| A tiny forest |  |
| To the north of the church, three rows of trees form a tiny forest. Don't look for a path back down the hill or a bench to sit and daydream, just shade and peace await you. |
| Café des Voyageurs | |
| Excellent café-restaurant in the village of Noës, just outside Sierre. Specialities: fondues and tartars, beef pavé on the slate, cheese toasts, Valaisan plates. Good selection of excellent Valais wines. Friendly village atmosphere, large terrace, parking spaces. Closed on Sundays and Wednesdays. |
| Chapel of Sainte-Barbe | |
| The construction of this pretty chapel dates back to 1650, but it fell into such disrepair so quickly that it was renovated three times in the 18th century, and was even closed to the public in 1764. Further work was carried out in the 20th century, including the addition of a sacristy and the replacement of the bell. |
| Chemin de Corin | |
| This little road leads up to Corin, the winegrowing village overlooking Noës, on the road between Sierre and Crans-Montana. Our virtual stroll in Noës ends here, at the chapel of Sainte-Barbe in Champzabé, which we will of course enter. |
| Church door | |
| It wasn't until 1927 that the inhabitants of the hamlet decided to build a church, which they dedicated to a Catholic saint, Thérèse de Lisieux. At the time, Noës was growing and its population had become sedentary, which explains the surprising size of this place of worship. |
| Church esplanade | |
| If you walk along the esplanade to the right of the church, you will pass the small cemetery and reach the top of the vines that stretch around the hill. There's no path for you to wander along, but there's a nice view. |
| Impasse des Rocailles | |
| With the development of villas in the heart of the vineyards, the impasse ceased to be a cul-de-sac and now links Rue Michel to Rue de Girouda, offering a beautiful view of the hill and the church tower. |
| Place de la Poste | |
| This little square doesn't have a name, but we've renamed it "Place de la Poste" (Post Office Square) because it's the site of the former Noës post office, which was also a school and is now a residential building. You can also see the building that once housed the Noës fire brigade, with Rue de Ehala to the right, which leads off towards the large shopping centres of Sierre. The square borders Route de Sion, but has no access to it. Passing under the bridge, you come to Rue du Vieux-Noës, which runs through the old core of the hamlet. |
| Rue de Champzabé (1) | |
| Here we are at the entrance to Champzabé, a hamlet that shares its postcode with Noës but is part of the municipality of Crans-Montana, whereas Noës is part of that of Sierre. The hamlet consists of just a few houses and villas scattered among the vineyards. |
| Rue de Champzabé (2) | |
| Our virtual tour of Noës has been carried out in several stages over the months since May 2023. If you take the whole walk, you'll see vines in spring, or just before the grape harvest, or, as here, in the flamboyant colours of autumn, in the first half of November. |
| Rue de Champzabé (3) | |
| Here we come to what looks like the heart of the hamlet, the chapel of Sainte-Barbe. Until the merger in 2017 of the municipalities that formed the larger municipality of Crans-Montana, this was the border between the municipalities of Chermignon, Montana and Sierre. To the left of the chapel, you can see the intercommunal hall, which still bears the coats of arms of the three municipalities. |
| Rue de Ehala (1) | |
| Rue de Ehala begins near the large roundabout where all Sierre's commercial centers are grouped, and runs westwards parallel to the road to Sion at the foot of the vine-covered hills of Noës. |
| Rue de Ehala (2) | |
| Despite its proximity to the main road, it's a lovely walk to admire the vines, when they are laden with grapes just before the harvest or, shortly afterwards, when autumn adorns them in flamboyant colours. |
| Rue de Ehala (3) | |
| Here we are near where Rue de Girouda ends. Ahead of us, Rue de Ehala runs along the vineyards to the square below the church. Behind us, it runs along the foot of the eponymous hill and ends near the roundabout that marks the start of Sierre's major shopping areas. |
| Rue de Ehala (4) | |
| Running along the foot of the vineyards, Rue de Ehala is closed to all traffic except residents. Although it runs partly alongside the cantonal road linking Sierre and Sion, it does not give access to it. The vines cover the entire hillside, leaving only the top of the church tower visible. |
