Take a stroll up the narrow, sloping streets linked by "peddes" or "traboules" (passages linking two buildings above a narrow street) until you reach the ancient heart of the town overlooking a superb mountain river: the Durolle. Skill and know-how are still present here, even down to the planning of the town's layout and its patchwork quilt of districts. You will notice that the materials used to build the houses are of an increasingly high quality as you make your way from the Durolle to the higher parts of town. Here, geographical elevation is synonymous with social climb.

If you love mediaeval buildings with evocative names, then Thiers is the place for you, as the street and building names also refer back to the town's heritage. Examples include the "maison de l’homme des bois" (the house of the man of the wood) or the "maison des 7 pêchés capitaux" (house of the seven deadly sins). Our local know-how and skills are also expressed by the vocabulary used for the town's key trades including the grinder, the shaper, the fitter and the polisher. Antique items can often be admired alongside contemporary designs.

A contemporary design centre has been opened in Thiers, in the buildings located above the Durolle’s waterfalls, in the area referred to locally as "Le creux de l’enfer" (the Hellhole). Come along and take a breath of fresh air as you soak up the atmosphere of the neighbouring winegrowers’ and cutlery makers’ villages, offering a chance to admire the wood framed buildings and take a journey back into history in this fascinating town.

www.thiers-tourisme.fr