City of Moulins - Activities Allier

Destination of excellence

Discover Moulins from the Hôtel de Paris

Let yourself be surprised
by Moulins & its region

The Hotel de Paris in Moulins, ideally located in the heart of the city, allows you to fully enjoy the capital of the Bourbonnais region, with its many museums and monuments, as well as the thousand and one riches of the Allier region, between the beauty of its natural spaces and the richness of its historical and cultural heritage.

Souvigny
Great Cluniac Site

The Abbey of Souvigny, once the necropolis of the Dukes of Bourbon, is a site not to be missed during your stay in the Allier.
A walking tour allows you to discover the different jewels of this abbey.
Accessible to all, the French-style gardens of the Priory are a real treat for a daytime stroll. They will awaken all your senses with their aromatic plants and varied scents, as well as their vegetable gardens, and can be done at the same time as the visit to the Souvigny museum.

Moulins, 11 centuries of history,
the Bourbon imprint

Moulins is a city of art and history, a former duchy of the powerful Bourbon family, and a charming city full of treasures. It owes its name to the numerous water, wind and boat mills that once stretched across its hills.
Founded in 990, it still has many traces of its fabulous past linked to the Bourbons, such as: the keep called "La mal Coiffée" which belonged to the Ducal Castle, the Italian-style Anne de Beaujeu Pavilion which is considered to be the first building of the French Renaissance, or the Notre-Dame Cathedral and its stained-glass windows in which the celebrities of the Bourbon court can be seen.

The fabulous adventure
of Street Art City

Discover a high place of street art! Located in the north of the Allier, Street Art City is a must-see tourist destination. More than 300 artists from all over the world have exhibited their frescoes, superb colourful compositions, on the 22,500 m² walls since 2016.
This unique artists' residence is only 40 minutes from Moulins and the Hôtel de Paris. A must-see!

The Allier by bike & its
numerous tours

The Allier department is particularly flat, making it a pleasant place to cycle.

A true ode to nature, the Allier offers unmissable sites such as the Tronçais forest, the Sioule gorges or the Val d'Allier nature reserve. Remarkable fauna and flora, including rare birds, parks and gardens, nature worked by man, such as the Balaine Arboretum, lakes and rivers, a fisherman's paradise...

The Allier, former province of Bourbonnais, is also the stronghold of old keeps, medieval fortresses, castles and manor houses... It is also a land of gastronomy renowned for the quality of its products, its good restaurants and its Saint-Pourçain vineyard.

Experience a day
at the PAL with the family

In a unique setting in the middle of nature on 50 hectares in Saint-Pourçain-sur-Besbre, Le PAL is a unique amusement park and one of the most visited in France, where several regions of the world coexist: African bush, western plains and Louisiana swamp. With new attractions every year and animals from all continents, Le PAL confirms its title as the most famous amusement park in central France.

What to do in Moulins
this weekend?

To immerse yourself in this city, an open-air museum, start by strolling through the old cobbled streets of the historic quarter, lined with pretty half-timbered houses that will give you the impression of reliving a few moments in the Middle Ages. Nearby, beautiful bourgeois buildings take you back to the beginning of the 20th century, when Gabrielle Chanel lived in this city.

A good way to continue your walk in Moulins is to follow in the footsteps of the famous fashion designer thanks to a tour proposed by the Tourist Office. You will discover emblematic places such as the Notre-Dame convent, now a nursing school, where Coco Chanel was a boarder from the age of 18 to 21.

Located in the city centre of Moulins, the Hotel de Paris allows you to walk through the small cobbled streets of the historic centre, to discover the numerous museums and churches, to stroll along the banks of the Allier river and to enjoy the beautiful view.

The CNCS

Not to be missed!
A museum entirely dedicated to the material heritage of theatres.

The Tronçais forest

Not to be missed!
One of the most beautiful forest areas in France, only 1 hour from the hotel in Paris.

St-Pourçain vineyard

Not to be missed!
The superb vineyard of Saint-Pourçain and its unique grape variety: the tressallier.

The most beautiful villages of the Allier

Not to be missed!
A typically Bourbonnais cultural heritage around the Hôtel de Paris.