Photo : Pymouss / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Riom
Capital of the Duchy of Auvergne from 1360 under Jean de Berry, who built a vast ducal palace there, Riom has kept from that past splendour the Sainte-Chapelle, a jewel of Rayonnant Gothic whose fourteenth-century stained glass is among the oldest preserved in Auvergne. The town, built entirely of the grey Volvic stone typical of the region, has kept a dense historic centre, dotted with Renaissance mansions and the Clock Tower, a former belfry that still sets the rhythm of town life. Overtaken by Clermont-Ferrand as the département's main town at the Revolution, Riom has nevertheless kept an important judicial heritage, its law courts still occupying part of the former ducal palace, a reminder of its administrative role inherited from the Middle Ages.
