The best traffic-free bike rides around Saint-Martin-De-Mâcon

"The Way of the Cross leads through the streets of our daily lives. We, Lord, usually walk in the opposite direction to yours. Just like that, we might see your face, meet your gaze. We walk our usual paths, and you come toward us. Your eyes look into our hearts. Then we hesitate to continue as if nothing had happened. We can turn around, look at you, follow you. We can place ourselves in your path and sense that it is better to change direction. (…) The Way of the Cross is the prayer of those on the move. It interrupts our usual paths so that we can pass from weariness to joy. It is true that the way of Jesus costs us something: in this world where everything is calculated, generosity has a high price. But in dedication, everything blossoms anew: a city divided into factions and torn by conflict moves toward reconciliation; a withered religiosity rediscovers the fruitfulness of the promises." God's; even a heart of stone can be transformed into a heart of flesh. We need only listen to the invitation, "Come and follow me!" (cf. Mark 10:21), and trust in that loving gaze." (Prayer for the Stations of the Cross with the Holy Father, Pope Francis, Good Friday 2024)

The sights are good but the terrain is not especially after high winds and heavy rain. Some people might find it tricky to navigate.

The Church of Saint-Généroux is a site well worth a visit during a hike. It dates back to the 10th century and is considered one of the oldest churches in France, as it features pre-Romanesque architecture found nowhere else. The church is located on the banks of the Thouet River. You can also admire the Romanesque bridge (13th century).

very very nice path :)

The Royal Abbey of Fontevraud is one of the largest monastic communities in Europe dating back to the Middle Ages. It is a place with a rich history, located in the heart of the Loire Valley and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The abbey is a unique cultural site! An abbey with a royal destination, a formidable prison is today a place of creation (museum of modern art).

Fontevraud-l'Abbaye is located in the natural region of the Loire Valley, listed as a "living cultural landscape" by UNESCO. As its name suggests, the history and present of the municipality are closely linked to the Abbey of Notre-Dame, founded in 1099. The abbey presents the originality of being part of a mixed order, but led by abbesses until the Revolution. was the necropolis of the Plantagenet dynasty. The recumbent figures of Richard the Lionheart, Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine are still preserved there. The vast abbey complex was transformed by Napoleon I into a penal colony and then into a "central house". This extraordinary prison closed its doors in 1963. While the abbey church and the various monastic sites were rehabilitated, the entire old abbey has since housed a prestigious cultural centre with, among other things, a renowned art museum, welcoming meetings and artists in residence. Art, history and heritage are highlighted throughout the year.

A castle-palace of the Dukes of Anjou in the 19th and 19th centuries, the Château de Saumur, where King René resided, is the last example of the princely palaces built by the Valois dynasty. It served as the residence of the city's governors, a prison, and later an arms and ammunition depot. It was purchased by the city in 1906 to house the municipal museum, now the Musée de France. Today, we discover the rich collections scattered throughout the former apartments of the Dukes of Anjou in an educational museography. Want to know more? Click here: https://www.ot-saumur.fr/en/castles-and-country-houses/Saumurcastle-5261718/

Very nice gravel along the banks of the Loire. Know that you are not alone here. Enjoy together, each at their own pace.