Travel Guide Fournels

A small administrative center in the north of the department, Fournels catches the eye of travelers with its castle on a small promontory. Built in the 16th century and remodeled in the 17th, it forms a quadrilateral flanked by three pepper-pot towers, but can only be admired from the outside. The choir of the 12th-century church, with its semicircular vault and typical bell tower, is a welcome consolation. The surrounding area is an invitation to take a bucolic stroll, starting with the water mills that were once used to grind grain.On the Bédaule, one of them is still in operation. Continuing this verdant journey, the road leads to the foot of the Cheylaret rock, a circular basalt table that dominates the surrounding area and on which an orientation map provides a few landmarks. From here, you can head for La Fage-Montivernoux, with its forty-four granite crosses and its combed bell tower bearing a bell dating from 1736, then climb north to Termes: the village is topped by its 13th-century church, which was enlarged in the Gothic period, then adorned with this pointed bell tower in the 19th century. As well as its interior (16th-century Pietà, statues and monumental wooden Christ), it's worth a visit for the panoramic view from this eminence: sky permitting, you can see the Margeride mountains, the Plomb du Cantal and the Aubrac mountains.