Saint-Julien-Près-Bort: Hiking and Heritage

Saint-Julien-Près-Bort combines hiking with rural heritage. Different highlights can help you plan your stay: the Marchez dans les pas du diable route has specific details on distance, difficulty and duration; other places draw attention to the river landscape, local history or historic water technology. This can help you decide whether to spend your time on a longer hike, at viewpoints or exploring individual cultural sites.

Hiking between the church and viewpoints

The Marchez dans les pas du diable route starts and ends at the Tiers Lieux in Saint-Julien-près-Bort. The moderately difficult hike covers 11.0 km and takes 3 hours 45 minutes. These key details give you a concrete basis for fitting the hike into your day. Along the way, the route passes below the Église de Saint-Julien and continues to the Site de Saint-Nazaire. The church stands on a rise in the terrain and overlooks the centre of the former municipality of Saint-Julien-près-Bort.

The Site de St-Nazaire is a rise in the terrain at the confluence of the Dordogne and Diège rivers. From its far end, you can see the Dordogne gorges, the reservoir area of the Marèges dam and the Diège. Together with the church’s location, this connects the hike with the village landscape and river scenery. The named viewpoints help you understand the focus of this route.

Local history and rural heritage

The village and church of St-Nazaire once stood on the Site de St-Nazaire. This means you can view the site both as a viewpoint and as a former settlement. The Site de St-Nazaire is easily reached on foot; check local conditions before your visit.

The village of Saint-Julien-près-Bort is home to the Puits à banlève, a rural heritage well. Its lever system reduces the effort needed to draw water. This makes the well’s operation a distinct topic alongside the landscape and local history: the focus is on a mechanical solution that makes fetching water easier. If you are interested in rural heritage, the well offers a tangible insight into this technical aspect of the area.

Another hiking option: the Chemin de la Pyramide

The Chemin de la Pyramide offers a different focus. It runs through the municipalities of Bort, Sarroux and Saint-Julien-Près-Bort (Corrèze) and is used for hiking and mountain biking. At the summit, there is a viewpoint overlooking Lac de Bort and the Monts d’Auvergne. By comparison, Marchez dans les pas du diable passes below the church and continues to the Site de Saint-Nazaire; this hike is described as moderately difficult, 11.0 km long and taking 3 hours 45 minutes. The two hiking profiles therefore differ: one can also be enjoyed by mountain bike and offers a summit view, while the other has a stated duration and difficulty and follows a route to the church and the site. Their views also feature different landmarks: from the Site de St-Nazaire, you can see the Dordogne gorges, the reservoir area of the Marèges dam and the Diège; from the summit of the Chemin de la Pyramide, the view extends to Lac de Bort and the Monts d’Auvergne.

Discover more destinations: Lanteuil, Allassac, Champeaux, Champagnac-la-Noaille, La Chapelle-aux-Saints, Sérilhac, Montaignac, Goulles.

For the overview of the wider region: Corrèze.