As the title suggests, this route will take you on a tour of the volcanoes and will visit the iconic Puy de Dôme where you can either hike or take the cog railway train to the summit at 1465m.
The route starts by heading away from the city and crossing the River Allier and then south along the edge of the Livradois-Forez Regional Natural Park, through forests and small villages with views of the surrounding volcanoes, most are actually cinder cones and lava domes. The roads are rural but generally in good condition. After crossing over the River Allier for the 2nd time and then the busy A75 motorway, there is a chance for a coffee at Saint-Germain-Lembron before you enter the land of volcanoes. The roads become more twisty and hilly after you pass the fish farm at Barèges and you are constantly reminded of the strange landscape that you are in with different views around every corner. I have added a suggested lunch stop at Besse-et-Saint-Anastaise where you can park your motorcycle in the square and keep an eye on it while having lunch.

After lunch, the route carries on twisting and turning, climbing and descending through forests of pine and open Alpine style meadows, always making you smile with it's strange beauty. I say strange because all of the peaks are rounded and have a very soft appearance. Route point 21 is the highlight of this route.
Reaching an altitude of 1,465 metres, the Puy de Dôme is not the highest peak in Auvergne, but it is the most iconic, and certainly the most famous. From time immemorial, this volcano has been subject to ardent veneration, first by the Arverne people (the ancestors of Auvergne’s inhabitants), then by the Gallo-Romans, who built a temple to the god Mercury during the first century AD.
On the way back to the iBis Budget Hotel in Clermont Ferrand the route passes very close to the motor racing track 'Circuit de Charade' you may be lucky to pass when there is some racing because the view is free.