Black cathedral city in a ring of volcanoes — the birthplace of Michelin
Clermont-Ferrand is the capital of France's Auvergne volcanic region — a city built almost entirely from black volcanic stone (lava from the extinct Chaîne des Puys volcanoes) that gives it a uniquely dark, dramatic character unlike anywhere else in France. The city is the hometown of Michelin tyres, the Roman poet Vercingétorix who resisted Caesar, and Blaise Pascal, who invented the mechanical calculator and probability theory here. The surrounding Chaîne des Puys is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The site has been inhabited since at least 400 BCE; Gergovia (Vercingétorix's fortified oppidum) is just 5km south, where the Gauls won their only major battle against Caesar in 52 BCE. The medieval city was divided between two rival communes — Clermont and Montferrand — until they were merged by royal decree in 1630. Blaise Pascal was born here in 1623. The Michelin brothers — André and Édouard — were born in Clermont in the 1850s; the company's global headquarters remain here. The short film festival (Festival du Court Métrage) is now the world's largest short film festival.