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Richelieu Park – Richelieu loop from Assay

Richelieu Park – Richelieu loop from Assay

Easy

riders

Richelieu Park – Richelieu loop from Assay

01:17

29.9km

110m

Road cycling

Easy road ride. Great for any fitness level. Mostly well-paved surfaces and easy to ride. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: June 21, 2026

Tips

Your route passes through protected areas

Please check local regulations for:

Parc naturel régional Loire-Anjou-Touraine

Espace naturel sensible de l'Étang d'Assay

Waypoints

Start point

Bus stop

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2.49 km

Château de Basché

Highlight • Castle

At the heart of an 8-hectare park, the Château de Basché, now a hotel, was built in the 16th century and extended in the 19th century. It has long been owned by a branch of the Richelieu family.

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19.8 km

Porte de Loudun is the southern gate of the fortified town of Richelieu, built by Cardinal Richelieu in the 1630s. King Louis XIII gave him the land to build a fortified town and castle on it, and Richelieu was still in the process of to carry out this project at the time of his death in 1642. There are two entrance gates into the town - this one, the Porte de Loudun and the entrance from the north is possible through the Porte de Chinon.

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19.9 km

Richelieu Park

Highlight • Parking

A large park, with tall trees, some vestiges of the formidable Château de Richelieu, a hydraulic network ... Perfect for a cool stop, a picnic and a possible nap :)

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20.0 km

Richelieu

Highlight • Settlement

Richelieu is a special town: Commissioned by Cardinal Richelieu, it is a remarkable testimony to 17th century town planning. It is based on a checkerboard plan on the model of Roman towns or medieval bastides, and is surrounded by ramparts and monumental gates. It also has pleasant gardens (the Parc de Richelieu) as well as a magnificent market hall.

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20.1 km

Notre-Dame Church

Highlight • Other

Built in the classical style between 1633 and 1639 under a plan directed by Cardinal Richelieu from 1631. Built in the Italian style, it was adapted to French taste by architects and builders Pierre and Jacques Lemercier.

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21.1 km

Porte de Chinon

Highlight • Historical Site

21.1 km

Richelieu, a new town in the 17th century

Highlight • Other

In 1631, to thank his minister, Cardinal Richelieu, for his eminent services, King Louis XIII did him the favor of erecting "a town enclosed by walls and moats and building a market hall" and establishing four annual fairs and two markets per week. Thus emerged from nothing, an "ideal city" according to the precepts of the time which would bear the name of the Cardinal. Richelieu entrusted Jacques Lemercier, architect of the king, author of the Sorbonne and the Palais-Royal, with the task of building, on the site of the family property, a vast castle, a reflection of his grandeur and a new city, nearby. Nearly 2000 workers would work on the site. Inside the walls, the Cardinal gave the land to whoever agreed to build a pavilion within two years according to the plans filed with the city registry. The inhabitants will be exempt from tax and gabelle until there are 100 houses built. 4/5 of the project will be completed between 1632 and 1642, the year of the Cardinal's death. Contrary to the words of Jean de la Fontaine (who also ironically described the town as "the most beautiful village in the universe"), far from being deserted, the town had 4,000 inhabitants in 1690, compared to less than 2,000 today.
This innovative project, which linked the construction of a castle and a town in the same program, foreshadowed the Versailles construction site that would open 30 years after the completion of the city walls of Richelieu. Adjacent to the walls, Richelieu Park, with an area of 475 ha, housed the vast estate of the castle of the du Plessis family (original surname of Cardinal Richelieu), of which only a few vestiges remain today.
Richelieu is now a somewhat unusual town in the French landscape, with its three access gates and its two large symmetrical squares. Organized in quadrilaterals and perpendicular streets in the manner of American cities, it offers a unique testimony to urban planning of the Grand Siècle.

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26.6 km

Champigny-sur-Veude Castle

Highlight • Other

The Château de Champigny-sur-Veude was built from the 16th to the 17th century by order of Louis de Bourbon, Prince of La Roche-sur-Yon. It has largely disappeared today, only the old outbuildings, the current "castle" and the Sainte-Chapelle remain. The original fortress was built in 1090 by Fulk IV of Anjou.

In 1635, Cardinal de Richelieu, who had built a property nearby and who was worried about the superior influence on his castle, bought it and ordered the total destruction of the castle. Only the outbuildings and the Sainte-Chapelle escaped this destruction thanks to the intervention of Pope Urban VIII, who had officiated there a few years earlier. They constitute the remains that we can admire today.

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29.9 km

End point

Bus stop

Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

24.7 km

3.31 km

1.72 km

< 100 m

Surfaces

21.1 km

8.74 km

< 100 m

Elevation

Nothing selected – click and drag below to see the stats for a specific part of the route.

Highest point (100 m)

Lowest point (40 m)

Weather

Friday 10 July

38°C

22°C

18 %

Additional weather tips

Max wind speed: 14.0 km/h

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Richelieu Park – Richelieu loop from Assay

Château de Basché

Porte de Loudun

Richelieu Park

Richelieu

Notre-Dame Church

Porte de Chinon

Richelieu, a new town in the 17th century

Champigny-sur-Veude Castle

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