| Rue de Ehala (5) | |
| The name "Ehala", with its unusual sound, simply means "vine" in Sierre, according to research by Henry Suter (1942-2014), author of the "Dico romand". It comes from the Gallo-Romance word escala, meaning ladder, staircase or steep passageway, a term that evokes perfectly the Valais vineyards. |
| Rue de Ehala (6) | |
| At its western end, just before reaching the square where the old Noës post office stands, Rue de Ehala drops below the level of the cantonal road to give access to the underground walkway (behind us) that crosses the road. |
| Rue de Ehala (7) | |
| We arrive here below the church, in the unnamed square that we have nicknamed "Post Square". It is right next to the viaduct where runs the road from Noës to Chalais and, passing under this bridge, you join Rue du Vieux-Noës, which runs through the historic heart of the old hamlet. |
| Rue de Girouda (1) | |
| Our shots of Noës were taken in several series over the months from May to September 2023. The panoramas taken at the foot of the hill where the church stands show the vines loaded with grapes a few days before the harvest. |
| Rue de Girouda (2) | |
| Swiss wines remain a bit of a secret because they are rarely exported, despite their quality. Since the climate in the Valais produces very fine wines and the Sierre region is the sunniest in Switzerland, some say that the best vintages come from here... |
| Rue de la Fraternité (1) | |
| After the junction with Rue de Pont-Chalais, Rue de Plantassage becomes Rue de la Fraternité. Crossing the street, our virtual stroll takes you towards the two small hills where the church and the historic centre of Noës stand. Continuing along the street, it takes you on a tour to the hamlet of Champzabé. |
| Rue de la Fraternité (2) | |
| Lined with villas and vineyards, Rue de la Fraternité ("Fraternity Street") joins Route de Sion a few hundred metres further on, behind us as the view here is towards the centre of Noës. |
| Rue de la Fraternité (3) | |
| Our virtual stroll is now going to climb towards the tiny hamlet of Champzabé and its chapel of Sainte-Barbe, on the border between the municipalities of Sierre and Crans-Montana. |
| Rue de Plantassage (1) | |
| Rue de Plantassage runs along the north side of Noës, at the foot of the vineyards. The village's two good restaurants are located on this street. Behind us, Rue Michel leads down towards the historic centre of this former hamlet, now a quiet suburb of Sierre. |
| Rue de Plantassage (2) | |
| This virtual stroll through Noës has developed gradually from spring to autumn 2023, starting here, in front of the building where we've set up our new HQ. Heading southwest, you'll pass the two restaurants we recommend. |
| Rue de Plantassage (3) | |
| Here you can see, side by side, the two excellent cafés-restaurants that form the heart of Noës' social life. At the corner of the building on the left, the Postillon has a small terrace overlooking the street. A little further on, the building with a turret houses the Café des Voyageurs, whose terrace is at the rear. As the Rue de Plantassage is not very busy, with a speed limit of 40 km/h, the two terraces are quiet and pleasant. |
| Rue de Plantassage (4) | |
| Rue de Plantassage is home to a unique association: the Noës Parallel Bars Sports Society, which operates in Café du Postillon (on our left) and in Café des Voyageurs (on our right). In front of us, an unmarked passageway leads to Rue Michel, which runs parallel to Rue de Plantassage. |
| Rue de Plantassage (5) | |
| Just past the Café des Voyageurs, the road on the left is Rue de Pont-Chalais. As its name suggests, it leads down to a bridge over the Rhône, and to the village of Chalais on the left bank. Chalais is the departure point for the cable car that takes you up to Vercorin, a mountain village famous for its traditional character, with houses and old raccards squeezed around an ancient church. |
| Rue de Pont-Chalais (1) | |
| Here we are at the very top of Rue de Pont-Chalais, where it joins the main street of the "modern" part of Noës (Rue de la Fraternité - Rue de Plantassage). Above the vine-covered slopes, a few houses of the village of Corin can be seen in the distance. |
| Rue de Pont-Chalais (2) | |
| Rue de Pranou is behind us, while Rue Michel runs north-east between the two houses opposite us, parallel to Rue de Plantassage on our left. Turn right to visit the old village. |
