Aurillac (Occitan: Orlhac) is the prefecture of the Cantaldepartment, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpesregion of France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Aurillacois or Aurillacoises. The Jordanne river flows through the heart of the commune from north to south where it joins the Cère just south of the commune.
Aurillac is at 600 m (2,000 ft) above sea level and located at the foot of the Cantal mountains in a small sedimentary basin. The city is built on the banks of the Jordanne, a tributary of the Cère. It is 558 km (347 mi) south of Paris and 223 km (139 mi) north of Toulouse. Aurillac was part of a former Auvergne province called Haute-Auvergne and is only 20 km (12 mi) away from the heart of the Auvergne Volcano Park.
Aurillac station, in the centre of town, lies on the Figeac-Arvant railway. It has rail connections to Clermont-Ferrand, Brive-la-Gaillarde and Toulouse. About 50% of the commune is urbanised with farmland to the east and west of the urban area. Aurillac – Tronquières Airport is located in the south of the commune with its runway extending beyond the commune boundary. It is connected to Paris by two daily flights by the Air France subsidiary HOP!. The commune was awarded three flowers by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom.
Aurillac has hundreds of boutiques, shops, and artisans. The industrial base is processing of agricultural products, particularly milk and meat, and the manufacturing and packaging of Cantal cheese. The city is the historic French capital of umbrellas with half of French production – 250,000 units in 1999 – and provides 100 jobs. After declining for several decades at the end of the 20th century, Aurillac umbrella producers decided to join their forces and created the Economic Interest Group, or GIE in 1997. They then launched their products under a single label, L’aurillac Parapluie (The Aurillac Umbrella).
The commune has a very large number of buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments. There are also a very large number of items which are registered as historical objects in various locations.
The International festival of street theatre of Aurillac has been held every year since 1986 at the end of August for a period of four days. Since 2004 this festival has been preceded by “Les préalables” (Preliminaries) of variable duration (often starting in early August) with street performances throughout Cantal (and sometimes even in Corrèze) with the support of the association éclat. 2008 who inaugurated the first “University of Street Art”.
The European gourmet taste for three days in June is a gastronomic and cultural festival during which various prizes are awarded (Les Goudots gourmands) and where there are cooking classes with different themes each year (e.g. 2008: Slow Food) provided by prominent chefs.
