Up the Puy de Dôme on the Panoramique des Dômes train
2 h 30All agesDog-friendlyAll year
Rack railway · 15 min climb · All year · €17.20–€18.60 round trip
From €17
See the activity
VolcanoesAbout 80 over 32 km
Puy de Dôme1,465 m · 15 min by train
From La JonqueraAbout 470 km via the A75
Best timeMay – Sep
The summit is deceptive. At 1,465 m the wind blows and the fog comes in fast. Go up with a warm layer even in summer and don't leave the paths if it closes in.
What to do
What to do in Chaîne des Puys
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Climbing to the Puy de Pariou crater from the Les Goules car park
2 hFamilies with children who already walkDog-friendlyAll year; best from May to October
Walk · About 2 h · Free access · All year
Visiting the inside of the Volcan de Lemptégy, on foot or by little train
2 h 30All agesFebruary – early November
Guided visit · 2 h 30 · Families · From €14 (children from €11.50)
From €14
See the activity
Itineraries
Itineraries that pass through
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Chaîne des Puys, step by step
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
When to go to Chaîne des Puys
From May to September, with dry paths and Vulcania open. In July and August the summit of the Puy de Dôme fills up at midday. In October the forests turn red, but many places close and in winter there is fog, wind and snow on the summits.
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Best timeGood timeLow season
How you travel
Chaîne des Puys your way
The ways of travelling that suit Chaîne des Puys. We are writing a guide to each one: where to stay, how to get around and which services you will need.
By carBy campervanCampingOn footBy bikeBy motorbike
Where to stay
Where to stay in Chaîne des Puys
Hôtel Radio, Chamalières
Why we like it: 1930 Art Deco hotel in Chamalières, on the slope of Clermont-Ferrand towards the volcanoes: 24 rooms, a gastronomic restaurant and free private parking.
Arum Hôtel, Orcines
Why we like it: Former coaching inn in Orcines, at the foot of the Puy de Dôme and on the road to Vulcania: 17 rooms for two to five people, garden and free parking.
From €63
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Camping les Dômes, Nébouzat
Why we like it: Three-star family campsite in Nébouzat, on the volcano plateau, with a heated indoor pool, chalets, mobile homes and pitches with electricity. April to October.
Where to eat
Where to eat in Chaîne des Puys
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
Le Resto d'Epicure, at the summit of the Puy de Dôme
What to order: the €39 three-course menu, and the Auvergne cheese board if you are hungry
L'Auberge de la Fontaine du Berger
What to order: the €44 menu with the Saint-Nectaire supplement, or the godaille, the fish of the day as it arrives
Le Petit Graillou
What to order: the truffade with Auvergne ham, the local dish
Tips
Worth knowing first
- 1Take the first train
Before ten the summit is quiet and the sky cleaner. At midday in summer there is a queue to go down.
- 2Combine train and trail
Go up on the Panoramique and walk down, or the other way round: you see the mountain up close and spare yourself the hardest part.
- 3Join Pariou and the Puy de Dôme
They are next to each other: the crater in the morning and the summit in the afternoon.
- 4Try the cheese
This is the land of saint-nectaire, bleu d'Auvergne, cantal and fourme d'Ambert, which you buy at the village cheese shops.
Local tip
Go to the Puy de Pariou early, before the people arrive, and from its rim look at the Puy de Dôme beside it: it is the best photo of the chain.
Going up the Puy de Dôme in fog
You can't see anything at the top and the ticket is paid just the same. If the summit is in cloud, switch the plan to Lemptégy or a lower crater and go up another day.
What is the Chaîne des Puys?
A row of some 80 volcanoes, about 32 km long and 4 wide, on a plateau west of Clermont-Ferrand. They are gently sloping cones, covered in grass and forest, with round craters, lava flows and domes without craters. They are dormant, and together with the Limagne fault, the great fracture that sank the Clermont plain, they form a landscape that UNESCO inscribed as a World Heritage Site on 2 July 2018. As the geographer Yves Michelin explains, these volcanoes are part of something bigger: the fracturing of a continent.
