Exploring the historic Auvergne, France

In the centre of France lies the little known region of Auvergne. Judith Ellen discovers a region of exquisite costumes, history and of course, fromage.

An extravagant grass-green work of art holds my gaze.

Black feathers, jet beads dripping in a rivulet from long black gloves, black bows, flamingo-pink stockings.

It’s a Christian Lacroix, but not for you or me to wear, even if we could.

This collector’s item danced its way through the New York Met’s 1988 production of Gâité Parisienne. I haven’t wangled my way backstage in some time warp, I’m in a museum.

This is the Centre National du Costume de Scène at Moulins in central France. It holds 10,000-odd ravishing opera, theatre and ballet costumes (from life-size animal suits to Dior gowns, including Rudolf Nureyev’s donated collection), but the museum buildings are unique as well.

Behind an austere parade-ground facade, restored 18th century military barracks blossom into vaulted ceilings, sweeping staircases of honeycombed sandstone and monumental pillars.

This great trove of theatre history (including stage sets, machinery and design workshops) has preserved a piece of architectural heritage into the bargain.

Fresh costume exhibitions are mounted six monthly. The final show for 2012 brought creations from Paris’ Palais Garnier opera stage.

The current Costumes of Power (26 January-20 May, 2013) combines on-stage power dressing from the museum vaults (massive, rolling, temperature-controlled wardrobes) with film costumes from Asterix and Obelix, Isabelle Adjani’s La Reine Margot and others.

I think of CNCS as one of the Auvergne’s dark secrets. The Songs of the Auvergne, those haunting Occitan-language folk songs arranged by Joseph Canteloube in the 1920s, fit the mood.

Once in the region, I discover a rugged, volcanic landscape, steeped in dark Bourbon and monastic history, the preserve of castles, abbeys, vineyard walks and, voila, the restorative mineral springs and light-filled spas of Vichy.

If Moulins is in the upper regions, geographically speaking, Saint-Nectaire is just south of the waistline. Sophisticated costumes lingering in my head, I find myself on a rustic hillside savouring cheeses made practically within arm’s reach, the rustle of silk replaced by the faint shuffle of cows in their stalls, somewhere at my back.

Earthy Auvergnat cuisine enshrines charolais beef, mustard from Charroux (a medieval trading town) and St. Pourçain wine, known since the 14th century, but cheese is the real star.

Bleu d’Auvergne, Cantal, Fourme d’Ambert, Salers and Saint-Nectaire are ‘protected origin’ cheeses. “One land: five strong personalities," the Auvergnats say, ascribing their superb fromages to “ancestral know-how" and the grass of volcanic mountain pastures.

A Route de Fromages lists 40 stops. I visit Ferme Bellonte, here at Saint-Nectaire, 30 kilometres south of Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne’s regional capital. Bellonte is a working farm where people watch cheeses being made by hand, feast on farm produce, even stay (there’s an auberge). A subterranean museum, caves where cheeses were traditionally matured on straw, celebrates regional history, from ancient cave dwellers to local revolutionary hero l’abbe Dubois. But farm produce is my primary interest.

At a tree-shaded table, I savour salade de Bernadette: butter lettuce laced with crisped lardons, fresh walnuts, croutons, walnut oil and nuggets of bleu d’Auvergne.

An assiette de charcuterie holds dark Auvergne ham, local sausage, country terrine and farm butter in generous pats; rustic sausages come with phonsounette, sliced potatoes baked in a fermier fondu of Saint-Nectaire. A wheel of nutty, meltingly tender Saint-Nectaire comes next, then farm-made apple pastry.

Saint-Nectaire cheese was known at the court of Louis XIV. Commercially-made Saint-Nectaire laitier (orange rind, pasteurised) travels world-wide. Complex, sooty grey-coated Saint-Nectaire fermier is something else, made with raw milk, according to strict rules.

