Arlempdes
Member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France
Barely thirty kilometres from its source, the young Loire runs through a deep valley beneath a volcanic dyke topped by the ruins of the Château d'Arlempdes, about a hundred metres above the water. Basalt flows and organ-pipe columns shape the scenery, and their collapse may explain the Celtic name, 'valley of scree'. The small village of old houses keeps a Romanesque church with a four-arched bell gable.
Highlights
- The castle ruins on their basalt rock, with an intact 12th-century chapel
- Romanesque Église Saint-Pierre, with twisted columns at its doorway
- Basalt organ pipes along the upper Loire
- Écomusée de la Ruralité, devoted to country life
Text adapted from Wikipedia (Arlempdes (FR), Arlempdes (EN), Arlempdes (IT)), Wikivoyage (Arlempdes). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Population: 156
Things to see
Events through the year
- Festival d'ArlempdesTwo weeks of theatre inside the medieval castle walls
Dates follow the traditional patterns in our sources: check locally before you travel.
Adapted from Wikipedia (Arlempdes). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Specialities of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Typical of the region rather than of this village.
Bol d'aligotPublic domainAligotDish
Trufada 1Public domainTruffadeDish- Green lentil of Le PuyLocal produce
- CantalCheese
- Saint-nectaireCheese
- Fourme d'AmbertCheese
Adapted from Wikipedia (Cuisine auvergnate). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where to sleep
4 places to stay within 3 km
- Hotels 2
- Hostels 1
- Campsites 1
Data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Thermal baths nearby
- Thermal spa: Thermes de Neyrac-les-Bains (FR) · ~53 min by car
- Thermal spa: Station Thermale de Saint-Laurent-les-Bains · ~57 min by car
Data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Nearby member villages
- Pradelles · 11 km
- Polignac · 23 km
- La Garde-Guérin · 43 km
- Le Malzieu-Ville · 47 km
- Lavoûte-Chilhac · 52 km