The best traffic-free bike rides around Châteauneuf

Charming little 11th-century chapel

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

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

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/

Small village worth a detour, especially for its beautiful, perfectly preserved medieval church and the Rairé mill.

The Saint-Martin church is a 11th and 12th century church located in Sallertaine, France. It belongs to the diocese of Luçon. It is dedicated to Saint Martin. This church is the remnant of an old priory founded at the beginning of the 11th century, dependent on the abbey of Marmoutier. Some masonry from the primitive church remains in the walls. The current state of the building is the result of a major reconstruction carried out at the end of the 12th century. The church was consecrated in 1173 by the bishop of Poitiers. The vaulting of the crossing of the transept presents a unique curiosity in the West of France. Clearly seeking to imitate the so-called Plantagenet Gothic style, the master mason, who does not seem familiar with this new technique, created a Romanesque dome, sufficient in itself, which he adorned with ribs, without structural necessity, but which gives it an appearance evoking the Angevin vaults. Some elements of frescoes remain in the nave, which was once entirely covered, particularly an exceptional crucifixion where Christ still has his eyes open. Part of the nave was demolished. The church suffered damage in 1568 during the Wars of Religion. Major restorations took place from 1617 onwards. The narrow Romanesque windows were enlarged, the crossing is surmounted by a timber spire. Three altarpieces adorn the apse and the transepts, leading to the destruction of the south absidiole and the installation of the sacristy in the south one, separated from the transept by a wall supporting the new altar. Damaged during the revolution, becoming too narrow in the 19th century, it was replaced by a new parish church in 1906. It should then have been destroyed, but Father Grelier, an archaeology enthusiast, managed to have it classified as a historical monument in 1910 and 1912. However, the classification did not include the western end of the nave, which the municipality had demolished in 1915. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancienne_%C3%A9glise_Saint-Martin_de_Sallertaine

The Saint-Martin church is an 11th and 12th century church located in Sallertaine, France[1]. It belongs to the diocese of Luçon. It is dedicated to Saint Martin. This church is the remainder of an old priory founded at the beginning of the 11th century, dependent on the abbey of Marmoutier. Some masonry from the primitive church remains in the walls. The current state of the building is the result of a major reconstruction carried out at the end of the 12th century. The church was consecrated in 1173 by the bishop of Poitiers. The vaulting of the crossing of the transept presents a unique curiosity in Western France. Clearly seeking to imitate the so-called Plantagenet Gothic style, the master mason, who does not seem familiar with this new technique, created a Romanesque dome, sufficient in itself, which he adorned with ribs, without structural necessity, but which gives it an appearance evoking the Angevin vaults. Some elements of frescoes remain in the nave, which was once entirely covered, particularly an exceptional crucifixion because Christ still has his eyes open. Part of the nave has been demolished. The church suffered damage in 1568 during the Wars of Religion. Major restorations took place from 1617. The narrow Romanesque windows were enlarged, the crossing is surmounted by a timber spire. Three altarpieces adorn the apse and the transepts, leading to the destruction of the south absidiole and the installation of the sacristy in the southern one, separated from the transept by a wall supporting the new altar. Damaged during the revolution, becoming too narrow in the 19th century, it was replaced by a new parish church in 1906. It should then have been destroyed, but Abbot Grelier, passionate about archaeology, managed to have it classified as a historical monument in 1910 and 1912. However, the classification only included the western end of the nave, which the municipality had demolished in 1915. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancienne_%C3%A9glise_Saint-Martin_de_Sallertaine