Mountain Towns
Riom is an historic town with 16 listed monuments and a further 57 registered monuments. There are many beautiful old houses with internal courtyards and a famous clock tower with 128 steps to the top from where the views are fabulous and worth the effort of climbing and having your chest thump like a drum. The Saturday morning market is very pretty and watching everyone go about their business is a great way to get a feel for this pretty town.
Credit: Callips, Wikipedia
If someone had told me before I went to the Auvergne that one of my favourite moments would be a visit to a museum of ballet costumes I would have laughed. But the next morning I visited the National Centre for Stage Costumes which is based in a former Cavalry barracks in the town of Moulins. It is the home of over 10,000 set costumes from the Opera National de
Paris and the Comedie Francais and features many outfits created by France’s top designers and the way in which they are displayed is truly stunning.
Fans of Rudolf Nuryev the great dancer (who died in France) will love the exhibition of the costumes he danced in as well as many of his personal effects.
The local wine is Saint-Pourcain, made from grapes grown in one of the oldest vineyards in France. And, it would have been plain wrong not to have visited a vineyard whilst there. A wine tasting is a must and I visited Domaine Grosbot-Barbara where the guide gave a long and passionate explanation of his craft, though eventually he did open several bottles. - delicious!
Moulins and the Museum of Ballet