A challenging hike on the Vézelay to Nevers route

This first stage involves numerous elevation changes, particularly at the start and finish... Fortunately, many stages along the way will be a formality, managed on very flat terrain...

Leaving Vézelay via the streets of Saint Pierre and Saint Etienne from the basilica's forecourt, one passes the facades of noble residences, most of which date from the 17th and 18th centuries. These houses were built on top of underground Romanesque rooms, where pilgrims were housed in the Middle Ages.

Dinner at your leisure.

Overnight stay in a gîte (holiday cottage).

Breakfast is not included.

Little elevation change through woods and fields...!

Thurigny boasts a small Gothic chapel dedicated to Saint Marcel. Below the path, by the river, stands a magnificent covered wash house. Upon reaching Cuncy-les-Varzy, one will discover its Gothic church, built in the 16th century to replace a Romanesque structure.

Upon arriving in Varzy, you cannot miss the Church of Saint Peter, a beautiful Gothic structure built in the 13th century. Its distinctive feature is the two square towers rising above the transept arms, reminiscent of the Romanesque churches of the Saône Valley. Also worth seeing is its wash house and watering trough, which, in addition to its function as a washing place, provided water for animals.

Dinner and overnight stay.

A good uphill climb of about a hundred meters right from the start and a succession of small hills to follow along the hillside...

2.4 km past Varzy, 50 m on your left, you will find the Saint Lazare Chapel, nestled in a verdant setting. It remains the only vestige of the former Vaumorin leper colony, located away from the village as an extension of the Varzy hospital. You will notice the elegance of its trefoil portal. Some 5.4 km past Champlemy, the private estate of Bourras-l'Abbaye bears witness to the former Cistercian abbey founded in 1133, which was dependent on the Abbey of Pontigny and welcomed pilgrims.

Late afternoon taxi transfer back to Bourras la Grange to your bed and breakfast.

Dinner and overnight stay.

Taxi transfer from Bourras to Châteauneuf Val de Bargis to begin your stage.

No particular difficulties except for a climb at the third kilometer which will prepare you for the rest of the day...

At kilometer 15, you will indeed take a forest track through the Bertranges Forest, which was given to the Priory of La Charité in 1121. This is the second largest oak forest in France (after the Tronçais Forest), covering 10,000 hectares and including many centuries-old trees. It became a state-owned forest during the French Revolution. Châteauneuf Val de Bargis is a small town dominated by fairly high hills, except to the west, through which flows the stream called the Sillandre. This stream rises in the town of Châteauneuf and is one of the branches of the Mazou, which flows into the Loire at Mesves, a little north of La Charité.

Dinner and overnight stay.

Nestled against the Bertranges Massif, 12 km northwest of Nevers, the Commune of Parigny-les-Vaux, with its town and ten hamlets, enjoys a hilly area where hedgerows, forests and ponds alternate.

Dinner and overnight stay.

Thanks to its rich heritage, Nevers, designated a City of Art and History, dominates this corner of the Nièvre region. The Church of Saint-Étienne, internationally renowned for the purity of its Romanesque architecture, has become a prime example for those wishing to learn about the forms and lines of this period. The cathedral, the belfry, the Ducal Palace, and the town hall all testify to the city's prestige. A city of commerce, it is also a City of Art, thanks to its renowned earthenware potters who brought fame to the Nièvre region.

Our services will end after breakfast.