Le Mont-Dore is a small town located in the Auvergne Rhône Alps region of France. It's situated approximately in the center of the country, about a four hour and 30 minute drive from Paris and two hours and 30 minutes from the city of Lyon.
The region is mountainous, consisting of a series of inactive volcanoes that are located around the small town just a short drive away. They make for some excellent hiking in the warmer months of the year and downhill skiing in the colder ones.
The Dordogne river passes through the area as well and there are numerous thermal spas in town if you want to have a warm rejuvenating soak. All in all it's a pretty good spot for outdoor based activities.
We stayed in the city for just one night after hiking the Puy de Sancy and visiting the Grande Cascade, both of which I posted about previously.
After our hikes we walked through town to check it out before heading to dinner.
The town was pretty small and it didn't take us long to see everything in it, but there were some nice shops that we popped into and a few restaurants that were all clustered in the small central core.
They gave us something to look at and explore for at least a brief period of time.
I think I stared at these shelves of cured meats for a little longer than usual. Maybe I was hungry after all the hiking?
There was a creek running through the center Le Mont Dore that must have connected to the Dordogne river at some point.
It wasn't very full but nonetheless, who doesn't love a nice water feature? It was pretty modest compared to the waterfall that we saw earlier but still nice.
We had a drink at a restaurant terrace when we got back into town as well. This was after visiting the waterfall and before heading to the hotel to get ready for dinner.
The dinner we had was pretty memorable for me but not because of the food. I can't remember for the life of me what we ordered but I remember this old man sitting at a table beside us watching shows on his phone with the volume turned way up. I remember it being so obnoxious and annoying, probably more so given I had woken up that day at 3 or 4am to drive to Puy duSancy. The restaurant wasn't fancy or very full but still, have some consideration. As a rule, no one ever wants to listen to what you're watching or listening to on your phone, I can guarantee that. I feel like this is something that everyone over the age of 8 years old should intuitively know. Am I wrong? What do you think? Let me know in the comments.
After dinner we took the dog for another short walk around town and then headed back to our hotel for an early turn in.
The next day we ate breakfast at the hotel and then hit the road to start heading home. We hit up another town located about half way, but that will be a story for another day.
