Néris-les-Bains, France: patrimony and architecture
Néris-les-Bains, one of the spa towns of central France, is full of sights. Some, like the church, are right in front of you. Others take walking around. (For more on Néris, see my post “Néris-les-Bains: off the tourist trail in France.”
The church of St. George
I doubt that the town’s venerable church is in many – or any – guidebooks, but it should be. It has Roman roots (part of one wall is Gallo-Roman) and most of the building dates from the 11th and 12th centuries. The center aisle has been worn to a trough by a millennium of parishioners.
Until 2015, I’d been inside a few times but had never really seen the inside well. It’s early Romanesque with tiny windows, and it’s pretty dim. Sunlight stops just inside the open doors the way it would stop at the mouth of a small cave. I’d walked around with an ineffectual flashlight, following an old guide, “Eglise de Néris-les-Bains” that I must have bought at the old Visitor Center or the church itself. Interesting, but the church’s history was still hiding from me. And then a parishioner told me to come for Saturday night Mass. (Mass is on Saturday night because the priest serves several parishes. I wonder who gets him on Sunday morning?) I could see the inside lit. What a transformation! The light made the ancient walls dance in gray and taupe the way water poured on stones makes them glisten. The sweetness of antiquity. People in the church made it seem bigger and happier. Worth going, even if you’re not Catholic. After Mass, the church goes to sleep again, so if you don’t go to Mass, take a bright flashlight.
Church of Saint-Georges
For something more modern, outside the church by the parking lot there’s a structure that looks like a baby version of I.M. Pei’s Louvre pyramid. This covers a modest, visible portion of the Merovingian cemetery. You can see a few sarcophagi carved out of stone blocks from the ruins of the Gallo-Roman city.
Maison du Patrimonie – small but nice archaeological museum
On the other side of the church from the pyramid, there is an interesting archaeological museum in a 15th century house. The museum collection is small but exhibits are well displayed and all locally connected, covering from Roman times to the Middle Ages. On my most recent visit to Néris, the museum seemed short staffed. The same friendly woman watched the doors, greeted guests and gave tours. When I arrived, there was a handmade sign on the door saying she was giving a tour. Two other patrons and I waited outside in the autumn chill until the tour finished. I think we all nearly gave up, but I’m glad we didn’t. The museum was pleasant, instructional, and warm.
If you’re into motorcycles, you might recognize the name Labre. Paul Labre lived in the house from about 1920 until he died in 1961. Paul and his brother François were motorcycle pioneers, developing their first version in 1897. Paul’s daughters were the last to live in the house. The living spaces of the house (now the museum) seem cozy and relatively modern. A local artist was exhibiting in the cellar, which is where you can see the 15th century bones of the house.
Other sites, ancient and modern
Gallo-Roman pools. The three Gallo-Roman swimming pools behind the Visitor Center and modern swimming pool are from the 1st and 2nd centuries. Archaeology tells us that they were originally covered with marble and surrounded by porticoes.
Amphitheater traces. Where there were Romans, there was an amphitheater. Across the road from the pools and Visitor Center, the streets run in semicircles and the terraced earth of a park recalls the basic shape of the 315-foot (96-meter) diameter building.
Baths. Les Thermes baths aren’t Roman but they’re built on the site of Roman baths. The first stone of today’s Les Thermes was laid in 1826 by the Duchess of Angoulême. It’s here that the curistes go for the cure, and Les Thermes may also offer non-medical treatments. (I suggest going across the square to Les Nériades.) There is a small neoclassical Caesar Pavilion built over the source of the thermal spring but it’s not in use.
Learn more about Roman Néris at the Maison du Patrimonie
Gallo-Roman pools
Casino and Theater
The Belle Époque building was competed in 1898. Neris casino and opera houseThe 300-seat theater was restored in 1987 and offers a variety of shows during the season. But I seem never to be there when a show’s on so I admire the building from the outside. The adjacent casino seems like it’s always open, but I haven’t tried my luck.
Train Station. The pink sandstone and granite train station with its colorful tile roof was built between 1929 and 1931. The idea was to provide for the influx of spa visitors. The rail experiment didn’t last long. Now, the impressive viaducts and bridges that carried tracks over the hilly terrain carry the rail bed walking and bike trail with its pretty views.
Pretty Houses. Along with the train station, the town has appealing houses from the Belle Époque and later. There are a couple of odd houses, too (a kind of enormous Pyrenees chalet for one). A walk around town is pleasant; the houses are all different. One of my favorites faces a small flowery green space and in its back yard, there’s an enormous, breathtaking cedar, which I’m glad isn’t leaning over my house.
Trip date: Most recent October 2015
