In La Celle, you’ll find two clearly distinct hiking options: a named stage between La Celle and Crocq, and a route through the pond landscape around Étang du Vernet. There are also two buildings with their own heritage-protection histories: Église Saint-Pardoux and Maison de l'Eclauze. Together, these give the area concrete route information as well as cultural points of interest. The distinction can help you decide: you can choose a route with a specified distance, focus on a landscape with several ponds, or explore the architectural history and heritage protection of the two buildings.

Hiking between La Celle and Crocq

The GR®89 Chemin de Montaigne includes an 11.8-kilometre stage from La Celle to Crocq. On this section, the GR®4 follows the same route as the GR®89. The two trails therefore share the section between the same endpoints; for the GR®89 stage, both the route and its length are specified. The Chemin de Montaigne also retraces part of the journey made by the humanist philosopher Michel Eyquem de Montaigne in 1581 between Rome and Bordeaux. The trail thus links details of a local stage with a historical journey that extends beyond La Celle and Crocq.

The hiking route at Étang du Vernet offers a different point of reference. It passes through a preserved landscape on the edge of the Creuse département, in the “Pays des étangs” (Land of Ponds), and takes in at least four ponds. It starts at Place de l'église in La Celle. The GR®89 stage is defined by its endpoints and distance, while the route at Vernet is described in terms of its pond landscape and connection to the Pays des étangs. This makes it easy to distinguish the two hiking options by their respective stated highlights.

The church and protected buildings

Église Saint-Pardoux combines a main building phase dating from the 13th century with later extensions. The rectangular religious building has a pointed barrel vault; side chapels and a sacristy were added later. The church is partially protected as a historic monument. This protection covers the façades, the roofs and the cross in front of the church. Its architectural form, later additions and precisely specified protection status can therefore be considered together.

Maison de l'Eclauze adds a second building with its own heritage protection. It was listed as a historic monument on 26 February 2013. Here, protection covers the entire building, including its interior features: these include wood panelling, fireplaces and wall paintings. In contrast to Église Saint-Pardoux, where specific parts are protected, protection at Maison de l'Eclauze extends to the whole building and its contents. The two heritage profiles therefore have different emphases: for the church, the façades, roofs and cross in front of the building are specified, while for Maison de l'Eclauze, the interior rooms and their features are also included.

For planning your trip, you can choose between a stage with a clearly stated distance, a hiking route through a pond landscape, and two distinct architectural and heritage histories. The specific route features and historical details give La Celle several individual points of interest, without requiring every option to be the same kind of outing.

Discover more destinations: Villosanges, Clermont-Ferrand, La Tour-D'auvergne, Blot-l'Église, Chapdes-Beaufort, Olloix, Saint-Saturnin, Beaumont.

For the regional travel overview: Puy-De-Dôme.