Travel Guide Rivière

In the days of the bargemen and the washerwomen, it was a typical village on the banks of the Vienne, peaceful and lively at the same time. Its oldest houses, located along the rue de la Vienne and the rue des Pêcheurs, date from the 16th century. But the origin of Rivière is much earlier. Gallo-Roman remains have been found at a ford crossing the Vienne on the Roman road from Tours to Saumur. This ford contributed to the legend of the foundation of a church, attributed to Saint Martin, on the road he took between Tours and Candes-Saint-Martin. Bordered by the Vienne, watered by the Veude and 3 other small rivers, this commune does not usurp its name. The river is home to three wetlands identified as rich in biodiversity: the Gros Ormeau spawning ground, the Veude valley from Bel Ebat to the confluence and the Veude valley itself. It is therefore a particularly green commune, alternating vegetation and aquatic sites which bring their romanticism to the landscape and their contribution to the cultures. This village, adjacent to Chinon, counts a little more than 700 Ripéraines and Ripérains. Its church, Notre-Dame, founded in the early Middle Ages, is said to be the first sanctuary in France dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Over the centuries, the village has undergone several floods and the architecture of the houses closer to the Vienne river testify to this concern. The old station of Ligré-Rivière, on the Chinon-Richelieu greenway, has been rehabilitated into a group lodging.