The best traffic-free bike rides around La Guyonnière

A small 19th-century chapel.

A beautifully restored old watermill, in the heart of a beautiful natural site.

19th century church whose unfinished bell tower was topped with a slate spire which clashes a little - a lot - with the rest of the monument.

Unfortunately signs that camping is prohibited

A lovely restaurant with outdoor seating overlooking the water. It's ideal for a relaxing break, with food and drinks available.

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

La Roche-Pépin, a village in Saint-Georges and its abandoned chapel—this could have been the headline in the newspaper Ouest-France in May 1992. Indeed, in the heart of the Saint-Georges hamlet stands the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin, located on the pilgrims' route to Santiago de Compostela. A chapel with the distinction of belonging to the village's inhabitants. The construction of this building began in 1858, without the bishop's authorization. Its founders, Eugène Jaunet (mayor of Saint-Georges in 1857) and his sisters Victorine and Elisa, were a wealthy family who fed the poor. On May 16, 1859, Monsignor Delamare blessed the chapel. A building that, after their deaths, would gradually fall into disrepair. But the month of Mary continued to be celebrated there until 1952. Miss Gris, who looked after the chapel, said, "When I was young, we celebrated the month of Mary there, avoiding standing under the dangerous areas." The upper part of the chapel deteriorated, and in 1970, the slate roof finally collapsed. Father Jagueneau, who had attempted repairs, gave up due to the scale and cost of the work. The bell that rang the Angelus and for funerals was almost taken down in 1972. Only the sacred stone of the altar was removed. In 1986, a stone falling from the top of the building hit a car, creating controversy and tension among the villagers, some of whom reinforced the upper part of the walls. Michel Bonnet, the mayor, gathered the villagers to discuss a crucial question: should the chapel be razed, as some local residents suggested, or should funds be raised to restore the building? In 1992, under the leadership of Marc Jaulin, the Association for the Preservation of Heritage was founded and raised funds for two years to restore the chapel. The restoration took place from May 1993 to May 1997, requiring 545 hours of volunteer work, at a total cost of €42,662, of which €32,342 was funded by the association and municipal and departmental grants. Today, the restored and flower-bedecked chapel is open to visitors, and the month of Mary is celebrated there in May. Léone Epaulais, who arranges flowers and maintains the chapel, also recalls a legend: "More than a hundred years ago, the crown of the Blessed Virgin was thrown onto the flames of a fire, and the fire went out."