Discover Nizas: Château, Saint-Pierre and Causse

In Nizas, the Château de Nizas is partially protected as a historic monument; the protection covers the Renaissance portal on the north façade, the straight staircases with their vaulted stairwell, and the spiral staircase. The Château was built at the end of the 16th or beginning of the 17th century. Its U-shaped floor plan is arranged around an inner courtyard; the complex consists of three buildings.

Culture

The present-day Saint-Pierre Church was built between 1699 and 1708 on the site of an older religious building. It consists of a four-bay nave followed by a choir; two side chapels are located beside the last bay, facing the sanctuary. The cross with the Instruments of the Passion dates from the late 17th or early 18th century. The present bell tower has a slate roof and dates from the 19th century.

The Tour de l’Horloge was built at the end of the 19th century and formerly housed a market hall, a post office and the postmaster’s residence. In the La Villette district, the oldest district of Nizas, lies the Tour du Castrum; it is accessible from the Place du Griffe via the Rue de la Vieille Tour. The square tower was originally surrounded by an enclosure measuring about 70 metres, which served as a farmyard.

The Fontaine de la République in Nizas features a statue of Diana hunting and a dark-grey marble basin decorated with four dolphins. It was built in 1887.

Landscape

The basaltic Causse is a plateau exposed by erosion from an ancient lava flow. Le cami ferrat is an old livestock route and evidence of former agropastoral activities on the Causse.

Cycling routes

The VTT loop route no. 8, “Le Four à Chaux”, starts in the village of Nizas. The gravel loop route no. 8, “Le Four à Chaux”, passes dry-stone capitelles and an old lime kiln and offers views of the Causse, vineyards and the surrounding ridges. The VTT loop route no. 10, “Entre vignes et fleuve”, starts in Nizas, crosses the Causse and passes through Cazouls-d’Hérault before continuing to Pézenas. This loop route includes some technical or rocky sections and is not suitable for gravel bikes. The three route profiles can be compared by bicycle type, course and trail characteristics.

For planning purposes, the routes can be viewed side by side according to bicycle type, course and trail characteristics. This brings together gravel and VTT aspects, the Causse as a shared landscape area, and connections between several places in different combinations. The local and landscape elements present give the routes different focal points: dry-stone chapels, a lime kiln, vineyards, ridges, Cazouls-d’Hérault and Pézenas are each part of the route landscapes described. The technical or rocky sections also form a distinct feature within this comparison, without equating the profiles.

Other places: Marseillan, Le Soulié, Cazilhac, Mauguio, Castelnau-De-Guers, Bouzigues, Octon, Autignac

For the higher-level travel overview: Hérault.