Saint-Vincent-Rive-d'Olt: Wine Country and Heritage

Saint-Vincent-Rive-d'Olt offers several points of interest for a trip: the Gothic Church of Saint-Vincent, the heritage of Cournou, and connections to wine and walking routes. This lets you decide in advance whether to focus more on architecture, scenery, wine tasting or walking.

Landscape and historic land use

The Cournou vineyard lies in a hollow shaped by viticulture, with wooded high points and scattered settlements. On the Cournou plateau, wooded strips create a distinctive bocage landscape. These two descriptions offer different insights into the character of the landscape: one focuses on the hollow and its settlement pattern, the other on the plateau shaped by wooded strips.

The Bondoire stream is also part of the landscape’s history. It once powered three mills, including the lower mill, which was once fortified and had two millstones. This information describes past use and should not be taken to mean that a mill is operating there today.

Church of Saint-Vincent

The Gothic church in Saint-Vincent-Rive-d'Olt was listed as a historic monument on November 9, 2015. Its Renaissance portal dates from 1540. At the entrance to the Église Saint-Vincent, there is also a 17th-century baptismal font made of pink marble: the basin is oval and fluted, and it is accompanied by a wrought-iron grille. The church thus brings together different periods and forms of art history, from the Gothic building and Renaissance portal to its later furnishings.

Cournou: Church art and local history

The Church of Saint-Nazaire in Cournou underwent an extensive building campaign in the 19th century, which included, in particular, the present-day portal and bell tower. Based on the quality of the dressed masonry, its original structure may date from the 12th or 13th century; this dating is a possibility, not a certainty.

In the 17th century, two side chapels were built specifically for altarpieces dedicated to the Virgin Mary and Saint James. The extension bears witness to the high numbers of pilgrims visiting at the time. The altarpiece of Saint James of Compostela is a Baroque work from the second half of the 17th century and features a monumental central statue. The altarpiece ensemble of the side altar dedicated to the Virgin Mary comprises three gilded, polychrome statues in niches. The altarpiece in the north chapel has been listed as a movable cultural object since June 14, 2007.

Other historical details can be found in the village streetscape and its commemorative heritage. Renaissance windows can be seen in a lane leading to the public square; they were added to the supplementary register of historic monuments in 1926. The memorial featuring a bust of Léon Lafage was inaugurated on August 31, 1958.

Cahors wine and tasting

Domaine du Prince cultivates 24 hectares of vineyards on the Causse and welcomes visitors every day of the week to taste different vintages of Cahors wine. If you plan to visit, check the current schedule beforehand. The vineyard area and the tastings are two distinct aspects of the estate: one describes the scale of the operation, the other a specific offer for visitors.

Routes and walking

Saint-Vincent-Rive-d'Olt is mentioned in connection with two routes. The third stage of the road circuit through the Cahors vineyards passes through the village. The GR36 long-distance footpath from Laramière to Bonaguil also passes through the village, listed there as point 17. These are different types of route planning, so for your trip you can decide whether the road circuit or the long-distance footpath better suits your plans.

Les Foulées du Malbec is also an annual running and walking event in Saint-Vincent-Rive-d'Olt. Check the dates and format for the year of your trip. Alongside the architectural and wine-related attractions, this also offers a recurring opportunity for outdoor activity as a possible reason to visit.

Discover more destinations: Prudhomat, Les Arques, Sauliac-Sur-Célé, Gagnac-Sur-Cère, Sousceyrac, Esclauzels, Strenquels, Leobard

For the broader travel overview: Lot.