There’s also architectural history here, in the nearby village, where Saint-Nectaire’s stone-flagged romanesque church shelters a wondrous menagerie of figures and beasts, carved and painted wood and stone, a golden saint even, crucifying soldiers in chain-mail armour.

The Auvergne’s upper eastern border is defined by the Loire River. The Allier River snakes through, top to bottom. Eighty volcanos, the Chaîne des Puys, now extinct and green, anchor the centre ideal for hiking (including vineyard trails in the Madargue Hills), climbing or gazing into the distance. Smack in the centre is the regional capital,Clermont-Ferrand. Apart from its cafe quarter around rue Saint-Dominique, it fails to entice me and I’m soon lured away to towns and countryside.

Moulins, home of CNCS and two-and-a-half hours from Paris by train, has a written record from 990. It was the duchy’s 15th century capital, already a century-old stronghold of the Bourbon dukes and duchesses. I stroll the cobbled streets of Moulins’ Old Town, beneath leaning, half-timbered houses. Jeanne D’Arc stayed in one (November, 1429), its overhanging upper level shuttered and dark with age.

Attic windows, spindly spires and the narrow Jacquemart Belfry jostle the roof line. At belle époque brasserie Le Grand Cafe de Moulins, balcony tables look down on black-vested waiters, crowded banquettes, vast chandeliers, lights and mirrored walls; an oblong of stained-glass colours the daylight overhead.

Also in Moulins, prosperous 19th-century townhouse Maison Mantin, shuttered for a century in compliance with Monsieur Mantin’s bequest, is open for business. I wander through its wood-panelled family rooms, up an elaborate staircase, beneath wall-size tapestries and precious chandeliers, manoeuvring past gilded tables, antique clocks, a zinc bathtub and a taxidermied wolf. It’s a window on a world preserved in aspic.

Souvigny, 13 kilometres from Moulins, is another gem. The first known Bourbon lord donated land here to the powerful Benedictine abbey of Cluny, founded in 910. It was a strategic move.

The Cluniacs built a beautiful priory church, entombing their fourth and fifth abbots inside. Within clipped green geometry of priory gardens, beneath romanesque arches and tracery screens, I visit the abbots, and Louis II and his dauphine, Anne d’Auvergne, peacefully recumbent in stone effigy, their faithful hounds at their feet.

The following morning I’m in Vichy, testing the waters in a tiled pavilion of taps and troughs. Locals fill bottles and visitors sip from little cups. Far older than its wartime history,Vichy is a town of spa temples and tree-lined streets.

Soft light permeates leaves and filigreed iron, while medicinal waters filtered from the rugged Auvergne landscape permeate the region’s elegant oasis.

The details

How to get there:

Singapore Airlines daily to Singapore, connecting Paris flights, www.singaporeair.com.
Emirates flies Paris via Dubai, emirates.com/au.
Trains connect Paris with Auvergne towns.

When to go:

Autumn (from September) or Spring (from March). 23-25 May, world music festival Clermont-Ferrand, europavox.com 21 August-1 September, Festival de La Chaise-Dieu, sacred music, chaise-dieu.com. August 21-24, International Festival of Street Theatre, Aurillac, aurillac.net

Where to Stay:

Affordable:

Saint-Nectaire: Hotel les Bains Romains, renovated 1850s building, spa. Rooms (1-2 people) $150-$206, breakfast $18, breakfast and dinner $44; early-bird discounts, hotel-bains-romains.com

La Chaise-Dieu: Le Clos St Francois, charming Gites de France, single $62, family room (3/4), share bathroom, $94/$112, breakfast included, leclosstfrancois.com

Boutique:

Vichy: La Maison Décoret, Relais et Chateaux, five stylish rooms in Napoleon III chalet, double from $200, relaischateaux.com

Salers, Cantal: Hotel Saluces, eight distinctive rooms, historic building, $85-124 (double, seasonal), breakfast $13, hotel-salers.fr

