The best traffic-free bike rides around Toury-Sur-Jour

Built in the 13th century on a rock overlooking the town of Bourbon-l'Archambault, this castle controlled the ancient roads. It was the first castle of the Bourbon dynasty. It will remain a "symbolic building" of the family's power.

Dated from the first half of the 12th century and placed under the name of Saint Julien, the church of Dornes was partly rebuilt at the beginning of the 16th century and finished with a canted apse. Its portal projects, three arched archivolts, two of which fall onto columns and capitals carved with leaves and animals. Its bell tower is square, it has a spire covered with slates, it occupies a central position, and has two bells, the bell tower is pierced with double arched bays, on each of its four faces, the bays are separated by two columns. On a slab in the church, the Epitaphs of François Manquat, first dean of the chapter of Dornes (founded around 1530), died in 1552, with a design of a very elegant chalice, and of Jean Vezier, one of the first canons from the church. Under the choir is a sepulchral vault of the lords of Dornes. The town bought the Dornes church on March 27, 1810. In the 20th century the church was renovated thanks to a subscription from the Dornese.

The fourth church in Villeneuve, work began in 1903 at the request of Father Dumas. In 1905 it was placed under the name of Our Lady of the Assumption and Recovery. The two existing bells in the bell tower come from the old church.

The building bears witness to Burgundian Romanesque art with its semi-circular portal, at the bottom of a splay decorated with eggs and tori: numerous historic capitals. In the 15th century two side chapels were added, including the chapel of the Holy Cross which since the Revolution contained the relics of the Cross of Christ and a thorn of the Holy Crown. These are now at the parish house. At the back of the 12th century nave, the romantic 16-stop organ dates from 1892. During his stays in Bourbon, Camille St-Saëns accompanied the services on the latter.

The Saint-Étienne church was built by the Benedictines of Souvigny in the 12th century. MH. It includes a nave with aisles, a transept with oriented chapels and the choir presents an alternation of arched bays and mitered arches of Auvergne influence. Beautiful capitals with figures, birds, foliage: baptismal font with colonettes 12th-14th centuries: stone font and tombstone late 13th-early 14th century. The bell tower is typical of Bourbonnais churches with a blind floor and an open level topped by a modern wooden spire. With the ditches, the church represents the last medieval vestige of the town.

Dreamy place with old buildings.

It is the oldest private botanical park in France! The architecture of the English gardens blends with collections of exotic species. Listed as a historical monument since 1993. Open daily from 9 am to 6 pm.

City of character in the hollow of a valley in the Bourbonnais bocage. Known for its thermal waters since antiquity. It is also the cradle of the kings of France, as evidenced by the imposing medieval castle, clinging to a rocky promontory.