The best road cycling routes around Saint-Martin-D'Abbat

The place of the birds, a magnificent setting

Superb view

Beautiful trail on the Levée, which offers a superb view of the Loire.

A beautiful place created by a local association. Breaks are possible with benches and shade.

Pleasant banks of the Loire

There were two churches in Sandillon from the Middle Ages, one dedicated to Saint Aignan and the other to Saint Patrice, which was rather the parish of the écarts and the beautiful surrounding residences. Each of them was surrounded by a cemetery. The Saint-Patrice church was deconsecrated during the Revolution, then destroyed, a plaque located on rue St Patrice still indicates its location. Only the Saint-Aignan church remained standing, much smaller. During the first half of the 19th century, the building, which was deteriorating due to lack of repairs, was no longer sufficient to accommodate the faithful. Initially oriented towards the east, in the direction of the rising sun, like many churches it was oriented towards the north when it was rebuilt in 1860-1861.

Superb quiet road which winds between stables, horses and charming houses.

Nestled in a meander of the Loire, the town of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire is home to one of the most beautiful jewels of Romanesque architecture: an 11th and 12th century basilica including the porch tower, decorated with twelve historic capitals. , the monumental portal and the nave constitute the most remarkable elements. Founded around 650 on the grounds of an ancient Gallo-Roman villa, Fleury Abbey has housed the relics of Saint Benedict, founder of Western monasticism and patron saint of Europe, since 672. During the 8th century, the patronage of the Prince of the Apostles was abandoned for that of Saint Benedict. This event is at the origin of the rapid expansion, prosperity and influence of the abbey which became Saint-Benoît de Fleury, while the village later became that of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire. In the 9th century, after the ordeal of the Norman invasions which pillaged and destroyed the monastery, Fleury Abbey flourished again. The 10th and 11th centuries were the great era of Fleury's spiritual, intellectual and artistic influence. The construction of Fleury was probably completed in 1218. A few centuries later, the Hundred Years' War and the Wars of Religion ruined the monastery and disrupted regular life, the community's numbers collapsed. The French Revolution will end up dispersing the community of Fleury Abbey. But in 1944, a community of around forty monks resettled in the area and undertook the reconstruction of the monastery. A community of thirty-three monks lives there today under the direction of Father Abbot Etienne Ricaud. In 1947, the fourteenth centenary of the death of Saint Benedict led the abbey to be elevated to the status of a basilica. The visitor is invited to admire the fabulous historic capitals present in the porch tower, the nave and the choir; the magnificent paving which extends around the altar as well as the crypt where the relics of the patron saint rest. Not to be missed is the north portal and its monumental lintel carved in high relief.