Editing Cantal (section)

== Tourism ==

===Architecture===
[[File:Aurillac-préfecture-du-Cantal-DSC3-324.jpg|thumb|''Hôtel de préfecture du Cantal'']]
The department counts several remarkable buildings. Among them, the Romanesque religious buildings like the churches of [[Saint-Léger de Cheylade Church|Cheylade]] (eleventh century), Dieno or Massiac.{{citation needed|date=June 2016}} The area's [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] cathedral—dependent on the [[archdiocese of Bourges]]—is the 15th-century St Pierre de St-Flour,{{sfnp|''EB''|1911}} erected in the [[Gothic architecture|Gothic style]].

* Castle of Val in [[Lanobre]] ({{formatnum:36500}} visitors/year)
* Castle of Anjony in [[Tournemire, Cantal|Tournemire]] ({{formatnum:20000}} visitors/year)
* Castle of Pesteils in [[Polminhac]] ({{formatnum:11700}} visitors/year)
* Castle de la Vigne in Ally ({{formatnum:6000}} visitors/year)
* [[Château de Clavières|Castle of Clavières]] in [[Ayrens]]
* [[Castle of Carbonat]] in [[Arpajon-sur-Cère]]
* Chateau de Conros, near Aurillac

===Festivals===

* International Festival of Street Theatre, [[Aurillac]].
* World Music Festival, Murat
* 36 hours : Various little scenes with dances
* Festival International de Boogie Woogie, Laroquebrou

===Art===
The characteristic folk dance in Cantal is ''La Bourrée''. In the countryside it would be danced in folk costumes with accompaniment by accordion. The dance form was long ago adapted for use in courtly music and features prominently in the [[Baroque]] [[Suite de danses|dance suite]]s of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Prominent museums in Cantal include:
* Museum of Art and Arqueologia, [[Aurillac]] ({{formatnum:34100}} visitors/year)
* The House of Fauna, [[Murat, Cantal|Murat]] ({{formatnum:23500}} visitors/year)
* Museum of the Géothermia, [[Chaudes-Aigues]] ({{formatnum:20600}} visitors/year)
* Museum of the Volcanos, [[Aurillac]] ({{formatnum:20100}} visitors/year)
* Museum of the ray, [[Marcenat, Cantal|Marcenat]] ({{formatnum:11500}} visitors/year)
* Museum of the "Haute Auvergne", [[Saint-Flour, Cantal|Saint-Flour]] ({{formatnum:11100}} visitors/year)
* The House of the Chestnut [[Mourjou]] ({{formatnum:5200}} visitors/year)
* Museum of Georges Pompidou, Montboudif ({{formatnum:3500}} visitors/year)
* Museum of the Accordion in [[Siran, Cantal|Siran]]
* Museum of Agriculture in Auvernia, [[Coltines]]

=== Cuisine ===
{{main|French cuisine}}
The traditional articles of Cantalian cuisine were rye, buckwheat, and chestnuts,{{sfnp|''EB''|1878}} as well as ham, cheese, and vegetables. The area's simple recipes were designed to satisfy hill farmers and herders. Notable dishes include:{{citation needed|date=June 2016}}

* [[Aligot]] (also in [[Aveyron]]): Creamed potatoes, cheese (fresh [[tomme]]), butter, fresh cream and a little garlic.
* [[Truffade]]: Potatoes in slices with cheese (fresh tomme) and a little garlic.
* [[Pounti]]: A cake made with dough of wheat black flour, herbs, lard, prunes and Swiss chard.
* The typical cheese ''[[Cantal cheese|Cantal]]'', which can be chosen young, old or "entre-deux".

===Outdoor activities===
In the 19th century, the hills and valleys abounded with game and the streams with fish, the countryside producing a "vast variety" of aromatic and medicinal plants.{{sfnp|''EB''|1878}}

At present, the most visited places are [[Puy Mary]], the Plomb du Cantal, the village of [[Salers]], and the gorges of the Truyère (with the [[Garabit viaduct]], the castle of [[Alleuze]], and the towns of [[Boisset, Cantal|Boisset]], [[Pierrefort]]). The ''Parc Naturel des Volcans d’Auvergne'' features several inactive volcanoes. Cantal also has numerous castles. Puy Mary can be accessed by car easily. and is accessible to hikers. It is also possible to hike to the nearby [[Puy de Peyre-Arse]] (1806&nbsp;m). [[Le Lioran]] or Super-Lioran are the best places to start the hike. [[Le Lioran]] is accessible by rail or bus and Super-Lioran is just a kilometre away from [[Le Lioran]]. From Super-Lioran it is also possible to hike to Plomb du Cantal. There is also an option of taking the cable car to Plomb du Cantal from Super-Lioran. Super-Lioran tourist office has various hike routes in the region.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lelioran.com/|title=Accueil ETE, Le Lioran station chaine des volcans d'Auvergne, été hiver, randonnées séjours en Auvergne|website=www.lelioran.com}}</ref> There are also various adventure courses, dirt bikes, summer luges etc. that run in Super-Lioran.

Among the various activities offered in this department, the "Massif Cantalien" can be discovered through walking, horseback riding or mountain biking excursions (tracks are especially designed for this). Aquatic sports are also common, due to numerous lakes. The department also offers activities such as mountaineering, canoeing and fishing. The landscape also allows the practice of free flight: [[base jump]]ers frequent the sector around the Puy Mary and the Brezon valley.{{citation needed|date=April 2019}}

Thanks to its terrain, Cantal can count on a good snow level, which allows winter sports. The station of [[Le Lioran]], largest ski-resort of the Massif Central offers alpine skiing (with specific adaptations for snowboard) and ice-skating. Excursions in snow shoes are also possible. The department has several hundred kilometres of cross-country skiing tracks.

<gallery>
File:Chateau de val.jpg|[[Bort-les-Orgues|Château de Val]]
File:Chateau de Pesteil.jpg|[[Polminhac|Château de Pesteils]]
File:Truyère Château d'Alleuze.jpg|[[Truyère]] river and [[Château d'Alleuze]]
File:Lavigerie overview.jpg|[[Lavigerie, Cantal|Lavigerie]]
File:Garabit.jpg|Railway bridge designed by Gustav Eiffel ([[Garabit viaduct]])
File:CantalMounts.jpg|Cantal hills
</gallery>