| Rue de Pont-Chalais (3) | |
| Cross the road and take the gently sloping path on your left up to the church esplanade. Rue du Vieux-Noës on the right leads to the historic centre of the village. If you continue straight ahead, you will come to the bridge and leave Noës. |
| Rue de Pont-Chalais (4) | |
| Rue de Pont-Chalais starts where Rue de Plantassage becomes Rue de la Fraternité, passes below the church hill, crosses a bridge over the Rhone and becomes Route de Noës, arriving in Chalais near the bottom station of the Vercorin cable car. Our virtual stroll ends (or begins) here, at the entrance to Noës. A little further on, to the right of the walkway, you can see the path leading up to the church. |
| Rue des Nomades (1) | |
| Rue des Nomades climbs to the top of the hill, where a number of fine old houses are nestled. This is the historic heart of Noës, which has managed to retain its character in the midst of this hamlet that has become a residential suburb of Sierre. The contrast with Rue de Plantassage and the Rossfeld shopping area is striking! |
| Rue des Nomades (2) | |
| Before ending in a cul-de-sac, Rue des Nomades tightens up and becomes a narrow alleyway where you can't really tell the difference between public space and private property. Our virtual stroll through the heart of old Noës ends here, and we hope it has inspired you to discover these somewhat secret places! |
| Rue du Goupillon | |
| Which "goupillon" are we talking about? Is it the swab used to clean bottles, the weapons flail of the Middle Ages or the liturgical object used to sprinkle holy water on the Catholic faithful? We prefer the wine reference, but we'll leave it as a mystery! |
| Rue du Vieux-Noës (1) | |
| Rue du Vieux-Noës widens here to form a small square embellished with a fountain. Rue du Goupillon, which starts here, leads nowhere; it's a cul-de-sac that ends a little higher up, offering a beautiful panoramic view to the west. |
| Rue du Vieux-Noës (2) | |
| The dead-end alley leading up from here is Rue des Nomades, probably named after the days when Noës was not permanently inhabited. Until the early 20th century, the hamlet was a pied-à-terre for the inhabitants of the Val d'Anniviers, who cultivated vines on the slopes of the Rhône and therefore led a nomadic life between the mountains and the plains. |
| Rue du Vieux-Noës (3) | |
| When Noës was still a summer residence for the inhabitants of the Val d'Anniviers, the only way to cross the Rhône was via a fragile footbridge. When the railway arrived in 1868, a wooden bridge was built to link the two banks. The Noës railway station, which stood at the bottom of this street, has long since disappeared, and today's long concrete viaduct replaced a metal bridge built in 1900 and swept away by a flood of the Rhône in 1948. |
| Rue du Vieux-Noës (4) | |
| At the bottom of Rue du Vieux-Noës, pass under the bridge and you'll come to a small square used as a car park and where the village post office once stood. From here, you can take a footpath up towards Rue de Pont-Chalais and the church, or follow Rue de Ehala that heads to the Rossfeld shopping centres on the outskirts of Sierre. |
| Rue Michel (1) | |
| From Rue de Pont-Chalais, Rue Michel runs parallel to Rue de Plantassage, which it joins to the east. A few metres further on, an alleyway leads up to the church and, even further on, Rue de Girouda heads towards the vines at the foot of the hill. |
| Rue Michel (2) | |
| Here we are in the old part of Rue Michel, at the bottom of the lane leading up to the church. Behind us, the street leads to Rue de Pont-Chalais, from where a path also leads up to the church. |
| Rue Michel (3) | |
| This unnamed alleyway links up with Rue de Plantassage. It arrives between the two nice café-restaurants in Noës, close to the bus stops. |
| Rue Michel (4) | |
| Here we are facing the hill where the church of Sainte-Thérèse de Lisieux stands. The path leading down towards the vineyards is Rue de Girouda, which joins Rue de Ehala at the foot of the hill. |
| Rue Michel (5) | |
| Further on, Rue Michel climbs up and joins Rue de Plantassage. On our right, Impasse des Rocailles is not really a dead end lane, as it joins Rue de Girouda further down. |
| Rue Michel (6) | |
| It's here that Rue Michel goes up to join Rue de Plantassage, after running parallel to it from Rue de Pont-Chalais, in the heart of the old hamlet's historic core. |
