As I think you can clearly see - the closed road was something of a disappointment.
The lava dome of Puy de Dome is a classic climb of the Tour de France and we'd driven to the Auvergne to ride it.
Our guidebook said it was open to cyclists Wednesdays and Sundays; they had to start between 07:00 and 09:00 and be down by 11:00.
Fortunately we checked it out the day before and found the road to the summit shut while a railway was being constructed.
In hindsight we might have been able to sneak past and ride it anyway. But if we'd been turned around it would be a wasted day.
So we headed back the way we had come, used the map to work out a route for the morning, and ended up riding a much nicer route. It didn't have the history behind it, but it was our introduction to green pastures, cow bells and cuckoo-clock architecture.
My Garmin seems to have eaten the actual route, so I can't reproduce the map.
We started at Chambon-sur-Lac, we rode up-and-over a Col to the ski town of Le Mont Dore, and then climbed Col de la Croix Morand which offered good views across the Auvergne.
I'd definitely go back to this area, as it was like a scaled-down Alps.
But I'd want to spend time seeking out some more good, quite roads first.