ALERS lies 42km north of Aurillac, at the foot of the northwest slopes of the Cantal and within sight of the Puy Violent. Scarcely altered in size or aspect since its sixteenth-century heyday, it remains an extraordinarily homogeneous example of the architecture of that time. If it appears rather grand for a place so small, it's because the town became the administrative centre for the highlands of the Auvergne in 1564 and home of its magistrates. Exploiting this past is really all it has left, but Salers still makes a very worthwhile visit.If you arrive by the Puy Mary road, you'll enter town by the church, which is worth a look for the super-naturalistic statuary of the Entombment of Christ (1496), hidden in a side chapel near the entrance. In front of you, the cobbled rue du Beffroi leads uphill, under the massive clock tower, and into the central place Tyssandier-d'Escous. It is a glorious little square, surrounded by the fifteenth-century mansions of the provincial aristocracy with pepper-pot turrets, mullioned windows and carved lintels, among them the sturdy Maison du Bailliage, and, nearby, the Maison des Templiers, housing the small Musée de Salers (July to mid-Aug daily 10.30am–12.30pm & 2.30–6pm; mid-Aug to June closed Tues; €3). Though the museum itself is rather dull, with exhibitions on the Salers cattle breed, traditional costumes and the local cheese-making industry, it's worth having a look at the vaulted ceiling of the entrance passageway, with its carved lions and heads of saints, such as St John the Baptist, framed by wild flowing hair. Before you're done, be sure to make your way to the Promenade de Barrouze for the view out across the surrounding green hills and the Puy Violent. The tourist office is in place Tyssandier-d'Escous (Feb–May, Oct–Nov 11 & Dec 21–Jan 4 Mon–Sat 10am–noon & 2.30–7pm, Sun 2.30–5.30pm; June–Sept Mon–Sat 10am–noon & 2.30–7pm, Sun 10am–noon & 3–7pm (tel 04.71.40.70.68). If you want to stay, try the Hôtel des Remparts, near the Promenade de Barrouze (tel 04.71.40.70.33, fax 04.71.40.75.32; €40–55; closed mid-Oct to mid-Dec), whose good restaurant specializes in Auvergnat cuisine (from €12); or the small Hôtel du Beffroi, in rue du Beffroi (tel 04.71.40.70.11, fax 04.71.40.70.16; €30–40; closed mid-Nov to April), likewise with good solid regional food (from €10.50). There's a municipal campsite on the Puy Mary road (tel 04.71.40.73.09; closed mid-Oct to mid-May).
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