Moulins: Hotel de Paris, in Old Town, converted chapel attached, spa in crypt, double room $100-$206, breakfast $15, hoteldeparis-moulins.com

Luxury:

Ygrand (near Moulins): Chateau Ygrand, period furnishings, 40ha park, gastronomic restaurant, double room $172-$322, breakfast $15, chateauygrande.fr

Vichy: Les Celestins Vichy Spa Hotel, sparkling-fresh decor, walkway to Vichy Thermal Spa, free access saunas, hammam, fitness room, from $150, suites $300, vichy-spa-hotel.fr

Where to eat:

Affordable:

La Ferme Bellonte, farm produce: $19-$24 menus; 3 rue du 10 Aout 1944, Farges, Saint-Nectaire, +33(0)4 73 88 52 25, st-nectaire.com

Restaurant Le 9/7, menus: $23-$37, $51-$55, vegetarian $35. Creative dishes in simple setting, Association of Toques d’Auvergne; 97 rue d’Allier, Moulins. +33(0)4 70 35 01 60, restaurant-9-7.com

Comfortable:

La Table d’Antoine, Auvergneingredients, modern decor; $54-$67; degustation $80, 8 Rue Burnol,Vichy; +33(0)4 70 98 99 71, latabledantoine.com

Clos de Bourgogne, “Victorian" country manor hotel (closed Saturday lunch, Sunday evening, Monday), “3 fouchettes au guide Michelin", $56-$67/(with wines) $81-$100, 83 rue de Bourgogne, Moulins; +33(0)4 70 44 03 00, clos-de-bourgogne.com

High End:

Maison Decoret, chef awarded Meilleur Ouvrier de France, exquisite dishes, degustation $144/(with wines)$212; menu $85, +33(0)4 70 97 65 06, jacquesdecoret.com

You can’t leave without:

Tasting the cheeses, preferably on a farm; delving into Bourbonnais and monastic history; taking the waters at Vichy.

Best thing about:

Intriguing history, rugged landscape and rich cuisine.

Worst thing about:

Clermont-Ferrandis rather dour, volcanic-stone buildings, industrialised. Events are a reason to stay, otherwise head for the hills.

You should know:

Book France Rai lPass(exclusive to Rail Europe) online for delivery in Australia.
Use on TGV or regional trains, three, five or nine-day travel within a month (including non-consecutive days), from $263 (three days), $340 (five days); Adult Saver (two to five adults travelling together) three days $254/$207pp (1st/2nd class), seniors, youth discounts.
TGV seat reservations compulsory, raileurope.com.au

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Wellbeing means different things to different travellers. Here’s how to pick a hotel that gets it right for you.

The best wellness holidays aren’t necessarily spent wrapped in a spa robe. Sometimes they’re found around a dinner table in Cambodia, on a hiking trail in New Zealand or after finally beating jet lag on the other side of the world. The hotel you choose is what makes them happen.

1. Easy access to good food

meals from Novotel Bangkok Sukhumvit 20 — Taste delicious meals at Novotel Bangkok Sukhumvit 20.

One of the quickest ways to derail healthy habits on holiday is to spend half of it working out where to eat instead of digging into the culture around you. Thankfully, Novotel has done much of the hard work already, with chefs building menus that lean into the flavours, ingredients and traditions of each destination.

In Sihanoukville, Cambodia, Korkor soup – often dubbed ‘Cambodian ratatouille’ – sits alongside raw blue crab dressed with lime and chilli, best enjoyed with views across the Gulf of Thailand.

In the lovingly chaotic city of Bangkok, the presence of food cranks up the sociability. At Novotel Bangkok Sukhumvit 20, you can settle in with mango sticky rice and stranger-turned-friends beside the pool at Sky on 20 rooftop bar, or bring them along to tackle river prawns and stir-fried crab with holy basil at the buzzing Crab Paradise Dinner Buffet.

