2 m. N. from St. Germain-des-Fosses railway station are the ruins of the Château de Billy (14th cent.), formerly one of the strongest and most imposing in the Bourbonnais. In the village are some old houses.
17 m. N.E. by rail from Vichy, on the, Lyons line, is La Palisse on the Bèbre, pop. 2830; Inn: H. de l’Écu; with a castle (14th cent.) on an eminence overlooking the town (see [p. 346]).
PARIS 224 [SAINT-REMI-EN-ROLLAT], 867 ft. above the sea.
Gannat. Aigueperse.
PARIS
MARSEILLES 235½ 294½ [GANNAT], pop. 6000. Inns: Nord; Poste. A town of crooked streets, on the Andelot, at the confines of the plain of La Limagne. The church of St. Croix (choir 11th cent., nave reconstructed in the 14th cent.), is a good specimen of the architecture of Auvergne. Some of the windows are by J. du Paroy. In the “Place” are two houses, one belonging to the Dukes of Bourbon, the other to the Fontanges family, both 15th cent. Gannat is famous for beer. Junction at Gannat with the railway system of the Chemins de Fer d’Orleans, leading to Orleans and Tours, and the Feudal Castles on the Loire. See Black’s Normandy, Brittany, and Touraine.
PARIS
MARSEILLES 242 288 [AIGUEPERSE], pop. 2600. Hotels: St. Louis; Lion d’Or. The finest building is the Sainte Chapelle, built in 1475. The Hôtel de Ville is in a convent of the Ursulines, built in 1650. A coach from this station goes to Randan in the Limagne, 8 m. E., pop. 2000, with a beautiful castle of bright and dark coloured bricks, reconstructed in
1822 by Mme. Ad. d’Orleans. 2½ m. distant, on the border of the forest of Randan, is another castle constructed by Mme. in the style of the Middle Ages. See under excursions from Vichy.
Riom.
PARIS
MARSEILLES 253 277 [RIOM], 1105 ft. above the sea, pop. 11,000. Inns: H. Paris; Poste; Puy-de-Dome. Diligences to Volvic, 3¼ m. S.W.; to Châtelguyon, 5 m. N.; and to Châteauneuf, 20 m. N.W. The most interesting church in Riom is St. Amable, 12th cent., with a large nave supported on 14 piers, each pier having three engaged columns. On the tower and south transept is the same kind of rude mosaic which ornaments the church of Issoire. Near St. Amable is the Tour de l’Horloge, 16th cent., and close to it a few 15th and 16th cent. houses. Down this same street, the Rue de l’Horloge, is the church of Notre Dame, 15th cent. Attached to the west end of the Palais de Justice is the Ste. Chapelle, 14th cent., consisting of a choir, with a pinnacle at each corner of the west end. In the building called the “Hôtel Chabrol” is the museum and picture gallery.
20 m. N.W. from Riom, by diligence starting at 6 A.M., are the mineral baths of [Châteauneuf], pop. 1000. Hotels: Viple; Denys; Mossier. Water saline. Temperature of the fourteen springs from 60° to 102° Fahr. Recommended for obstruction of the liver, neuralgia, nervous affections of the heart, cutaneous diseases, glandular swellings. Bath, 1 fr.