Velay (French pronunciation: [vəlɛ] ⓘ) is a historical area of France situated in the east Haute-Loire département and southeast of Massif Central.

The country is well delimited by natural obstacles: Allier river in the south, Mount Boutières and Mézenc in the east, and Devès massif in the west.

Devès has Celtic toponyms clearly suggesting an antic border (Fix from finis; la Durande from Gaulish Equiranda meaning frontier).

The department of Haute-Loire was created from the former county of Velay, on top of it a portion of Auvergne, Gévaudan and Vivarais are added.

The first part of Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes (1879) by Robert Louis Stevenson is entitled Velay, the country being the starting point of the writer's trip.