Nievre

Visit Nievre

It is above all for the natural highlights, the wooded valleys, forests and small scale agriculture, lakes and waterways, that visitors come to the Nievre department with the Morvan Natural Parc in particular being a popular and attractive region for walking, cycling and appreciating the Burgundy countryside.

Selected places to visit in Nievre

Nievre highlights

A little off the beaten track compared with some parts of Burgundy, the Nievre region is the most centrally located, being at the south-west corner of Burgundy. The capital of Nievre is Nevers.

Natural scenery

The highlight is perhaps the substantial part of the Morvan Regional Parc, found to the north-east of Nievre (the parc extends also into the Cote d'Or department) which contains much fine rural scenery, woodlands and lakes, and is a fine place for walking and cycling and appreciating unspoiled French countryside.

A couple of other popular natural scenic regions follow the two main watercourses in the department: the Loire River and the Canal du Nivernais. Each watercourse offers a different experience, passing through pretty countryside, passing many small towns and villages en route. One important spot on the river is the Bec d'Allier, meeting point of the Allier river and Loire River below the town of Marzy

Towns and villages in Nievre

- The town of Nevers, the main town in the department, is to visit in the west of this part of Burgundy.

- Clamecy, to the west of Vezelay

- Other towns and villages to explore include the small town of Corbigny, Donzy, Decize, Chateau-Chinon, Moulins-Engilbert, La Charite-sur-Loire, Tannay, the villages of Arthel, and Moux-en-Morvan and Ouroux-en-Morvan (in the Morvan Regional Parc), the thermal spa town of Saint-Honore-les-Bains...and the countless other small villages you will discover as you explore.

Nievre castles

Much the most famous castle in Nevers is the Chateau de Bazoches, a grand house sitting quietly on a wooded hillside, but there are others you will come across during your travels - some just glimpsed fom the road, others open to the public such as the Chateau de Lantilly (Corbigny) and Chateau de Villemolin (Anthien), while the Chateau de Limanton and the Chateau de Chatillon are visited for their gardens. (Note we found that some castles in Nievre were open summer months only.)

Remarkable gardens in Nievre

Garden enthusiasts will be interested to know there are four gardens in Nievre officially classified as 'remarkable gardens', at Alligny-en-Morvan, Chatillon-en-Bazois, Coulanges-les-Nevers, and Limanton.

See a list of all Nievre communes

Page in French? See Nievre (Francais)