| Sainte-Thérèse de Lisieux Church (1) | |
| Until the early 20th century, the hamlet of Noës was only occupied in spring and autumn by the inhabitants of Mayoux, Saint-Jean and Pinsec, villages in the Val d'Anniviers. The villagers went down to the plain to tend to their vines and, as there was no church, they attended religious services in Chalais and Granges. It was only in 1927 that the decision was taken to build this church, as several Anniviers families had settled in Noës to work at the aluminium factory in Chippis, which had opened in 1908. |
| Sainte-Thérèse de Lisieux Church (2) | |
| The church is surprisingly large, dominating such a small hamlet. Originally, its initiators planned to make it a place of pilgrimage and even to set up a convent. The Romanesque church has three altars and its stained glass windows were created by the Valais landscape and portrait painter Joseph André Mussler (1904-1980). The fresco in the choir, painted in 1950, is the work of Italian painter Alfredo Cini (1877-1970), who studied at the Florence Academy of Fine Arts before moving to Sierre and establishing himself as one of the best mountains painters. The Way of the Cross is by Paul Monnier (1907-1982), a famous painter from Grimentz in the Val d'Anniviers. |
| Small square and fountain | |
| When there are no cars parked between the fountain and the lane, this small, unnamed square proves charming, with its fountain, bench and lovely view of the hill and church. |
| Trail to church (1) | |
| From Rue de Pont-Chalais, two paths lead up to the church of Sainte-Thérèse de Lisieux and meet at its esplanade. The second path, which heads south, also takes you down the hill and back up to the old village, passing under the bridge. |
| Trail to church (2) | |
| A little further up, where the path reaches the esplanade of the church of Sainte-Thérèse de Lisieux, there is a lovely view of the historic centre of the hamlet, perched on its little hill. |
| Trail to church (3) | |
| We are here at the bottom of the path that descends from the church to Rue de Pont-Chalais, on the south side. On the left, the path continues to descend to a small square below the church, where the streets that go south round the hill of Noës meet. |
| Venelle Sainte-Thérèse (1) | |
| Here we are at the top of the lane leading up from Rue Michel to the church of Sainte-Thérèse de Lisieux. It is lined with buildings that are part of the old village core. The entrance to the church is on our left and, on the right, following the building and the small forest, we go to the Noës cemetery. |
| Venelle Sainte-Thérèse (2) | |
| Although Noës is now a quiet suburb of Sierre, the old village centre still has an atmosphere reminiscent of bygone days. Behind us, the lane joins Rue Michel, which runs parallel to Rue de Plantassage, now become something of a main street in the village. |
| Venelle Sainte-Thérèse (3) | |
| The alleyway is full of little surprises. A monkey's head or a gargoyle emerging from the blind wall of an old building, a small square with a fountain and a bench... |
| View of the old hamlet | |
| We are here at the top of the path that leads up to the church from Rue de Pont-Chalais. Further on, the path becomes a trail leading back down to the road and the small square below the bridge. On the way to the esplanade, the contrast between the tiny hamlet and its large church is striking. |
| View of the vineyards (1) | |
| This view is taken from the bottom of the hill, to the south. Noës is still surrounded by vines, as it was in the past when the hamlet was the pied-à-terre of the inhabitants of the Anniviers Valley who practised transhumance between mountain pastures and vineyards. |
| View of the vineyards (2) | |
| This view is shot from the top of the hill, to the east of the church. It looks out over the Upper Valais, with the road to Sion on the right and two of the buildings of the large shopping area of Rossfeld, not far from the village. Despite its proximity to shopping centres, Noës remains a quiet village, spared from car traffic. |
| View of the vineyards (3) | |
| The view here is west-facing, with the shadowy slopes of Mont Noble to the left and the sunny vineyards of Chermignon to the right. The viewpoint is a cul-de-sac surrounded by private property, so there's no point in trying to go any further. We'll turn back to Rue du Vieux-Noës. |
