Herisson, Allier
The area around Herisson is crisscrossed with public rights of way and the public forests provide many other routes. Visorando is a useful reference source with an app to take with you when you are out and about.
The countryside has a myriad of flora and fauna to observe, whether from behind a camera or in person.
A dinosaur theme park, Paleopolis, is situated in a real life dinosaur valley at Lac de Limagne. It is an important day out with real scientific emphasis.
Vulcania is a Disney-style theme park with hotels, restaurants, and rides. But being state-owned has a strong emphasis on education about natural phenomena as well as volcanoes.
Le Pal is a mixture between a theme park and a zoo, combining exotic animals with rides and accommodation.
Another animal park, The wolves (Les loups) de Chabrières regularly receives students who do field studies of the animals.
The Zoopark Beauval is the largest zoo in Europe and 2 hours away.
Herisson itself has two chapels, an old bell tower (from the same religious order who set up L’ancien College), and a nineteenth-century church. 2km away at Chateloy is a 12th-century church with important wall paintings, one of many painted churches in the region.
Nearby in Vallon is a museum of animated models, the canal museum. In Montlucon, Mupop the modern music museum host much more than instruments. Moulins has the National Costume museum and several others. Vichy has the Musee des Arts d’Afrique Et D’ Asie amongst others.
Herisson itself has the Footsbarn theatre nearby which performs regularly. Les Anticlastes is a puppeteer theatre based in the village. The Cube also in the village is a rehearsal workshop for theatre artists which often opens its doors. Nearby is Cosne is the Atelier Theatre. Traditional theatres are numerous and found in Montlucon, Moulins, and Vichy.
