Don't trust the weather reports; far from being the coldest city, Aurillac is one of the sunniest cities in France with 2 084 hours of clear skies per year. "The misunderstanding comes from the fact that Aurillac is the higest altitude (600 m) French city which is reported on in the national weather forecast..." explains Guylaine Gibert, group guide for the tourism office. Uncontested captial for du théâtre de rue, this city of 30 000 residents offers a exciting journey all by itself. But a guided visited seems truly captivating just as the city is full of unsuspected treasures. Who indeed knew, other than natives, that the the city was founded in the 9th Century by Saint Gerald, whose pupil Gerbert would become the first French Pope, known as Sylvester II.
Centennial shoppes and
historic façades
Now to the 10th Century, the abbey city was essentially a circle surrounding its heart, Saint Gerald's Plaza, where the church of the same is located; its impressive bell tower towering at 77 meters tall, as well as a serpentine-stone basin, carved from a single block.