24 | living getaway Eglise SaintJoseph, La Bourboule
A long-serving maire of Besse recorded in stone
Auvergnat style in Murat-le-Quaire
river below. During the 1930s skiers were also carried up to a handful of descents created on the flanks of the plateau, until a cable car was installed further up the valley in 1936. Le Mont Dore owes its present La Bourboule goes neoClassical
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reputation as a ski resort largely thanks to the téléphérique du Sancy, now something of an antique itself but so successful that it was joined by a second installation in 1961. Both continue to operate, not only in winter but also during the summer months when the 360° panoramic views from the 1886m summit of the Puy du Sancy attract countless visitors. From here walkers, mountain bikers and skiers can head back down past the source of the Dordogne or continue over to the linked resort of Super Besse, on the opposite side of the Puy. By road it’s around a 40min drive, but a scenic one, the D996 passing the beautiful azure expanse of Lac Chambon. As its name suggests, Super Besse was created above the village of Besse, whose atmospheric medieval heart preserves many Renaissance features plus robust survivors from the
