The best walks and hikes around Coubon

Coubon is a small Loire village full of character located in Velay. Behind the bustling city center rich in shops and services, the Saint-Georges church has a magnificent facade of Romanesque architecture.

Historical monument: https://www.pop.culture.gouv.fr/ First mention of the bridge: 1264 In the past, the Way of Saint-Jacques passed here on one of the main paths leading to Puy-en-Velay. The five meter wide structure extends over a length of more than 200 meters. Only two arches span the riverbed. The rest covers cultivated land, probably indicating that the river bed was once larger. Two buried arches serve as cellars. The bows are irregular and low and show a slight break with old lace, except for one bow which has been completely redone in modern times. The northern end presents a state of disrepair which could predate the Romanesque period. This structure testifies to a construction prior to the gabled bridges of the Gothic era.

For 9 euros (as of May 2023) you get an entrance ticket and an audio guide, which I can highly recommend. You get a mobile phone and headphones and depending on where you are, you get the appropriate explanations. Numerous languages are available. But these are not only sober explanations, but also living audio texts, so that you believe that the builder of this church is really talking to you when you climb the 268 steps. Also suitable medieval music. This makes visiting this extraordinary church a holistic experience.

The special feature of this church is often found in this region: there is no church tower but a bell wall. The stone blocks of this bell wall have beautiful, natural color nuances. When I tried to enter the church I had a surprise: it was open! However, I quickly realized why this is so: the interior is very simple and plain. But that's exactly what I liked. There are benches, tables and toilets right next to the church and the parking lot.

The Saint-Georges church was bequeathed to the Monastier-sur-Gazeille abbey in 1090. However, only the central part of the facade remains of the Romanesque building. From 1740 its surface area was considered insufficient but it was not until the beginning of the 19C. so that work can be undertaken to compensate for the cramped conditions of the place. Thus in 1833, the date engraved in the Saint-Ferréol chapel, the entire monument was transformed, except for the central part between the two buttresses. The comb bell tower was then built between 1838 and 1844, its architect would have been inspired by the gable of the Puy-en-Velay cathedral. It replaced the one built in 1810 which itself succeeded the one destroyed during the Revolution. In 1875 a miter window on the façade was opened and the vaults of the church were built.

Twisted bridge (14 s.) Listed in the inventory of Historic Monuments in 1926, the twisted bridge has spanned the Borne since the 14th century. Built in volcanic breccia, it measures 84 m and has six arches. The bridge piers are protected by slats that extend to the top of the parapet. Most are pointed, except those of the last two piers, rebuilt in 1820 following a devastating flood. The originality of the bridge lies in its layout, to which it owes its name. To guarantee its solidity, the builders of the Middle Ages ensured that the work always remained perpendicular to the current. The evolution of the axis of the bridge has therefore changed according to the displacement of the river bed.

14th century bridge listed as a historic monument spanning the Borne at Aiguilhe

The round of the angel is a pretty meander of the Loire in the shape of a horseshoe.