Issoire is home to the Auvergne’s most extravagantly decorated Romanesque church. The exterior of this 12th-century edifice is festooned with geometric patterns in white-and-black lava stone, dappled across great ornamental arches. Twelve signs of the zodiac in stone relief have been beautifully restored. Inside, blood-red columns are crowned with scenes from Christ’s life.
Ask at the tourist office about guided tours of the church in July and August.