- A new stage location
- Motor racing circuit in Nièvre (58) attached to the commune of Magny-Cours
- Population: 1,450 (Magniens and Magniennes)
Reconfigured and then relaunched in its modern configuration in 1989, the Nevers Magny-Cours circuit hosted the French Formula 1 Grand Prix between 1991 and 2008. Alain Prost won here in 1993, while Michael Schumacher claimed no fewer than eight victories here. The circuit also opened its doors to the professional peloton for Paris-Nice. John Degenkolb engaged his turbo on the final straight in 2014 to claim his only victory in “the race to the sun” and had the added pleasure of taking the leader’s jersey from Nacer Bouhanni.
NEVERS
Nevers-Magny-Cours Circuit
Creation: 1959
History: created in 1959 by Jean Bernigaud, mayor of Magny-Cours, the first circuit was a karting track. The Jean-Behra circuit was inaugurated in 1961. In 1986, at the instigation of François Mitterrand, the Nièvre General Council purchased the 3,850 m circuit from the Bernigaud family. Completed in 1988, the circuit was approved in 1989, then in 1990 it was granted a five-year lease to host the French Formula 1 Grand Prix. The first French F1 Grand Prix took place on 7 July 1991, with Nigel Mansell beating Alain Prost to take the win. In 1991 and 1992, the circuit hosted a round of the World Sportscar Championship. From 2000 to 2014, the Bol d'Or was organised there. In 2003, after undergoing slight modifications, the circuit hosted the French round of the Superbike World Championship. The circuit experienced financial problems from 2005 onwards and the French F1 Grand Prix disappeared from 2009 to 2018, when it was organised again, but at the Circuit Paul Ricard. Since the disappearance of the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours, the circuit has undergone many changes. The extension of the A77 motorway in October 2010 now provides direct access to the circuit, which returned to profitability in 2011. In 2014, major modernisation work was undertaken on the main building (pits, boxes and VIP areas).
Characteristics: Now 4,411 metres long, the Magny-Cours circuit incorporates corners found on other Formula 1 circuits, making it a highly technical and comprehensive track. The track has a height difference of around 30 metres, with a downhill section following the start line in the big curve to the Estoril bowl, followed by a long climb to the Adelaide hairpin, a plateau to Château d'eau, followed by a descent to the Lycée area, which leads back to the start. Throughout the year, the track hosts various sporting events, trials for major French and foreign teams, prestigious clubs and even driving courses.
The circuit and cycling: the Magny-Cours circuit has hosted Paris-Nice twice, in 2014 for a sprint finish won by John Degenkolb, and for the start of the third stage of the 2025 edition, a team time trial dominated by the Visma-Lease a bike team.
Ducal Palace
Construction: 15th and 16th centuries.
Style: Renaissance.
History: considered the first of the Loire châteaux, built on the hill overlooking the centre of the old town, the Ducal Palace dominates Place de la République with its wide Renaissance façade framed by polygonal turrets. It was the residence of the counts and then the dukes of Nevers. It was built as a residence for Jean de Clamecy, Count of Nevers, on the site of his former fortress. The two large towers are the oldest parts of the building, as the castle was remodelled in the 16th century by the Clèves family. Madame de Cossé-Brissac, heiress to the last Duke of Nevers, sold the castle and its outbuildings to the town and the department in 1810. The building was then shared between the town hall and the court of justice until 1850. At the end of the 1970s, the town council, keen to reclaim one of Nevers' most beautiful historical monuments, proposed transferring the courthouse to the former bishop's palace. A new restoration project was launched, preserving the 19th-century layout but adding a monumental staircase and a new side entrance.
Current use: restored on the orders of mayor Pierre Bérégovoy in the 1980s, the palace now houses the town hall (including the mayor's office and council chamber), part of the tourist office, exhibition and reception rooms, and a permanent exhibition on the history and attractions of the town (Formula 1, earthenware, etc.) and an aquarium of fish from the Loire. It should be noted that on 4 May 1993, it was in front of the Ducal Palace that President François Mitterrand delivered the eulogy for Nevers mayor and French Prime Minister Pierre Bérégovoy, who had committed suicide on 1 May, a speech that remains famous for one sentence: "No explanation in the world can justify allowing the honour of a man to be thrown to the dogs."
Listed as: historic monument in 1840.
