The best traffic-free bike rides around La Bernerie-En-Retz

Charming little 11th-century chapel

Very nice village with very nice spots like the port and the castle!

The salt marshes are very pretty, especially in this corner. This mix of greenery and water forms magnificent landscapes!!

The corner is full of these fisherman's huts. Quite rudimentary, they are very pretty in the landscape!

The church of Saint-Pierre is a religious building in Moutiers-en-Retz, Loire-Atlantique, France. The church was probably built in the 11th century, before being remodeled in the 16th and 19th centuries. Apart from the east facade, the majority of the walls date from the Romanesque period. The grand altarpiece was built in 1674 by the sculptor Jean Boffand A porch was built in front of each of the doors in 1782. The old bell tower, which did not exceed the height of the building, was located south of the nave, above the sacristy, built on the remains of its base; the current bell tower was built in 1827 on the east side of the church. The church is erected in the middle of the town of Moutiers-en-Retz, occupying the southern part of the Place de l'Église-Madame. The lantern of the dead stands nearby. The building consists of a single nave with a flat apse, approximately 33 m long and 13 m wide, and the side walls are about 11 m high. It is covered by an inverted hull timber frame, masked by a barrel vault in 1827, culminating at 14 m. The church is flanked by 12 thick, massive buttresses at the corners of the building. Those on the east gable are placed diagonally. The south side, more exposed to the sea wind, has a single window. The north side has two doors (the westernmost door, known as "porte des Berneriens", is sheltered by a canopy) and five round-arched windows, divided into two twin bays surmounted by an oculus. The west facade is marked by five Lombard bands and features two round-arched doors, each surmounted by a round-arched window. Inside the church, the most striking element is the grand 17th-century altarpiece which extends across the entire east wall (which is devoid of windows), behind the high altar and the two side altars. Six columns support the entablature, framing three paintings and two niches housing statues. Above the entablature, the altarpiece is crowned by three pediments with niches, whose baroque framing reaches the ceiling. Two 18th-century side altars are located along the walls of the nave. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89glise_Saint-Pierre_des_Moutiers-en-Retz

A tower as a landmark – what sort of tower is it? What is its purpose?

Slightly massive in appearance, the Notre Dame de Bouin church was built in the 14th century style. The sacristy, the bell tower and the crossing which supports it are the remains of the old church. The bell tower dominates the marsh from a height of 51 meters, and serves as a landmark for sailors in the Bay of Bourgneuf. The altarpiece of the main altar, in the Spanish Renaissance style, is dated 1680. We note a very beautiful wooden statue, dated 1878, which represents the Virgin and Child, and a painting by Krug, “The Entombment” offered to Bouin by the State in 1875. The sacristy is a beautiful vaulted room whose walls are more than a meter thick. The fall of the vaults without capital indicates the end of the 14th century, a piece of the archives gives the date of 1505 https://www.gochallansgois.fr/en/site-culturel/clocher-de-leglise-notre-dame/

Slightly massive in appearance, the Notre Dame de Bouin church was built in the 14th century style. The sacristy, the bell tower and the crossing which supports it are the remains of the old church. The bell tower dominates the marsh from a height of 51 meters, and serves as a landmark for sailors in the Bay of Bourgneuf. The altarpiece of the main altar, in the Spanish Renaissance style, is dated 1680. We note a very beautiful wooden statue, dated 1878, which represents the Virgin and Child, and a painting by Krug, “The Entombment” offered to Bouin by the State in 1875. The sacristy is a beautiful vaulted room whose walls are more than a meter thick. The fall of the vaults without capital indicates the end of the 14th century, a piece of the archives gives the date of 1505. https://www.gochallansgois.fr/en/site-culturel/clocher-de-leglise-notre-dame/