Craponne-sur-Arzon Things to Do

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The isolated tiny villages (a few farms) have no church, but many have a little chapel. before the villages were deserted because of the industrial revolution these small villages were populated and the priest visited them regularly; nowadays, these chapels are still used for funerals or the local people pray there alone. Some of them are nicely decorated, and, if many look to be built in a similar style, they have their own personality, specially with the inside decoration, or a different roof, or just their location.

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It looks like I insist on the beauty of the forest here, but really, it is a beautiful one; I spent some time in other forests, visited (and even lived in) rain forests, the famous Landes forest, etc. . this one here is just one which invites to go in and walk, look at the trees, the fruits, look at the colours of leaves, listen to the song of the birds or the barking of the deer, smell the earth; well I am not a real poet and description in a few words is not easy for a beautiful subject; please look at the pictures.

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Meadows, scenic look outs, cattle, mushrooms, old wells in front of farms, villages with their church towers from far, I am never bored when I go around here, and I have the feeling I see something new every time I go out; I even found one day a sign indicating archaeological excavations, (well saw the sign only and a small fenced area).

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The train station in Craponne is not anymore working for goods or public transportation; like many stations of rural France in the 70ties and 80ties, the station has been closed by the French national railway company (SNCF) with the pretext of poor rentability. Local associations took over and maintain the station and train-fanatics are maintaining a line between Estivareilles and Craponne, where some trains circulate during the touristical season.
This train allows to discover the beautiful landscapes of the Craponne Plateau at slow speed : deep valleys, open views over the Velay Mountains to the south, deep fir forest when reaching Usson, flowered meadows, etc.
This train is run by an association called Chemin de Fer du Haut Forez, who maintains the railcars. (Website in (French) below)
The trains generally do not stay at Craponne and when you visit the station, you may only be able to see historical pictures in the station building, an old locomotive outside and an old crane.
In low saison (April-June) the train works on Sunday ( one go-and-back from Estivareilles to Sembadel), in September on Saturdays and Sundays and in July-August, 3 times a day , 5 days per week.
The tariff is 12 Euros go and back for the longest (72 km) round trip (Estivareilles-Sembadel-Estivareilles) ; it takes some time, and taking a picnic for the trip is not a bad idea.

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Two fountains which were formerly troughs forpeople, horses and cattle can still be found in the middle of squares in Craponne ; the fontaine du For (picture 1) , from the 18th century and the fontaine du Bardon (picture 2) , from the 17th century. these were the real centres of the village where the markets were installed.
Antiquities plunderers cracked down few years ago and the nice statues we see in front of churches or houses have disappeared, and leave now empty niches only (picture 3) and the door you see below the arch replaces a stolen one from the 18th century. . . .
If you walk around, you can have some views of the donjon (picture 4) with the church and the roofs of the village or this little church (picture5)
11, 47, niches, 21, 41

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Craponne is an old village but there are not a lot of historical buildings and there is not a big unity in architectural style.
The only remain of a medieval castle is the donjon, located not far from the tourist office (picture 1) ; it has been built in the 12-13th century, but little is known about its history.
The Marchedial tower (picture 2) is a remnant of the fortifications; in front is a square called Marchedial (mercadial: market).
On the fruit square (place aux fruits) is located this house named “Hotel Calemard de Montjoly” (picture 3) ; this 16-18th century private house has been bought by the city council in order to install there the lace museum. . looking at the condition of this house, the lace amateurs may have to wait for some time. . . Ah, lace is a speciality in southern Auvergne, and if not as well known as the dentelle du Puy, the dentelle de Craponne has a special style and there is even a school for this art in Craponne. Some whole areas of Craponne are neglected and it is a pity because many renovated houses look stylish and even this strange building (picture 4) could have a nice look once renovated, but everything, even the petrol pumps look neglected (picture 5) .

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The Saturday market is one of the main attractions of Craponne and even in winter, it is quite active; when you walk on the market in winter you understand the social role of these events, keeping people together in the area, everybody knows each other, news from the surrounding villages are exchanged, etc.
Of course, food is the main thing on the market, but you can also find (cheap) clothes, tools, etc. . .
There are cheese from the peasants, goat cheese, sheep cheese, cow cheese, and also wholesalers ; it is just nice to walk through the streets, smelling all this food on display and some times choice is difficult.