Olliergues travel guide

Visit Olliergues (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France)

The village of Olliergues is in the pretty Livradois-Forez naturel parc between Thiers and Ambert, in the Puy-de-Dome department.

Explore Olliergues

Olliergues is a pretty village surrounded by wooded hills in the Livradois-Forez Regional Natural Park. Coming from the hills you get a wonderful view of Olliergues below on the edge of the Dore river.

Olliergues is one of the oldest villages in the region and you will discover an interesting medieval centre.

The streets of Olliergues climb upwards towards the church and the chateau, passing tall houses, often four-storey buildings, built from a brown-grey stone.

The church of Notre Dame d'Olliargues was built within the walled enclosure of the chateau and was originally the castle's chapel. It became the village church in 1842.

Built in the gothic style in the 14th century, the belltower is a later addition and is built in a style more common to the Lot and to Correze than to this area, with its bulbous shape.

The maison "des marchands" is one of the oldest houses in Olliourgues and is lovely with its arched base and half-timber top. Many of the houses which date from the 15th and 16th centuries have towers which house the staircases for these tall buildings.

As well as the houses winding up the hillside the village used to have lots of terraced gardens on the slopes of the hills. These were supported by dry stone walls.

Sadly these have largely been abandoned though there are plans to restore some of them and make a walking route to be able to see them.

The chateau above Olliergues now holds a small museum of ancient trades, especially those involving wood, metal and textiles which were particularly common to the region.

Places to Visit Nearby

One of the tourist trains of the Livradois-Forez park stops at Olliergues and then takes a scenic route to Ambert.

Ambert is in the pretty Livradois-Forez natural park and a good way of seeing more of the park is to follow a circular route around twelve villages which have been highlighted as being particularly interesting. These are: Courpiere, Thiers, Chateldon, Billom, Sauxillanges, Auzon, Allegre, La Chaise-Dieu, Viverols and Ambert.

Explore elsewhere in the Massif Central. You can find more travel ideas in the Puy-de-Dome guide and the Auvergne guide.

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Map of Olliergues and places nearby

Visit near Olliergues with France This Way reviews

Courpiere

Once home to Coco Chanel, Courpiere is a village in the Livradois-Forez natural park

Courpiere guide

Ambert

The quiet town of Ambert in the Natural Regional Park of Livradois-Forez has a small medieval centre to explore

Ambert guide

Thiers

Not always considered a tourist destination, Thouars actually has a facscinating historical centre with several interesting highlights

Thiers guide

Billom

It is the half-timbered houses and medieval gateways that provide the charm in the centre of Billom

Billom guide

Sauxillanges

The principal monuments in Sauxillanges, the monastery and the castle, are not open to the public but the village is still pleasant for a look when you are in the region

Sauxillanges guide

Usson

One of the least developed of the 'most beautiful villages in France' (a good thing!) the quaint centre of Usson is overlooked by a large statue of the Virgin Mary

Usson guide

... or see ALL recommended places to visit in Puy-de-Dome

Address: Olliergues, Ambert, Auvergne, 63880, France || GPS coordinates: latitude 45.675, longitude 3.637