| Charbonnières-les-Vieilles |
Charbonnières-les-Vieilles is a small and quit town in the heart of the Auvergne Region. A few kilometres away the Sioule River is a popular destination for canonist and nature
lovers.
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Fortress of the Thirteenth century near Pont-de-Menat, Sioule Valley. |
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Le Puy-en-Velay is a very old city.
Celtic tribes already settled the site even before the Roman period.
Le Puy-en-Velay is located in a volcanic zone and it is famous to be one of the departure
cities for the pilgrimages to Santiago de Composela.
UNESCO has listed its Cathedral as a World Heritage Site.
Puy-en-Velay Coat of Arms.
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The symbol of the city is the Statue of Notre-Dame de France on the Rocher Corneille.
This statue was built among 1856 and 1860, under the direction of Monseigneur de Morlhon,
bishop of Le Puy-en-Velay.
The statue has been created melting 213 cannons from Sebastopol Crimea. It is 16 meters high
and it weights 110 tons. The pedestal in stone weighs 680 tons and it is covered with 45 tons
of cast iron fusion, the pedestal is 6,70 meters high.
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Small town that overlooks the Loire River, very close to Le-Puy-en-Velay. |
| Small mountain village on the road to the Meygal Forest and Valence. |
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The Meygal Forest stretches over a surface of 1172 hectares in the communes of Queyrières,
Yssingeaux, Araules, Champclause and Saint Julien Chapteuil. The original forest was completely
destroyed by Cardinal Richelieu for the construction of the real ships.
A violent 1982 storm has strongly damaged the forest of the Meygal. The winds that blew at
200 km/h have completely destroyed around 400 hectares of forest. |
Autumn is the best time of the year to visit the Meygal Forest.
Autumn colours make the forest particularly suggestive. |
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