The South of France-East Half Part 57

St. Germains is the station for Vichy (p. 358).

+Paris to Lyons by Tarare.+

Distance, 318 miles. Time, 17 hours.

miles from PARIS miles to LYONS

{ }{318} +PARIS.+ This route is the same as the preceding as far as Roanne. For time-tables, see under "Paris, Tarare, et Lyon." The route becomes picturesque after Roanne.

[Headnote: ROANNE.]

{262}{56} +ROANNE.+ (See p. 346.) 5 m. S.E. is L'Hopital, and 19 m. more the manufacturing town of Amplepuis, pop. 7000, at the foot of a hill 1525 ft. above the sea-level, producing considerable quant.i.ties of muslin, calico, cotton, and linen cloth. 3 m. from Amplepuis commences the tunnel, 3200 yards, which pierces the ridge that separates the basin of the Loire from the Rhone. The temperature of the Rhone basin in winter is rawer and colder than that of the Loire.

[Headnote: TARARE.]

{288}{30} +TARARE+, pop. 15,000. _Hotel:_ Europe; an uninteresting and unattractive manufacturing town on the t.u.r.dine, surrounded by steep mountains, among which is Mont Chevrier, one of the highest summits of the Beaujolais range. At the low end of the town is the railway station, and at the high end the viaduct of 21 arches across the valley of the t.u.r.dine. The arch which crosses the road has a span of 95 ft., the others average 35 ft. About 60,000 men in the town and environs are employed in the manufacture of velvet, embroidery, tr.i.m.m.i.n.g, and especially in the particular kind of muslin called "tarlatan," a thin gauze-like fabric, for which it is celebrated.

{318}{ } +LYONS+ (see p. 29).

[Headnote: MONTBRISON.]

+Lyons to Clermont-Ferrand+,

121 m. W. by GIVORS-Ca.n.a.l, ST. ETIENNE, MONTBRISON, and THIERS.

At Givors-Ca.n.a.l pa.s.sengers for stations on the west side of the Rhone change carriages. From Givors-Ca.n.a.l to St. Etienne the train pa.s.ses towns with coal-mines and large smelting works and foundries. At St.

Etienne (p. 346) a long halt is generally made. A little way up from the station will be found the steam tram, which, after traversing the best part of the town, returns to this terminus. 56 m. W. from Lyons and 64 m. E. from Clermont is +Montbrison+ on the Vizezy, pop. 6700.

_Inn:_ H. Lion d'Or. An uninteresting town, whose public buildings occupy religious edifices, secularised after the revolution of 1793.

Of these the most prominent is the Palais de Justice, in the convent and church of the nuns of "Sainte Marie."

Behind the inn is the parish church of N. D. d'Esperance, founded in 1223, but recently repaired. The west portal (restored), with its heavy square tower and b.u.t.tresses, was built in 1443 by order of Charles I. de Bourbon. The most interesting part is the five-sided apse, with in each side one long lancet window, and above it two small windows separated by an impost colonnette. To each corner is attached diagonally a long, narrow, slightly receding b.u.t.tress. The church is 206 ft. long, and 62 ft. high from the pavement to the roof. At the E.

end of the N. aisle is the mausoleum to Count "Fores and Niver, Guigo IV.," who founded the church in MCCXXIII. Opposite is the monument to the jurist Vernato, d. MCCCLVIII.

[Headnote: SALLE DES ETATS.]

Fronting the E. end of the church is the Salle des Etats (house of Parliament) du Forez, built about the year 1300 by Jean I., Comte de Forez, and recently restored by the Duc de Persigny from plans by Violet-le-Duc. The name was afterwards changed into the Salle de la Diana (decana), from having been converted into the chapter-house of the church. It now contains the library of the Diana society, who also hold their meetings here. It is 64 ft. long, 26 ft. wide, and 26 ft.

high. The roof is entirely covered with small painted representations of the escutcheons of the Counts of Forez, and of every family that has possessed land in the territory. The large end windows are modern additions. The chimney-piece, though modern, occupies the place of the original one.

Less than m. from the inn, by the Clermont road, is a cold mineral spring, containing bicarbonates of lime, magnesia, and soda, with free carbonic acid gas. It makes a refres.h.i.+ng drink, as well as a tonic and diuretic. A little farther, about a mile from the town, is the old untidy village of Moingt, with church 12th cent., and in front of it a ruined gateway and round tower 13th cent. Montbrison is 49 m. W. from Lyons by the Dombes railway. The Lyons terminus of the Dombes railway is the station of St. Paul (p. 30).

Between Montbrison and Thiers there is nothing remarkable till just after St. Remay, the station before Thiers, when the train pa.s.ses by the gorge of the Durolle at an immense depth below. At this part the train traverses eight tunnels, and crosses the valley of the Durolle by a viaduct of seven arches. 24 m. E. from Clermont, 40 m. W. from Montbrison, 60 m. W. from St. Etienne, and 96 m. W. from Lyons is

[Headnote: THIERS.]

