Student accommodation in Clermont-Ferrand

Clermont-Ferrand is built from the rock underneath it, and the rock is volcanic. The cathedral is black because it is cut from Volvic lava, the Puy de Dôme stands at the western edge of the city as a dormant volcano, and the ground rises sharply towards it. The Université Clermont Auvergne splits between faculties in and near the centre and the science and engineering campus at Les Cézeaux in Aubière to the south, and one tram line plus a handful of bus routes connects the two.

Jaude and the centre around the place de Jaude is where the shops, the cinemas and the law and letters faculties are, flat and the most expensive. Les Cézeaux and Aubière sit south of the city and are built around the science campus, which means purpose-built halls, lower rents and a quiet evening. Montferrand to the north east is the other half of the double name, an older quarter that was a separate town until the seventeenth century, cheaper and distinctive. Les Salins and Delille are between the centre and the hospital, residential and handy for medics. Chamalières and Royat climb west towards the volcanoes, greener and dearer. Cournon-d'Auvergne to the south east and Gerzat to the north are separate communes on opposite sides of the city, about six miles apart, both with the lowest rents here and a bus in.