Via Garona
Celebrated in song by Claude Nougaro, the River Garonne flows through the Haute-Garonne region from south to north.
Via Garona – a 170km long GR® hiking path
It rises in the Spanish Pyrenees then quickly crosses the frontier at Pont du Roy, on the border with Val d’Aran (Espagne), and on to Saint-Béat. This village is famous for white water rafting and the white marble used for the ponds and statues in the gardens of the Château de Versailles and the facades of the Louvre. Fed by mountain streams and rivers rushing down from the Pyrenean mountains and plateau, the young river skews off towards the historic village of Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges to meet the verdant plain of Comminges. At Portet-sur-Garonne, just before Toulouse, it is joined by the River Ariège in the Parc Naturel du Confluent .
In Toulouse, capital of Occitanie, the Garonne becomes much wider and forms a large meander. The position of the Roman town of Tolosa was chosen because of the Bazacle, a ford where the river could be crossed before the construction of the five bridges which are found in the city centre today. With the development of its quays, the banks of the Garonne are now a major attraction of the ‘Ville Rose’, offering wonderful views of its buildings and lovely walks in the warm sunshine. After the Bazacle, now converted into a weir, the river flows north-west through the Fronton wine-growing area, across the plains of Tarn-et-Garonne, then on to Bordeaux before ending its odyssey in the Atlantic Ocean.
The Garonne - a natural highway to Santiago de Compostela
The Garonne has long been used for river transport but also as a natural means of communication for people walking beside it. Pilgrims used to follow the ancient Roman roads along the river on their way to the tomb of Saint James the Great at Santiago de Compostela, stopping off at towns created by Rome : Toulouse, Muret, Cazères, Saint-Martory, Saint-Gaudens, Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges… before reaching the Pyrenean plateau, crossing the Pyrenees and continuing along the famous Camino Francès (French Pilgrim’s Way) through Northern Spain. Pilgrims stopping off in Toulouse never failed to kneel before the relics of Saint-Saturnin in the Basilica of Saint-Sernin before receiving treatment for their wounds and injuries at the Hôtel Dieu Saint-Jacques hospital (founded in 1257).
Nowadays, pilgrims and walkers who still follow the pilgrim route from Arles or from Conques and Puy-en-Velay, can walk or cycle along a new route, the Via Garona. This variation on the old pilgrim way to Santiago de Compostela between Toulouse and Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges can be covered in stages in 7 - 10 days (170 kilometres in total).
The Via Garona – a paradise for walkers with many heritage treasures
The Via Garona (GR861) is a GR hiking path which mostly follows the Garonne and passes through the towns and bastide villages of Cazères, Carbonne, Rieux-Volvestre, Martres-Tolosane and Saint-Gaudens to the ancient medieval village of Saint-Bertrand de Comminges. This new itinerary links up with the existing ‘Piémont Pyrénéen’ route then onto the main routes across the Pyrenees and northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela.
Rieux-Volvestre is an ancient episcopal village nestling in a meander of the River Arize, a tributary of the Garonne, at the foot of the Volvestre hills, 45km from Toulouse. One of the ""100 plus beaux détours de France"", its wealth of heritage buildings include the fortified cathedral in Southern French Gothic style with its tall brick bell tower with an octagonal base whose summit is a replica of that of the Jacobin Convent of Toulouse and a treasury containing important objects from the ancient diocese. The village was an important stopover on the route to Santiago de Compostela and is on the new Via Garona too. The historic medieval centre has splendid half-timbered house and a renovated covered market with brick pillars and wooden framework dating from the 15th century. At the beginning of August, the Parc des Jacobins and the Tourasse, a 13th century seigniorial tower converted into an Italian-style theatre, are the venues for the Théâtrales de Rieux et du Volvestre drama festival. The Musée du Papogay is devoted to a local archery tradition and the Musée Lapidaire traces the history of the village.
« Let me tell you the legend of the Papogay (parrot in Occitan), a carved wooden bird, fixed to the top of a pole 45 metres high which archers use as a target during the first weekend of May at Rieux-Volvestre :
""... The countryside was haunted by the Devil. He used to transform himself into whatever he wanted in order to seduce the pretty daughter of the village seigneur. The lord of the village, fearing that his daughter would be bewitched, ordered that the demon be hunted down and promised to give his treasure and his daughter to whoever killed him.
It was the first Sunday in May : Satan had changed himself into a "" Papogay "". The townspeople, armed with tools and bows and arrows searched for him throughout the countryside. With the aid of Saint-Sébastien, patron saint of archers, a young shepherd named Tantiro, besotted with the young girl, shot an arrow through the evil bird and won the title of "" Roy (King)"" of Rieux and the heart of the ""affectionate, pure person "". »
Office de Tourisme Intercommunal du Volvestre – 9 rue de l’Evêché – 31310 Rieux-Volvestre
Tel. : 0033 561 87 63 33"
Our selection of accommodations
Citybreak - Insolite
La Tour du Capitole
in Toulouse - Haute-Garonne
