Loire Riverside Gravel Trail – Saumur loop from Souzay-Champigny
Loire Riverside Gravel Trail – Saumur loop from Souzay-Champigny
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Loire Riverside Gravel Trail – Saumur loop from Souzay-Champigny
00:43
11.3km
70m
Cycling
Easy bike ride. Great for any fitness level. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is right next to a parking lot.
Last updated: May 30, 2026
Tips
Includes a segment in which cycling is not permitted
After 6.26 km for 56 m
Waypoints
Start point
Parking
Get Directions
1.69 km
Loire Riverside Gravel Trail
Highlight (Segment) • Trail
Translated by Google •
Tip by
3.84 km
Notre Dame des Ardillieres
Highlight • Religious Site
In 1454, while ploughing his field, a farmer discovered in the "ardille" (clay, a word that according to legend gave its name to Notre-Dame-des-Ardilliers) a stone statuette about thirty centimetres high representing a Pietà. The farmer took it home. Twice he discovered that the Pietà returned to its place of discovery, near a fountain that was already known for its healing properties. From that moment on, devotions developed around this statuette, which was placed in a niche under a stone arch.
Jean Olivier, Bishop of Angers, laid the foundations of the Notre-Dame-des-Ardilliers chapel.
Bishop Gabriel Bouvery, Bishop of Angers, opened the new church on 30 July 1553.
It was a place of pilgrimage. The fountain was said to perform miracles.
In 1614, thanks to the support of Marie de Medici, the management of the sanctuary was entrusted to the Order of Oratorians. In 1619, they settled in Ardilliers and founded a royal college in 1624. Louis XIII granted it the status of royal chapel and, from 1628 to 1643, the Oratorians built the buildings to the east of the chapel that would house their community, the classrooms and the students' dormitories. From 1634, Richelieu had a chapel built on the north wall of the chapel for votive and funeral purposes.
The chapel was closed during the Revolution. The Oratorian house became a barracks and the rotunda was converted into an ammunition store.
In 1796, the Sisters of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Providence opened a hospice for the expelled. In 1798, the hospice became the property of the city of Saumur.
The chapel was put back into use in 1799, but was damaged by damp. From 1849, architect Charles Joly-Leterme began restoring the building. The Sisters of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Providence became the owners of the former Oratorian House in 1866.
During the Battle of the Cadets, in June 1940, the bombing destroyed the roof structures of the chapel and the Oratorian House. The vault of the nave collapsed. The buildings were restored between 1947 and 1957. The oak frame of the dome was replaced by a concrete shell to reduce the pressure on the walls. The Oratorian House was converted into a school in 1953.
A fire broke out in February 2025.
Source Wikipedia
Translated by Google •
Tip by
5.21 km
Saumur Town Hall
Highlight • Monument
Translated by Google •
Tip by
5.43 km
View of Saumur and the Château de Saumur
Highlight • Viewpoint
From the heights of its 10th century castle, you watch for panoramas that reveal a sumptuous Loire. During the summer, dare to leave the small medieval streets to gain height. The sunsets offer shades of warm and iridescent colors.
In the center of Saumur, shops and services abound. The catering and accommodation offer is varied. The railway station located on the Tours-Angers axis (right bank of the Loire) allows you to reach Saumur daily and several times a day.
Translated by Google •
Tip by
5.52 km
Theater
Highlight • Other
As an architect with eclectic tastes, Joly-Leterme was inspired by the style of the Louis XVI period, which was contemporary with the hall he replaced. He borrowed in particular from the neoclassical colonnades of the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux and the Madeleine in Paris. On the left, the colonnade overlooking the Loire has a rather successful disappearing effect; the monument is not rectangular, but narrows towards the east.
The hall opens onto the Place de la Bilange, which it dominates with its monumental proportions.
The eastern façade, dedicated to the musicians and the entrance for the artists, has a more intimate appearance. It is narrower, with five instead of seven arches. This façade has often changed in appearance.
The hall is in the "Italian style", a type of hall that was fashionable during the Second Empire.
Large reception areas are planned: a grand staircase overlooking the Place de la Bilange, a spacious foyer on the first floor, a wide peristyle accessible to all, and galleries on the upper floor providing access to numerous rooms.
In the middle, the concert hall is reduced to a small, high space.
The stage, of good dimensions, has been rebuilt several times.
The red-gold tones of the hall, restored in 1963, have come to life.
Source: ville-saumur.fr/patrimoine-architectural/le-theatre-2
Translated by Google •
Tip by
6.36 km
Saumur
Highlight • Other
Translated by Google •
Tip by
6.43 km
Saint-Pierre Church of Montsoreau
Highlight • Religious Site
Translated by Google •
Tip by
11.3 km
End point
Parking
Way Types & Surfaces
Way Types
6.81 km
2.41 km
1.61 km
310 m
109 m
< 100 m
Surfaces
6.61 km
3.78 km
780 m
< 100 m
< 100 m
< 100 m
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Elevation
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Weather
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Saturday 11 July
39°C
23°C
0 %
Additional weather tips
Max wind speed: 15.0 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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