Nauviale: Church, Trails and Wine

Nauviale brings together sacred architectural history, trails through the landscape where the Dourdou and Créneau meet, and wine experiences. When planning your trip, consider the differences between these themes: the Église Saint-Martin stands out for its unusual portal position, the routes lead to different landscapes, and each winery offers its own ways to visit.

Churches and Architectural History

The Église Saint-Martin is known as an inverted church because its portal is now on the east side. At the entrance to the north transept, a pillar bears a depiction of a pilgrim of Saint James. Nauviale also has a 16th-century processional cross, classified as an object under the Monuments historiques since 1906. The portal’s position, the pilgrim motif and the cross offer different perspectives on architecture and religious art.

At the remains of the Château de Beaucaire, part of the 14th-century defensive wall and the base of the keep have survived. An educational trail with information panels covers the site’s history and layout, as well as its wildlife, plant life and local geology. The topics therefore extend beyond the visible remains: you can also explore the site from historical and landscape perspectives.

The Château de Combret has several construction and design phases spanning five centuries. The earliest building phase was a structure strategically located above the Créneau valley, with a tower and a residential building. This long sequence sets its architectural history apart from a single, clearly dated structure: here, the focus is on different phases.

Landscape and Routes

Nauviale lies where the Dourdou and Créneau meet. The “Entre Dourdou et Créneau” hike starting from Nauviale offers views of the Créneau valley, Puech de Kaymard and the Vallon de Marcillac. The landscapes described include terraced vineyards and red sandstone buildings. This hike therefore brings both the viewpoints and the character of the vineyard and built landscapes into focus.

Another option is Trail Course Nauviale No. 12: this moderately difficult circular route is 16.9 kilometres long, with 430 metres of elevation gain. It starts at the town hall car park and passes through red clay soils, characteristic farmhouses and small hamlets. The distance, elevation gain and difficulty level each offer different information to help you plan. As route details may be updated, check the route description before setting out.

Wine and Visiting Options

La Coupette produces organic Aveyron wines in red, white and rosé and offers tastings at the estate. The winery uses hand-harvesting, natural yeasts and traditional methods for its winemaking. These details describe different aspects of the offering: red, white and rosé refer to the wine colours, while hand-harvesting, yeasts and traditional winemaking concern the production process.

Domaine des Costes Rouges offers guided winery tours exclusively for groups. The tour explains the journey of the grapes from the vineyard to the bottle. Unlike the tastings at La Coupette, this is a guided winery tour with an explicit group-only restriction. If you plan to take this tour, bear the group requirement in mind.

Discover more destinations: Centrès, Lapanouse-de-Cernon, Viala-du-Tarn, Saujac, Quins, Curières, Saint-Amans-Des-Cots, Lagarrigue.

For the overview of the wider area: Aveyron.