Musée d'Art Roger Quilliot

Housed in an Ursuline convent 3km northeast of central Clermont, the city’s premier gallery has old bones but sleek modern curation. Taking design cues from NYC’s Guggenheim, its white spiral staircase travels between centuries of European art. Head upstairs for 17th-century European masterworks or explore the ground floor's medieval art, with mournful Marys dating back to the 7th century. Temporary exhibitions invite contemporary art in among these classics.