The area can be toured in two or three days, based in Clermont-Ferrand or in the villages of the plateau, such as Orcines. One day for the Puy de Dôme and a crater on foot, another for the inside of a volcano or Vulcania, and if you have a third, the lakes of the Sancy, further south.
How do you go up the Puy de Dôme?
It is the highest of the chain, at 1,465 m, and the most visited in the region, with some 435,000 visitors a year. Since 2012 a rack railway has run up it, the Panoramique des Dômes, which leaves from Orcines and takes about 15 minutes. In 2026 the return fare for an adult is €17.20, and €18.60 from 1 April to 30 September; children under 4 go free. Timetables change with the season: in summer there are trains every 20 minutes from 9:00 to 20:00, and out of season, every hour or every half hour from 10:00 to 17:00.
You can also walk up, on signposted paths from the base, but the summit road is not open to private cars. At the top are the ruins of the Temple of Mercury, from the 2nd century, which overlooked the Roman city that is now Clermont-Ferrand, a visitor area, a brasserie and a restaurant. In clear skies you see the whole row of volcanoes lined up to the north and to the south.
Which volcanoes can you walk?
The Puy de Pariou, next to the Puy de Dôme, is the walkers' favourite: an almost perfect, very round crater that you climb and walk around along the rim. To the south, the Puy de la Vache and the Puy de Lassolas show the other kind of volcano, open on one side where the lava flow came out. Always follow the marked paths and the GR trails: the cones are made of loose ash and shortcuts open scars that can be seen from far away.
And inside a volcano?
At the Volcan de Lemptégy, a former pozzolana quarry, you go down inside the volcano and see its chimneys and layers of ash laid bare. Vulcania, in Saint-Ours-les-Roches, about 20 minutes from Clermont-Ferrand, is a theme park about volcanoes, for a whole day with children. It opens by season: the 2026 season has already ended and ticket sales for 2027 open on 27 November. If the weather is right, there are balloon flights at sunrise or sunset over the chain: an hour in the air with Auvergne Montgolfière, from €329.
Where to eat and sleep?
At the very top, Le Resto d'Epicure serves at midday, from April to November, a €30 or €39 menu with the plain beneath the windows. At the foot of the Pariou, L'Auberge de la Fontaine du Berger cooks fish from Brittany and Auvergne produce, with a €44 menu and Sunday lunch service. For truffade, Le Petit Graillou, in Montrodeix, with a terrace facing the Puy de Dôme.
To sleep, in the city, the Hôtel Radio, a 1930 Art Deco building in Chamalières with a gourmet restaurant. In Orcines, beside the road of the volcanoes, the Arum Hôtel, a former coaching inn with family rooms and duplexes. With a motorhome or tent, the camping les Dômes, in Nébouzat, with an indoor pool, from April to October.
How do you get there from Spain?
By car it is easy: from La Jonquera it is about 470 km on the A9 to Béziers and then the A75, the motorway that crosses the Massif Central and is free except for the Millau Viaduct. From Paris there is a train to Clermont-Ferrand in a little over three hours. By plane, the practical thing is to fly to Lyon, with direct flights from Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Málaga and Seville, and continue by hire car: it is about two hours and ten minutes to Orcines on the A89. Once there, a car is almost essential: the summit train leaves from Orcines and the craters and Vulcania are on the plateau, with no practical public transport.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
How much does the Puy de Dôme train cost?
In 2026, €17.20 return per adult, and €18.60 from 1 April to 30 September. Free for children under 4.
Can I drive up the Puy de Dôme?
No. The summit road is not open to private cars: you go up on the rack railway or on foot.
How many volcanoes does the Chaîne des Puys have?
About 80, in a row 32 km long and 4 km wide.
Since when has it been a World Heritage Site?
Since 2 July 2018, together with the Limagne fault.
Is it a good plan with children?
Yes. The Puy de Dôme train, the Pariou crater for those who already walk, the inside of Lemptégy and Vulcania work for many ages.
Is Vulcania open in winter?
No. It opens by season, and the 2026 season has already closed. Ticket sales for 2027 open on 27 November.