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Off the beaten path

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Noyant d’Allier : a Pagoda and Buddha in the heart of the Bourbonnais countryside

In the 1950s, at the end of the First Indochina War, the descendents of French colonists married to the Vietnamese were brought back to France. Noyant d’Allier welcomed entire families of Buddhists who quickly adapted to life in this small mining town and this is why, for the last 20 years, a giant Buddha has stood watch over its houses.

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Lavoine : the world’s largest ball and water clock

This little village in the Bourbonnais rivals with San Francisco and Munich! It has the world’s largest ball and water clock.

The clock, which is 95% wood and located near the Wood and Forest Museum, is an additional tourist attraction for this tiny community in the Montagne Bourbonnaise.
How does it work ?

A closed circuit of water drives a large wheel that moves an arm on the clock face with each turn. The arm takes hold of a ball and places it in a horizontal trough, thus indicating that a minute has passed.

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Venas : Chop the painter’s house

Chop is an eccentric character who finds inspiration in the four seasons for his painted universe. He has transformed his house, painting all of the walls, inside and out, as well as the furniture. Giant fish and a three-metre tall cat are painted in flamboyant colours. Chop is also a photographer who fixes the passage of time each week on film by capturing frost, dew or sunlight on the female mannequins he sets up outside on the previous day.

Chop’s Maison Couleurs du Temps is open to the public.
Tel : +33 (0) 47 0 06 84 83 or +33 (0) 6 84 90 85 48.