Clermont-Ferrand is a city in central France located in the
Massif Central. It is the historic capital of Auvergne, the capital
of the Puy-de-Dôme department and one of the four metropolises of
the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Its inhabitants are called
Clermontois.
The modern city was born from the union in the
seventeenth century of two ancient rival cities, Clermont and
Montferrand. The city of Augustonemetum appears after the
disappearance of the Arverne metropolis Nemossos. It then took the
name of Arvernis and then of Clermont. At the beginning of the 12th
century, the Counts of Auvergne founded the competing city of
Montferrand. In 1630, Louis XIII imposed by the edict of Troyes the
unification of the two neighboring towns. This union will be
reaffirmed by Louis XV in 1731.
In 2020, Clermont-Ferrand is
the 24th municipality in France with 144,751 inhabitants and the
19th urban area in France with 485,315 inhabitants. The urban
ensemble became a metropolis on January 1, 2018 under the name
Clermont Auvergne Métropole.
A major French university and
research center, the city retains important administrative functions
and intermediary services. With more than 40,000 students, or a
quarter of the municipal population, and 6,000 researchers, it is
the first city in France to join the UNESCO learning city network.
A town with an industrial tradition, the headquarters of one of
the world's two largest tire manufacturers, Clermont-Ferrand is also
well positioned in the pharmaceutical, food-processing and
aeronautical industries. It hosts three competitiveness clusters.
The city is located at the foot of the Limagne fault and the
Puys chain, a natural site registered since July 2018 as a "tectonic
hotspot" in the UNESCO world heritage.
Clermont-Ferrand is located in central
France, overlooked by a basaltic plateau on which is the Puys chain,
the largest chain of dormant volcanoes in Europe among which we find
the summit of the Puy de Dôme, culminating at 1 465 m above sea
level.
The upper town was built on the central plateau, but
Clermont-Ferrand was built in the heart of a phreato-magmatic
volcano in the center of the crater of Maar de Jaude.
In
terms of climate, it is the city with the lowest rainfall and the
highest thermal amplitudes in mainland France.
Historical
events
The city of Clermont-Ferrand is originally named
Augustonemetum, originally named Nemossos in antiquity. There were
also the names of Arvernis, Clairmont then Clermont, a name given in
the 17th century and which is still widely used today.
The
town itself is recognized internationally by the head office of a
tire company: Michelin, where its head office is located around the
Carmelite district from the end of the 19th century.
For
several years, the city has been rebuilt, with the renovation of the
Place de Jaude, the creation of concert halls (Grande Halle or
Zénith), as well as the commissioning of a tramway in 2006.
Districts
Clermont-Ferrand is divided into several districts,
ranging from the city center, the commercial heart, to the sensitive
districts of Vergnes or to the disparate architectures of the
south-east towards La Pardieu. The northern districts are mainly
made up of low-cost housing built in the 1970s.
Northern
districts: Croix-de-Neyrat, Champratel, La Plaine, Les Vergnes, La
Gauthière
In the north-west: La Gauthière, Côtes de Clermont
In the south-west: Salins, Vallières
Near the center: Les Bughes,
Montferrand
South: Saint-Jacques
Information
Clermont-Ferrand Town Hall, 10 rue Philippe Marcombes, +33 4 73 42
63 63
Clermont Auvergne Métropole, 64 avenue de l'Union
Soviétique, 63007 Clermont-Ferrand Cedex 1, +33 4 73 98 34 00 - The
Clermont-Ferrand metropolis includes 21 municipalities.
Clermont
Auvergne Tourisme, place de la Victoire, +33 4 73 98 65 00 July and
August: Mon-Fri: 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. and Sat-Sun: 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.
September to June: Mon - Sat: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Sun: 10 a.m. - 1
p.m. and 2 p.m. - 6 p.m. closed on December 25, January 1 and
Sundays in January. - The tourist office, which has jurisdiction
over the entire metropolitan area, offers guided tours of the city.