It seems that the Argent Double has hosted a city on its banks since the Gallo-Roman era. Numerous "villas" surrounded its bed as evidenced by the archives... Near the river, "Al Riùs" could be the origin of the name. And to distinguish it from the other Rieux, it is followed by the qualifier Minervois in reference to the ancient "Pago Minerbensis" known since Gallo-Roman times: we already find in a charter of Charles the Bald from the year 855 " Pago Minarbensi" applied to the region. The village would have emerged around a castrum around the year 1000, successively taking the names of Rieux, Mérinville and definitively Rieux-Minervois in the 19th century: hence the name of the inhabitants of Rieux: the Mérinvillois and the Mérinvilloises.
Gastronomy between sea and mountains: foie gras, Sétoise bouillabaisse, cassoulets, local wines, varietals and AOC Minervois.
The tourist information point is open from April to November from Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Visits to the heptagonal church: self-guided visit with documentation (3 euros per person), accompanied visit with documentation (4 euros per person). Reservations required for groups by telephone on +33 4 68 78 13 98 or by email: rieux.minervois.accueil@orange.fr
