Saint-Nectaire

The church of Saint-Nectaire, built in the twelfth century from dark volcanic trachyte, is one of the five major Romanesque churches of Auvergne, and its interior holds one hundred and three carved capitals telling biblical and local stories, plus a gilded bust reliquary and a painted wooden Virgin from the same period. Below, the village gives its name to a semi-soft cows' milk cheese ripened for weeks on rye straw in cool cellars, which gives the rind its mottled grey and its smell of cellar and nuts. Farm producers open for visits and tasting. The village also has petrifying springs where objects are coated in limestone deposit.

What you actually see

• The Romanesque church - dark volcanic stone with 103 carved capitals.
• The cheese cellars - wheels ripening on rye straw in cool caves.
• The farm dairies - producers making from their own herds.
• The petrifying springs - objects coated in mineral deposit by dripping water.

When to go

April to October; farm visits are more frequent in summer. The church is open year-round. Cheese is made all year but summer milk from mountain pasture is prized.

Honest expectations

The village is split between an upper and lower part and strung along the road, which makes it less charming than expected. Farm visits need checking ahead. Some cheese sold locally is dairy-made rather than farmhouse.

Nearby

Puy de Sancy lies southwest; Orcival is northwest.