The best family-friendly hikes and walks around Nérac

The Château Henri IV of Nérac, former residence of the lords of Albret, bears witness to the city's rich Renaissance past. Overlooking the Baïse, it was one of the living places of the future King Henri IV and remains today a must-see to discover the history of Albret.

A primitive building dedicated to Saint Mark existed from the medieval period. It was destroyed by the Protestants in 1562. The current church succeeded it in 1868, and was designed by the architect Verdier. It is dedicated to Our Lady. In the shape of a Latin cross, it has a single ribbed vault. The bell tower, perched on the ridge of the west facade, is topped with a long spire. Above the portal, the facade is pierced by three lancet stained-glass windows. It is adorned with two pinnacles.

A primitive building was consecrated by Pope Urban II in 1096. It was the priory church of the Benedictines. It became a parish church after the priory was sold in 1666. In 1697, the bell tower collapsed. In 1749, the church was in danger of collapse. The current church was rebuilt between 1758 and 1785. During the Revolution, the church became the "supreme temple." In 1855, the bell towers were added and the sacristy was rebuilt. The church, in the shape of a Latin cross, includes a nave. Its façade is adorned with four fluted pilasters with Ionic capitals supporting a triangular pediment. The stained-glass windows are from the 19th century. They depict scenes from the life of Saint Joseph, the Agony of Christ, scenes from the life of the Virgin, Pentecost, Saint Louis, Saint John the Baptist, and the Immaculate Conception. The prophets and kings of Israel can be seen: Abraham, Daniel, Abel, Noah, Moses, Elijah, Aaron, Melchizedek, sibyls, as well as a Virgin and Child, a Pietà, and the coat of arms of Abbot de Vivie.

The history of the former royal warren is deeply linked to the family of Henry IV, but its legacy dates back to Antiquity. During the Gallo-Roman period, in the 4th or 5th century, a villa stood on the banks of the Baïse River. Excavations conducted in 1832 uncovered numerous mosaics, attesting to the building's presence. Between these two periods, the park underwent numerous developments. At the beginning of the 16th century, Henry I of Albret acquired the land to create a warren and a garden at the foot of the château, accessible only to the royal family. When Henry IV and his wife, Marguerite de Valois, inherited the site, they created the current promenade, known as the "3,000 paces," which runs along the Baïse. But the Wars of Religion and the numerous floods of the river after the king's death would permanently damage the historical and natural heritage. Damaged by the numerous floods of the Baïse in 1909, the park became the first listed site in the Aquitaine region, which enabled the funding of work to ensure its preservation. In 2020, this classification was extended to the other bank, where the Bains du Roy are located.

Nérac Castle was founded in the 14th century, within a medieval town surrounded by walls and backing onto the Baïse River. Beginning in 1491, Alain d'Albret modernized this first tower and had three wings built. The west wing included the drawbridge and service rooms, the north wing housed Jeanne d'Albret's apartments, and the east wing constituted the main building of the castle. It was in this castle that Marguerite de Navarre, sister of Francis I and author of the Heptaméron, lived. A committed humanist, she brought Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples, nicknamed the French Erasmus, to Nérac. Jeanne d'Albret, her daughter, was also sensitive to the ideas of her time and brought Théodore de Bèze to her court, before converting to Protestantism. It was in this context that Henry III of Navarre, the future King Henry IV, lived. He lived in this château for about ten years with Queen Marguerite de Valois, known as Queen Margot. The latter was responsible for the creation of the 3000-Step Avenue in the Parc de la Garenne, along the Baïse. This avenue, punctuated over the years with new fountains, was then surrounded by walls and accessible from the château by a bridge. The years following the assassination of Henri IV by Ravaillac in 1610 marked the decline of the château, first due to royal reprisals against Protestants and then due to the destruction caused by the French Revolution in 1793, when the château was declared national property. After the revolutionary destruction, only the north wing of the château remained, with its twisted columns so characteristic of the Renaissance style. The château was divided into lots and inhabited by several owners. Gradually, the municipality became interested in restoring the château, and a restoration project was drawn up by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, whose sketches are on display in the museum. However, it wasn't until 1925 that the city became the owner of the entire building and began a restoration project to house the municipal museum. Since then, the royal residence and writer's home, the Château-Musée Henri IV, has offered visitors a permanent exhibition dedicated to Henri IV and the d'Albret family on the first floor, and the art of living during the Renaissance on the ground floor through various themes.

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