Nevers earthenware Nevers owes its famous earthenware industry to Louis IV of Nevers. Towards the end of the 16th century, he brought Augustin Conrad, a potter from Albissola, near Savona, and his brothers, Baptiste and Dominique, from Italy and settled them in the Château du Marais in Gimouille. Their reputation and success became such that Nevers established itself as the French capital of earthenware in the 17th century. Augustin Conrad chose Nevers as his base in France because it had everything he needed to produce high-quality earthenware: the two types of clay required, wood that burned without producing flames (in the forests of Morvan), and the Loire river for the safe transport of his products. In the 21st century, a few earthenware factories continue and renew this activity. The distinctive feature of Nevers earthenware is the famous "Bleu de Nevers", a colour obtained by dipping the pieces in cobalt blue enamel. Many earthenware makers also sign their creations by drawing a small "green bow".
Museum of Earthenware and Fine Arts
Established: 1840
History: created in the town hall, the museum moved in the 1910s to the former episcopal palace, acquired and donated to the town by a patron, Frédéric Blandin. In 1975, it moved to the site of the former Benedictine abbey of Notre-Dame and into a 19th-century mansion, the Maison Roussignhol. These premises were renovated between 2007 and 2013 and completed with a contemporary extension. Once the work was finished, the museum was inaugurated on 27 September 2013.
Characteristics: the museum now has 13 permanent exhibition rooms and a temporary exhibition room covering 2,100 m² of medieval remains, renovations and new buildings. The architectural design combines stone and wood, contemporary buildings and old structures.
Saint-Cyr-et-Sainte-Julitte Cathedral
Construction: 10th to 16th century.
Style: Romanesque and Gothic.
History: Cyr and Julitte were martyred around the year 304 during the persecutions ordered by Roman emperor Diocletian. Jerome, bishop of Nevers from 800 to 816, brought the relics of the two saints back to Nevers in the 9th century. At the beginning of the 13th century, the cathedral consisted of a timber-framed nave, a transept and a choir. Two towers flanked the eastern façades to the north and south. After a fire in 1211, Bishop Guillaume de Saint-Lazare rebuilt it in the "new" Gothic style. The cathedral then had three storeys. The Romanesque choir and transept, which were less affected by the fire, were preserved. Reconstruction after another fire in 1308 was rapid, and in 1331 Pierre La Palud, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, consecrated the building, now in the Rayonnant Gothic style. Numerous restorations have followed to the present day (notably after the Second World War, when the cathedral was hit by mistake and all the stained-glass windows had to be rebuilt). The 18 side chapels have been undergoing restoration since 2021.
Characteristics: the total length of the building is 101 metres. The Romanesque choir (11th century), known as Saint Julitte's choir, has a cul-de-four vault. It houses an exceptional fresco depicting Christ in glory, surrounded by the symbols of the evangelists and the elders of the Apocalypse.
Trivia: Jérôme, Bishop of Nevers, is said to have brought the relics of Saint Cyr to Nevers following a dream by Charlemagne, in which the saint saved the emperor from the charge of a furious boar.
Distinguishing features: the stained-glass windows destroyed in 1944 were rebuilt during the 20th century by renowned contemporary artists such as Claude Viallat, Jean-Michel Alberola, Raoul Ubac, François Rouan and Gottfried Honegger.
Listed as: historic monument since 1862.
Bernadette-Soubirous Area
This is a pilgrimage site dedicated to Saint Bernadette, famous for her visions of the Virgin Mary in Lourdes, who died in Nevers in 1879. She spent the last years of her life at the Convent of the Sisters of Charity in Nevers, housed in a former 12th-century priory. Today, it is both a spiritual centre and a place of retreat, as well as a venue for exchanges and meetings. Bernadette is buried in the Saint Joseph Chapel, located in the heart of the grounds.
Saint-Étienne Church in Nevers
Construction: 11th century.
Style: Romanesque.
History: Saint-Étienne Church in Nevers is one of the most beautiful and best-preserved Romanesque churches in France. The building was consecrated in 1097 by Bishop Yves de Chartres. Its architecture is fully in keeping with the late 11th-century style and is reminiscent of other Romanesque masterpieces such as Saint-Sernin in Toulouse. The choir was built in the spirit of the great abbey church of Cluny, and the elevation has three levels, as in Jumièges and the Basilica of Saint-Rémi in Reims. The church suffered from the fashions, conflicts and vicissitudes of the times. Decommissioned during the Revolution, it was converted into a barn: its three Romanesque bell towers and narthex were destroyed in 1792. In 1846, aware that Nevers possessed an exceptional Romanesque monument, the town council launched a major restoration project. Despite these restorations, it is one of the few 11th-century monuments that has survived without any major alteration to its original purity.
Characteristics: seen from the outside, the building has a massive, imposing appearance, like a religious fortress, built of carefully squared ashlar stones with bare-edged bays and silent . The Church of Saint-Étienne provides an exemplary illustration of two phenomena: on the one hand, the interaction between different regions of Romanesque France and, on the other, the importance of Burgundy as a hub and "inventor" of architectural and artistic solutions.
Listed as: Historic monument since 1840.
