Abbaye aux Dames de Saintes – Crazannes Castle loop from Saintes

France

New Aquitaine

Abbaye aux Dames de Saintes – Crazannes Castle loop from Saintes

Moderate

4.5

(2)

riders

Abbaye aux Dames de Saintes – Crazannes Castle loop from Saintes

02:25

42.3km

220m

Gravel riding

Moderate gravel ride. Good fitness required. Mostly paved surfaces. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: September 25, 2026

Tips

Includes a segment that goes up or down a series of steps

You may need to carry your bike.

After 1.25 km for 23 m

Waypoints

Start point

Train Station

Get Directions

1.26 km

Abbaye aux Dames de Saintes

Highlight • Religious Site

The Abbaye-aux-Dames is built around the church of Sainte-Marie, built in the twelfth century. Famous for its facade and its characteristic "pinecone" bell tower, it is one of the emblematic monuments of Saintonge's Romanesque art.
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

12.5 km

Le Bois Sauzet

Forest

19.4 km

Crazannes Sculptures

Highlight • Other

A large outdoor art gallery of stone statues and sculptures. The artists have worked for over 20 years to produce a unique experience.

Translated by Google •

Tip by

22.1 km

Crazannes Castle

Highlight • Castle

Built in the 14th century, the Château de Crazannes is listed as a Historic Monument. It belonged to the Comte de Caravaz, Jules Gouffier, who inspired Perrault for the creation of the master of Puss in Boots, the Marquis de Carabas. A rereading of the tale is essential before visiting the castle and its magnificent garden!

Translated by Google •

Tip by

22.3 km

Superb castle

Highlight • Other

22.3 km

From tar to trail - the very definition of Gravel

Highlight • Trail

22.6 km

Forest Stream

Highlight • River

40.5 km

Cathedral of Saintes

Highlight • Religious Site

Saintes is a city that shines with its millennial heritage and its Gallo-Roman monuments. As unusual as they are well preserved, these nuggets will take you on a real journey through time.

Translated by Google •

Tip by

40.5 km

View of the Arch of Germanicus and the Charente River

Highlight • Viewpoint

🏛️ Construction: 18-19 AD

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