Maurs / Aurillac La Grande Traversée du Volcan à vélo

The GT2V à Vélo from the Rance Gorges to Aurillac

Leaving Maurs, you follow the RN122 road for 2km, which can be tricky. From Saint-Etienne-de-Maurs, the route runs beside the Rance River. Most of the way is on wild, winding, wooded roads shared with motorized traffic. For some 25km, you gradually cycle uphill. After Roannes-Saint-Mary, the route is signposted and gradually descends to Arpajon-sur-Cère, arriving at Aurillac, along roads on which traffic gets progressively busier. Because of the deviation due to works on the RN122 road at time of writing, the way to cross through Aurillac, arriving from Arpajon-sur-Cère, is being planned by the local authorities concerned.

Link to the village of Marcolès

Link taking you 3km to the fine medieval village of Marcolès, designated a Petite Cité de Caracatère

Don’t miss

• Le Trou du Diable or ‘Lou Gourd del drat’ in local dialect: this imposing array of boulders is known here as ‘the devil’s hole’
• Marcolès: a fine medieval village
• Roannes-Saint-Mary: the 15th-century chapel
• Aurillac: capital of the county (département) of Cantal, the town where Gerbert trained, going on to become Pope Sylvester II, pontiff at the end of the first millennium AD.
  • The historic town centre: guided tours, Pays d'Aurillac Tourist Office 
  • International festival of street theatre at the end of August
  • The Muséum des Volcans 
  • The Musée d’Art et d’Archéologie