Loop of Rions

Departure from the car park at the foot of the Romanesque church of Saint-Seurin, listed as a Historic Monument. On the church square stands an elegant cast iron fountain by the architect Auguste Bordes (1847), surmounted by a statue of the Virgin (1856) by the founder Paul. Opposite the southern portal of the church is the Maison des Marchands, which has retained its original XNUMXth century elevation, with its shop on the ground floor. From the Place du Repos, we reach the Tour du Guet, by the street of the same name. This round tower reinforced a corner of the enclosure. Originally pierced with loopholes, replaced by embrasures for small cannons, it still retains its battlements.

If you leave the loop and follow the path from the port towards the Garonne, you will reach the place where the old small port of Rions was located, very active at the time. The channel was gradually filled in by alluvium, and the estey is now invaded by wild nature.

You cross the heart of the old city. From the Place d'Armes, you reach Rue Lavidon, where the gate of the same name used to be, comparable to that of the Hyan and demolished in the XNUMXth century. The remains of part of the enclosure and of a round tower called Tour Despujols give an overview of the city limits. Rue Lavidon leads to Rue Judaïque, Rue Romaine and Rue des Remparts, which alone represent a summary of the history of Rions.

For 4,5 kilometres, you leave the town center to explore the slopes of the Garonne, dotted with vineyards. The views are remarkable. You take rural paths and alleys of vines.

You enter the old city again, through the Hyan Gate, the only city gate to have come down to us in its original state. It has two floors lit by square windows above the ground floor, constituting a sort of dungeon.

You walk along the famous fortified enclosure (Historic Monument) and its ramparts dating from 1330. On the side of the river, rocks and walls have been completed by lists arranged at the foot of the rocks. Below the citadel is the cave of Charles VII where a very old spring flows. By taking the Chemin des Grands Vins, you will be able to observe magnificent private gardens which highlight the foot of the fortified enclosure formerly dominated by the Château des Seguin. One of them hides in a plant setting, the remains of an old postern. You return to the Saint-Seurin church, your starting point.