Then Novotel Dubai Al Barsha welcomes you with a laidback twist on the level of indulgence the Middle Eastern city is best known for up on Deck Se7en. Looking towards Burj Al Arab, the rooftop lounge has everything from Mediterranean-style dishes like seabass ceviche to Italian prosecco sundowners.

At the other end of the scale, in the hills that surround the Novotel Bali Ubud Resort, calm comes from nature. At Siralada restaurant, Balinese traditions shape the menu while thunder rumbles over the surrounding jungle – proving the setting is as nourishing as the food itself.

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It’s all an approach backed by partnerships with expert food creators such as Alfie Steiner, whose plant-forward recipes prove healthy food should never taste plain.

2. Better sleep options

Novotel Bali Ubud Resort room — Sleep deeply with Novotel.

There are few travel experiences more disappointing than arriving in a new country, determined to seize the day, only to fall asleep fully clothed by 3pm.

For Australian travellers, jet lag is often an unavoidable part of the journey. That’s one reason Novotel runs sleep-focused initiatives that help guests adjust quickly without compromising on health. We’re talking partnerships with Sydney-based sleep specialist Olivia Arezzolo, known for her advice on everything from better sleep habits to beating jet lag, alongside features like pillow menus, in-room yoga content and tailored sleep guidance.

The sooner you’re operating on local time, the sooner you can get back to more pressing matters – like deciding which spa treatment to book.

3. More ways to move

woman hiking around queenstown new zealand — Stay at Novotel Queenstown Lakeside and explore local hiking trails. (Credit: GettyI mages/ naruedom)

Every place in the world has its own way of getting you moving: whether that’s hiking up ice-bitten mountains before a sauna or gentle stretching by the pool before a facial. From fitness centres to spas, Novotel recognises that wellbeing rarely looks the same.

At Novotel Queenstown Lakeside, activity is inescapable. Here, hiking trails, ski fields, bungee jumps, and white-water rafting have made the region famous. The hotel’s location on the shores of Lake Wakatipu means less time spent organising yourself and more time out there experiencing them. To top it all off, you can book a private hot tub for the evening before heading back into the wilderness tomorrow.

Bali, of course, takes a softer approach. At Novotel Bali Ubud Resort or Novotel Bali Nusa Dua, movement is less about conquering a mountain and more about a dance class between the tropical gardens and lagoon pools. Afterwards, the spa takes over, with traditional treatments like a Lulur body scrub: a combination of rice, turmeric, sandalwood, ginger and jasmine that’ll soothe muscles already relaxed by the Balinese heat.

4. Better connections

Kids will love a stay at Novotel Sharm El Sheikh.

One of the best things about travel is that it gives your family stories you’ll be telling for years. Novotel helps create them with activities that bring everyone together, whether that’s trying something new, learning a local skill, or simply spending more time together.

Go for a distinctly Thai twist at Novotel Phuket Vintage Park, where many of the family activities draw on local culture. Kids can try everything from beginner Thai boxing and language lessons to umbrella painting and – a pastime beloved by children the world over – pool foam parties. Everyone is welcome to join in, whether that’s getting splashed, covered in paint, or simply watching their children discover a new side of Thailand during the dedicated Family & Kids Day.

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5. Location is everything

Surin Beach, Choeng Thale, Thalang District, Phuket, Thaiföld — Explore Phuket’s gorgeous beaches. (Credit: Bence Biczo)

Everyone’s idea of wellness looks a little different. With more than 600 hotels across 65 countries, Novotel gives guests the freedom to choose the destination that suits them best. Whether that’s a beachside escape in Phuket, an alpine expedition in Queenstown or a city break in Bangkok, there’s a good chance a Novotel isn’t far away.

All that’s left? Choosing your version of wellbeing.

Discover stays to inspire your everyday at novotel.accor.com.

Auvergne: Costumes and cheese in France’s historical heart

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