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Park in the (free) car park at Port de Médine, on the right bank of the Loire, next to the Mercure hotel (which is built on the former course of the Nièvre, now diverted via a canal that flows into the Loire about 1 km upstream).
If you are travelling by train, join the route at the Porte du Croux between (12) and (13): take Avenue du Général de Gaulle opposite the station entrance (towards the town centre), then turn into the first street on the right, against the flow of traffic, Rue de Vertpré. Go straight on at the junction then turn left into the car park.
(S/E) Head towards the Loire to find the Quai de Médine and follow it towards the bridge. At the end of the quayside (where a stream flows into the river – all that remains of the wild Nièvre), head back up Boulevard Pierre de Coubertin, go towards the roundabout, cross the boulevard and continue round the roundabout to find Rue de Loire, which leads into town.
(1) Take this street; you’ll immediately come to the Portail Saint-Sauveur (very damaged) and follow the street to the right. At the end, take Rue de la Cathédrale on the left, then immediately Rue des Ratoires on the right. At the end, turn right onto Place de la République. You will have a view of the Ducal Palace on the other side of the tree-lined square. On the other side is Square Anatole France, from which the Montée des Princes steps lead down to the boulevard.
(2) Continue straight on along Rue Adam Billaut. At the junction, opposite the Maison de Maître Adam, turn right onto Rue de la Fontaine. The street descends to Rue François Mitterrand, at a modern fountain. Turn left.
(3) Take the sharp left onto Rue de l'Oratoire. Walk past the former Oratorian Chapel. Continue straight on along Rue Marguerite Duras, passing the former Chambre des Comptes (with its damaged gate). You will arrive at Place de la République; follow the tree-lined path on the right to reach the Esplanade du Château (unfortunately turned into a car park – incomprehensible!) and approach the façade of the Ducal Palace (magnificent bas-reliefs depicting the medieval legend of the Knight of the Swan).
(4) Turn right to pass in front of the Petit Théâtre and follow Rue des Récollets. Pass in front of the former Couvent des Récollets, then in front of the Hôtel Fontenay. As the street bends to the left, walk past the former Hôtel de la Monnaie (certainly in the original Flemish style, but very ugly). You’ll reach Place Mancini at the end of Rue des Récollets. Take the street on the right and immediately Rue François Mitterrand on the left, arriving at the junction with Place Saint-Sébastien.
(5) Turn right onto Rue de la Pelleterie and continue straight on along Rue de Nièvre. Pass a townhouse marked by an information plaque, and arrive at a small roundabout, Place du Puits des Meiles, which you should go round on the right (Hôtel des Bordes).
(6) Then follow Rue Fonmorigny to the right, passing an old abbey outbuilding. At the junction (with half-timbered houses opposite), turn left onto Rue du Charnier. You will arrive at the beautiful Romanesque Church of Saint-Étienne. Go round the church to the right along the footpath (damaged under-roof sculptures but some fine animal heads) and pass the entrance (very austere interior, pretty little square), then veer right to rejoin a street (Rue Saint-Étienne) and turn left.
(7) At the nearby junction, turn right onto Rue Mirangron (16th-century house) and you’ll reach Square Raymond Vilain. Go round the square on the right and pass in front of the entrance to Saint-Pierre Church. Turn right onto Rue des Ardilliers and continue to Square de la Résistance (a pretty square, with the Porte de Paris commemorating Louis XV’s victory at Fontenoy in 1745, and a fountain).
(8) Return via Rue des Ardilliers to Saint-Pierre Church, then continue straight on to reach Place de l’Europe (painted gable of the chemist’s). Continue straight ahead along Rue François Mitterrand (shops, some pretty buildings), leaving Place Guy Coquille on your left (landscaped, with fountains), and you’ll reach Place Saint-Sébastien (former coaching inn).
(5) Turn right and continue straight on along Rue Saint-Martin. Pass the Hôtel de Saulieu, then the Hôtel de Verpré (note the Art Deco façade at the start of Rue Hoche on the right). You will arrive at the Chapelle Sainte-Marie (Baroque façade, Square Jean-Baptiste Thévenard). Walk past the façade of the Caisse d’Épargne (bas-reliefs and statues of cats on the façade, and aquatic monsters on the Rue Saint-Martin side), arrive at Place Carnot, head towards the roundabout and go round it on the right.
