The best gravel rides around Sèvremoine

It's a particularly steep climb, even if it's short it stings!

Clisson Castle has quite a story to tell: first an impregnable fortress overlooking the Sèvre, then a ducal residence, and finally a romantic ruin. In the 12th century, the powerful lordship of Clisson built this stone castle with highly elaborate defensive architectural systems: arrow slits, gun ports, and slits. A strategic point protecting the border of the Duchy of Brittany in the 15th century, it was abandoned by its owners from the second half of the 17th century onward before being burned down by Republican troops in 1793. But, beyond its grand history, this castle also has a more historic significance! In 1807, François-Frédéric Lemot, creator of the Garenne Lemot estate (a picturesque landscape located on the other side of the river), was captivated by these ruins and purchased it to turn it into an ornamental factory. The château was declared a historic monument in 1924, before being acquired by the Loire-Atlantique department in 1962. Today, visitors can visit it, take a guided tour, or simply experience its history. A stop on the Journey through the Vineyard, it's a stopover during the wine tourism tour of Nantes' wine country, featuring natural sites, heritage features, characterful villages, and unique cellars.

The unmissable annual event for extreme music in France. Founded in 2006 and based in the small town of Clisson for 13 years, Hellfest has established itself as one of the leading European festivals offering extreme music. A veritable marathon of hardcore, punk, grind, death metal, and trash, accessible just a few minutes from Nantes by train. More than 160 artists from all over the world perform on six stages for four days of fury! Every June, Clisson becomes the international center of metal culture, attracting more than 100,000 festival-goers to a dedicated venue. In 2014, the Hellfest Festival presented "its" town with a symbolic guitar over 10 meters high (the work of artist J.-F. Buisson), comfortably installed on the Looksor roundabout near the grounds, which welcome more than 100,000 festival-goers each year. Visible from the road, we can see the permanent installations emblematic of the metal aesthetic

The flower-filled hamlet of Pé de Sèvre, with its 17 exterior staircases, is a typical winegrowing village. The old stone houses are all built according to the same model: the ground floor is used for storing wine, and the upper floor is for living.

A large medieval castle. It features themed shows, including siege engine demonstrations.

Beautiful pond surrounded by magnificent trees. Plenty of benches that encourage rest or contemplation. A welcome little patch of greenery after crossing the vineyard in the full sun. A trail allows you to go around the natural site, but I didn't have time to try it. Note that the path that connects La Fauvette to La Pontereau is very smooth and magnificent.

Another beautiful site on the Sèvre Nantaise, with the unusual feature this time: it's not only at the crossroads of three departments (LA, Vendée, and M&L), a rather common occurrence, but also of three former provinces: Brittany, Poitou, and Anjou. The crossroads is formed by the Sèvre on one side and its tributary, the Bon Débit, on the other. The inn of the same name looks very nice; in any case, the setting is splendid.

These are the longest 150 meters in the area...