The best traffic-free bike rides around Saint-Ciers-Sur-Gironde

Charming manor house among the vines. Private access, but nice owners. Worth seeing with winery.

go eat at the guinguette....

The commune takes its name from its Latin name, Blacciacum. A Gallo-Roman settlement is attested by the discovery of the remains of three Gallo-Roman villas, dating from the 1st to the 5th century AD. These remains were found near the current site of the church, not far from the Gironde. During the medieval period, the village's center of activity seems to have shifted to the heights overlooking the river. This is evidenced in particular by a hoard of Merovingian coins discovered around 1850 at a place called Montuzet (Mont des Yeuses). The lower Plassac region, around the port, was heavily involved in river and maritime activity in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Merchants and ocean-going captains settled in beautiful stone residences. This river activity gradually declined in the 20th century.

Former railway from 1888, now an excellent smooth bike trail to the Gironde estuary.

Located 5 km from Blaye and 50 km from Bordeaux, the commune is located on the prehistoric site discovered at the foot of the hills of “La Garde” and “Peylon”. Saint Seurin, a modern and dynamic commune, offers the services and activities of the present day (doctor, pharmacy, hotel restaurant, etc.) but has managed to retain its rural charm and winegrowers produce excellent Blaye wines, Côtes de Bordeaux.

The Château de Thau is very old and known since the 12th century. It belongs to the defense line of the Côte Girondine. Set slightly back from the shore, it dominates the ebb and flow without showing itself, like a carpet behind thick groves. Here and there, the name of Thau comes and goes at the bend of a manuscript but it is at the beginning of the 1400s that historians find traces of the successive owners - the Math family, from 1400 to 1480, - the Sudre family 1540 , the Hague, then the President of the Parliament of Bordeaux, Louis de Grimard owned everything between 1680 and 1700… In 1700 we know the state of the place: “vast lower rooms, all well furnished and the walls decorated with vast series of tapestries”. Today, the Albert Schweitzer family owns and administers the estate which is the flagship of Gauriac. Facing the Médoc, a few steps from the Gironde estuary, 41 hectares of vineyards are planted with 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 60% Merlot, on silty-limestone soil and extend over the Bourgeais region. The excellent geographical location allows the vineyard to benefit from favorable maturity criteria.

Worth seeing fortress, unfortunately the weather was not nice for further explorations.

Worth seeing small church in Saint-Seurin-de-Cursac.