Cathedral of Saintes – Saint-Savinien-sur-Charente loop from Annepont
Cathedral of Saintes – Saint-Savinien-sur-Charente loop from Annepont
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Cathedral of Saintes – Saint-Savinien-sur-Charente loop from Annepont
02:02
47.2km
330m
Road cycling
Moderate road ride. Good fitness required. Mostly well-paved surfaces and easy to ride. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.
Last updated: August 26, 2026
Tips
Includes a segment in which cycling is not permitted
After 38.1 km for 61 m
Waypoints
Start point
Bus stop
Get Directions
14.0 km
Abbaye aux Dames de Saintes
Highlight • Religious Site
After several wars and fires, the place was restored in the 1970s and 1980s and is now a hotel.
When you walk through the long corridors you feel like you have been transported back to the time when the abbey was still alive.
Translated by Google •
Tip by
15.0 km
Cathedral of Saintes
Highlight • Religious Site
Translated by Google •
Tip by
15.1 km
View of the Arch of Germanicus and the Charente River
Highlight • Viewpoint
The arch was built around 18-19 AD, during the reign of Emperor Tiberius. It stood at the entrance to the Roman bridge crossing the Charente, at the outlet of the Via Agrippa, which connected Lyon to Saintes.
It is therefore not truly a "triumphal arch": it was both a road monument and a monumental gate marking the entrance to Mediolanum Santonum, the capital of Roman Aquitaine.
👤 Who had it built?
The arch was financed by Caius Julius Rufus, a Romanized notable from Saintonge. He dedicated it to Tiberius as well as his nephew Germanicus. The inscriptions engraved on the entablature still allow us today to know the figures to whom it was dedicated.
The name "Arch of Germanicus" therefore comes from this dedication, and not from the fact that Germanicus personally had the arch built or crossed it.
🏗️ A rather exceptional monument
The arch has two bays, likely allowing for the differentiation of traffic flows. It measures approximately 15 m high by 16 m wide. Its Corinthian and composite capitals bear witness to particularly meticulous Roman architecture.
It constituted a true demonstration of the power and Romanization of Saintes.
⚠️ The moment the arch almost disappeared
This is probably the most interesting episode in its history.
For centuries, the arch was always located at the level of the Roman bridge and then the medieval bridge, on the right bank of the Charente.
In the 19th century, the old bridge had become dilapidated. When it was decided to demolish it, around 1843, the arch was also threatened with destruction.
It was then that Prosper Mérimée, Inspector General of Historical Monuments, intervened. He advocated for its preservation and arranged for its dismantling, relocation, and reassembly on the new bank.
Another figure is also associated with this preservation: Victor Hugo, who stayed in Saintes in September 1843 and intervened in favor of the monument's conservation with Mérimée.
📍 Why is the arch no longer exactly in its ancient location?
The arch we see today, on Place Bassompierre, is therefore no longer in its original location.
It was moved a few dozen meters during the transformation of the quays and the disappearance of the old bridge. It was dismantled stone by stone and then reassembled in order to preserve it.
It is now located in the immediate vicinity of the ancient Roman bridge crossing.
🏛️ Protection
The Arch of Germanicus was finally classified as a historical monument in July 1905.
An interesting detail
The Crazannes quarries, located near Saintes, supplied a limestone widely used in the region's ancient constructions. Crazannes stone was notably used for monuments such as the Arch of Germanicus.
In summary:
18-19 → construction of the arch at the entrance to the Roman bridge
↓
Antiquity → Middle Ages → the arch remains associated with the crossing of the Charente
↓
1843 → demolition of the old bridge and threat to the arch
↓
1843-1844 → Mérimée's intervention and relocation of the arch
↓
1905 → classified as a Historical Monument
Showing Translation
Tip by
31.3 km
The Stone Trails – The Stone of Crazannes
Highlight • Natural Monument
32.2 km
Saint-Pierre Church of Aulnay
Highlight • Religious Site
37.5 km
Saint-Savinien Church and Statues of the Apostles
Highlight • Religious Site
Translated by Google •
Tip by
38.1 km
The Island of Rides and Inflatable Games
Highlight • Rest Area
38.2 km
Saint-Savinien-sur-Charente
Highlight • Other
Translated by Google •
Tip by
47.2 km
End point
Bus stop
Way Types & Surfaces
Way Types
44.8 km
1.45 km
547 m
294 m
181 m
< 100 m
Surfaces
44.6 km
2.41 km
201 m
< 100 m
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Elevation
Highest point (70 m)
Lowest point (0 m)
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Weather
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Sunday 30 August
25°C
16°C
0 %
Additional weather tips
Max wind speed: 14.0 km/h
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Our route recommendations are based on thousands of hikes, rides, and runs completed by other people on komoot.
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