(9) Enter Parc Roger Salengro opposite and discover a pond, a bandstand, a family of wild boars, a solitary bear and the inhabitants of the Jardin des Chimères. Leave the park to return to the roundabout at Place Carnot.
(9) Go round it and follow Rue Sabatier opposite (with the pottery workshop window display and the tourist office), arriving at Place de l’Hôtel de Ville (the Ducal Palace (4) is just on the left). Head towards the rear of the Cathedral of Saint-Cyr and Sainte-Julitte and turn onto Rue de la Basilique opposite, then follow Rue de la Cathédrale to the right. At Place du Palais, for a round trip, continue along Rue de la Cathédrale until you reach Rue de la Parcheminerie on the left (beautiful houses).
(10) Then retrace your steps. Turn left at Place du Palais (Bishop’s Palace). Head diagonally left and take Rue du Cloître Saint-Cyr. Stay on this street as it turns right, then walk along the north wall of the cathedral to its entrance (in 2026, only this entrance is open, as the entire western part of the building is undergoing renovation). Visit to Saint-Cyr and Sainte-Julitte Cathedral: beautiful contemporary stained-glass windows by Jean-Michel Alberola and Claude Vialat, amongst others; also note the earthenware coats of arms along the Stations of the Cross.
(11) On leaving the cathedral, head straight ahead along Rue du Doyenné, then turn left onto Rue du 14 Juillet. This is the district of the old pottery works, as the plaques on the walls remind us. Walk past the Hôtel de la Verrerie. At the crossroads, turn left and take a short detour along Rue Saint-Genest towards the Museum of Faience and Fine Arts. The museum is housed in a former abbey.
(12) Retrace your steps and, at the crossroads, turn left into Rue de la Porte du Croux. Pass under the Porte du Croux and you’ll arrive at a lovely square, with the Avant Porte du Croux and the wall of the medieval enclosure. Enter the park along the ramparts (Promenade des Remparts) towards the Museum Gardens. Be careful not to miss the discreet exit on the left further on, through a gate in the ramparts. On the other side you will find a pretty French-style garden, the Jardin du Musée de la Faïence.
(13) On leaving the garden, turn left, cross Rue Saint-Genest and climb the steps opposite which lead to Rue des Faïenciers, then turn right to take another flight of steps, this time going down, which brings you back to Rue Saint-Genest. Follow it to the right then turn left into Rue du Singe, then keep left at the Fork in the road. You will arrive at the Tour Goguin (or Tour de Cuffy on maps). A viewpoint overlooking the Loire.
(14) A few steps to the right of the tower take you to the other side. For a round trip, you can turn right again onto the Promenade des Remparts and walk to the turret (where there are some fine sequoias). Then retrace your steps and head back to the banks of the Loire by crossing the Quai des Mariniers (a ballet of terns and swallows in the summer months). Turn left onto the promenade, then head back up to cross the quay again and reach the esplanade at Place Mossé (panoramic view of the Loire). Then head to the roundabout at the bridge entrance and Rue de la Loire.
(1) Here, you can shorten the walk by returning directly to the Port de Médine car park via the reverse route of the outward journey. However, this walk suggests continuing for a slightly brisker stroll on the other side of the Loire with a circular route leading to Port de Jonction. So take the Pont de Loire (beautiful views of the river and its sandbanks).
(15) On the other side, turn left onto Rue de la Jonction and then immediately follow the path marked by the GR®654, which runs alongside Rue de la Blanchisserie on the Loire embankment.
(16) Cross a bridge at the entrance to Port de Jonction (Canal de Jonction between Nevers and the Canal Latéral à la Loire) then continue along the embankment, Levée de la Jonction, to the Pont de Rombois.
(17) Head down from the embankment and return towards the port by following the small road, Chemin de halage, then walking alongside the park and, at the end, head back up to reach the bridge.
(16) Return via the reverse route of the outward journey to the roundabout on the other side of the Pont de Loire, then head to the Port de Médine car park (S/E) via the reverse route of the start of the walk.
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