+Thiers+, pop. 16,500, at first a small hamlet beside a fortress (Tigernum castrum) and a chapel dedicated to St. Symphorien (see p. 367).

Thiers is 72 m. N. from Darsac by coach, pa.s.sing Olliergues, Vertolaye, Ambert, Marsac, Arlanc, and Chaise-Dieu (see p. 89).

Thiers makes a pleasant railway excursion either from Vichy or Clermont-Ferrand.

1 m. W. from Thiers and 23 m. E. from Clermont-Ferrand is

+Courty.+ Junction with line to St. Germain des Fosses, 27 m. W., pa.s.sing Vichy, 21 m. N.

[Headnote: VERTAIZON. BILLOM.]

13 m. W. from Courty and 10 m. E. from Clermont is +Vertaizon+, pop.

2200, situated 1 m. S. from the station. Junction with branch line to +Billom+, 5 m. S., pop. 4300. _Inns:_ Voyageurs; Commerce. A prettily situated town among hills crowned with ruins of castles from 12th to 16th cents. Church St. Cerneuf, 11th to 13th cents.

The train from Vertaizon takes 30 minutes to reach +Clermont-Ferrand+ (see p. 369).

+Paris to Ma.r.s.eilles by Clermont and Nimes.+

This Route conducts to the volcanic region of Central France; to the famous Spas of Vichy, Royat, Mont-Dore, Bourboule, and St. Nectaire; and to the best towns for studying the architecture of Auvergne. (See Maps, pp. 1 and 27.)

miles from PARIS miles to Ma.r.s.eILLES

{ }{530} +PARIS.+ Start from the station of the Chemins de Fer de Paris a Lyon, and request a ticket for Nimes by Clermont-Ferrand. The first stations pa.s.sed are Brunoy (p. 2), Melun (p. 2), and Fontainebleau (p. 3). At Moret, 42 m. S.E. from Paris, the rail to Ma.r.s.eilles by Nevers and Nimes separates from the rail to Ma.r.s.eilles by Dijon and Lyon. (For Moret, see p. 10.)

{73}{457} +MONTARGIS+, pop. 10,000, on the Loing and the ca.n.a.l Briare. _Inns:_ Poste; France. The princ.i.p.al street leads directly from the station to the Hotel de la Poste at the opposite end of the town. The streets about the old castle are narrow and dirty, and some of them steep. This castle, rebuilt by Charles V., called formerly the "berceau des enfants de France," became private property in 1809. A house has been built within the circle of the crumbling walls, of which a 14th cent, gateway still stands.

The parish church is of different epochs--the nave and the aisles belong to the 12th cent., and the chancel, which is four steps higher, to the 16th. It is supported on ten tall slender columns, from which the groining of the roof ramifies in all directions.

The town fairs are held in the promenade, called the Patis. In the adjoining forest, covering 21,030 acres, is the Dolmen of Paucourt.

Montargis is a great railway junction on one of the main lines between Paris and the south of France.

10 m. S. by rail from Montargis is Nogent-sur-Vernisson, station for Chatillon-sur-Loing. Time, 75 minutes; fare, 1 fr. Admiral Coligny was born in 1516 in the old castle of this place, situated in the midst of the hereditary domain of the family.

{96}{434} +GIEN+, pop. 7600. _Inns:_ Poste; Paris. An old town on the Loire, and an important railway junction. On the hill rising from the town is the church of St. Pierre, flanked by a square tower, 15th cent., commanding an admirable view. Adjoining is the chateau, a handsome edifice built in 1494 by Anne de Beaujeu, daughter of Louis XI. It is now occupied by the Prefecture. Below, in the town, is the church of St. Louis, 17th cent.

38 m. N.W. by branch line is Orleans (see pp. 148 and 151 in Black's _Normandy_).

[Headnote: BRIARE.]

{102}{427} +BRIARE+, pop. 5200. _Inn:_ H. de la Poste. A pleasant town on the Loire, where large quant.i.ties of b.u.t.tons are manufactured. 3 m. farther S. by rail is Chatillon-sur-Loire, pop. 3300. Inn: H. des Trois Rois; omnibus awaits pa.s.sengers.

[Headnote: COSNE.]

{121}{409} +COSNE+, pop. 7000. _Inns_: Grand Cerf; Belle etoile. This little town, with ironworks of considerable importance, and still retaining parts of its old fortifications and castle, is situated on the Loire at its junction with the Nohain. The best of the churches is St. Aignan, of which the portal and apse are of the 11th cent.; the rest is modern.

6 m. farther S. by rail is Sancerre on the Loire, pop. 3700. _Inn:_ Pointe du Jour. With castle, 13th cent., on a hill 987 ft. above the sea. In the neighbourhood are important quarries.