Saint-Constant: Circular Walk, Honey and Culture

Saint-Constant combines a waymarked circular walk with beekeeping, history and ceramics. For planning your trip, the contrast is particularly useful: La Randonnée des Collines can be assessed by its distance and duration, while the Rochery apiary can be visited year-round by appointment. The church, castle ruins and ceramics add culture to these active and culinary themes.

Circular Walks with Views

La Randonnée des Collines is a 10.8-kilometre circular walk with 270 metres of positive elevation gain. It takes 3.5 hours, and the route is marked in yellow. These details will help you estimate the distance and time required for your plans.

To the southwest, the route offers views of the La Garenne hill, the two churches of the twin village of Saint-Santin, and the Maurs basin. The route is accessible free of charge year-round, provided weather conditions are favourable. As access depends on the weather, it is worth checking the conditions before setting out. The River Célé flows through Saint-Constant and is another geographical landmark of the area.

Watch Bees and Taste Honey

The Rochery apiary is a wooden building with two glass-fronted beehives. It can be visited year-round by prior appointment. Arrange your visit in advance. On site, visitors can watch the bees, breathe in the air of the beehive, taste dozens of different honeys, and ask questions about the life of bees and the products of the hive.

The visit offers several ways to explore the subject: observing the bees, experiencing the air of the beehive, and tasting different honeys. You can also ask questions about beekeeping and hive products. If you are particularly interested in bees or honey, the appointment-based visit offers a clearly defined activity.

Duck Rearing and Products

Ferme de Lascombes is a traditional family farm that raises ducks for meat. The ducks are kept outdoors. The farm makes foie gras, confit, pâtés, rillettes and fresh duck breasts from them, without using preservatives or chemical products.

Tours take visitors through various parts of the farm, including the animal-rearing areas, force-feeding facilities and processing plant. A visit therefore covers both the rearing and processing stages. The products described range from foie gras and confit to fresh duck breasts, giving an overview of the products made from the ducks.

Church, Local Tradition and Château de Merle

The parish church of Saint-Constant features stained-glass windows, altarpieces, paintings, banners, statues and a variety of liturgical furnishings. Its contents bring together different forms of religious art and liturgical objects.

According to local tradition, the relics of Constant of Ancona were once kept for a time in Saint-Constant-sur-Célé. Constant of Ancona was an Italian sacristan from the 5th century.

The ruins of Château de Merle are about three kilometres from Saint-Constant. Preserved towers and sections of the curtain wall can be seen from the road towards Fournoulès. The approximate distance and the view from the road described here help distinguish this historic site from the sights in the village centre.

Ceramics from Saint-Constant-Fournoulès

For around three decades, Christine Grave has been making stoneware ceramics in her workshop in Saint-Constant-Fournoulès. La Poterie du Tilleul offers a wide selection of pottery, including bowls, cups, salad bowls and jugs. The range also includes gold-decorated pieces and numerous ceramic jewellery items.

The two ceramic offerings have different focuses: Christine Grave’s work centres on stoneware and her long experience in making ceramics; La Poterie du Tilleul focuses on its selection of vessels, gold-decorated pieces and jewellery. This makes it easy to choose between the craft offerings based on what interests you most.

Discover more destinations: Champs-Sur-Tarentaine-Marchal, Jussac, Saint-Illide, Le Falgoux, Naucelles, Rézentières, Vezels Roussy, Alleuze.

For the regional travel overview: Cantal.