cross the railway line to the right of a retting pit, then cross the D 997 (caution: fast traffic). Take the earth track straight ahead and climb to the reservoir (looking back, views of Espirat and Ravel straight ahead, Moissat slightly left, and the Monts du Forez and Château de Mauzun on the right). 4. At the reservoir, turn right (views of Chas straight ahead, the Chaîne des Puys and Puy-de-Dôme slightly left, and the Monts du Forez on the right). Continue straight ahead on this track; by the fine stone cross (view of Chas), descend towards the village. At the T-junction, turn right, then at the D 81 continue straight ahead into the village. At the junction, continue uphill on the D81 (towards Chauriat), then take Rue des Fichaux on the left. Turn onto the first narrow street on the right (Petite Rue des Fichaux, polychrome house). At the end, turn left (ignore Rue de la Source on the left), then 30 m further on turn right alongside the town hall; pass through the gateway on the right and enter the fort. Walk around the church, turn right alongside the school, then branch left to return to the war memorial.