A ski station in winter and a vast outdoor leisure park in summer, La Loge des Gardes (altitude 1,077m) is the highest point of the Montagne Bourbonnaise and lies just a few kilometres from the spa town of Vichy. The climb up to it has been the setting for two captivating battles during Paris-Nice. In 2023, Tadej Pogačar had to dig deep to see off the tenacious David Gaudu at the finish. And in 2025, João Almeida took victory ahead of Jonas Vingegaard and a very small breakaway group.
- Resort and leisure park in Allier (03) located in the commune of Laprugne
- Population: 310; 84,600 within the Vichy Communauté municipality; 333,500 within Allier
- logedesgardes.com • vichy-communaute.fr • allier.fr
La Loge des Gardes and cycling
The small ski resort in the Allier has made a name for itself amongst the peloton thanks to Paris–Nice, which stopped there twice, in 2023 and 2025. The names of the protagonists of these two stages – Tadej Pogacar, the inaugural winner under grey skies, followed by João Almeida ahead of Jonas Vingegaard in freezing rain two years later – are enough to indicate the difficulty of the final climb. Given the time of year, one can hope that the women will enjoy more favourable weather than the men experienced on the Race to the… Sun.
Sights
La Loge des Gardes station
Opened: 1959. Closing: 2024.
Features: La Loge des Gardes is situated in the municipality of Laprugne, at an altitude of 1,077 metres, in the heart of the Assise state forest, on the border between the Loire and Puy-de-Dôme departments. Its former ski area, currently closed, is situated on the slopes of the Pierres du Jour, the highest point of the Monts de la Madeleine at an altitude of 1,164 metres. Until 2024, La Loge des Gardes had an alpine ski area on the northern slope of the Pierres du Jour. The runs, winding through forests of beech and spruce, offered 2.2 km of skiing. There were four green, blue and red runs served by three ski lifts and a 50-metre magic carpet for beginners.
History: in July 1944, near La Loge des Gardes, a battle took place between French Resistance fighters and German soldiers at a place known as ‘Gué de la Chaux’. In 1959, La Loge des Gardes opened its first slopes and ski lifts. The resort was put up for sale in 2013 and taken over in 2014 by an investor keen to revitalise it. In 2025, financial difficulties, recurring snow shortages and problems recruiting winter staff prompted the resort’s manager to seek a new buyer. To date, this search has been unsuccessful.
Church of Saint John the Baptist, Laprugne
Built: 19th century.
Features: Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church was built in 1877 to plans by Moulins architect Moreau. Built in the Neo-Romanesque ogival style from grey granite, it features three beautiful stained-glass windows in the chancel. One of the oldest bells in the department is housed in the bell tower of the Church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste in Laprugne. Dating from 1474, it bears the coat of arms of the de Beaujeu family and is said to have been donated by Anne de Beaujeu.
Listing: three bells were listed as historic monuments in 1902.
In Saint-Nicolas-des-Biefs (8 km away)
Glassmakers’ Museum
The Glassmakers’ Museum traces the history of the Gentilshommes Verriers, who settled here in 1660 to establish a major forest glassworks on the plateau still known today as ‘La Verrerie’, whose furnaces remained in operation until 1780. On the ground floor, an archaeological display features a full-scale reconstruction of a furnace from that period. Numerous archaeological artefacts reveal the craftsmanship of the period, set against the decorative backdrop of a large mural. Upstairs, the glass gallery showcases unusual objects and pieces from a variety of French and foreign glassworks. A second mural features illustrations from Diderot and D’Alembert’s Encyclopédie, depicting glassmaking in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Avenue of the Giant Twisted Beech Trees (12 km away)
This unusual site, also known as the Avenue of the Giants, is well worth a visit. This sensitive natural area owes its remarkable character to the presence of a large number of beech trees, sometimes standing in rows, with twisted trunks dating back nearly 400 years. Their distinctive appearance is the result of an ancient technique for maintaining living hedges: plessage. One of the rows along ‘Chemin des Creux’, consisting of monumental trees, is one of the oldest remaining examples of a plessage hedge in the Monts de la Madeleine.
Saint-Clément Lake (18 km away)
Straddling the municipalities of Le Mayet-de-Montagne, Saint-Clément and Châtel-Montagne, the lake is a leisure centre equipped for water sports (canoeing, kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, water bikes) and zip-lining. Covering an area of 27 hectares, it is classified as a ‘large inland mountain lake’; fishing (brown trout, pike, carp at night) is permitted there all year round. A 1.5 km educational trail explores the themes of flora, fauna and sustainable development. The 5 km-long path around the lake was completed in July 2021. Swimming has been permitted since 2023 in a section of the lake (in July and August, with lifeguards on duty).