The Auvergne has more than five hundred Romanesque churches, some of which are considered to be the best in France, ten spa towns and around fifty châteaux.

Clermont Ferrand

The imposing Cathedral Note Dame in Clermont Ferrand was built in the local black volcanic stone, constructed between the 13th and 19th centuries. The Romanesque church Notre Dame du Port was built in the 11th-12th centuries and was nominated as a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1998.

Clermont-Ferrand's most famous public square is place de Jaude, on which stands a grand statue of Vercingetorix sitting imperiously on a horse and holding a glaive. The inscription reads: J'ai pris les armes pour la liberté de tous (English: I took to arms for the liberty of all). This statue was sculpted by Frédéric Bartholdi, who also created the Statue of Liberty.