The best road cycling routes around Alençon

This magnificent church in Neuchâtel is dedicated to the patronage of "Saint-ETIENNE". He is one of the first seven deacons of the early Jerusalem community and, according to the biblical accounts in the "New Testament", the first martyr (witness by blood) of early Christianity. The church commemorates his death on the second day of Christmas, December 26th. As the Acts of the Apostles reports: When Stephen loudly proclaimed his vision of the open sky "But he, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God" (Chapter 7, Verse 55), the people were so outraged that they drove him out of the city and stoned him.

Magnificent, a must-see.

“Death gladly strides through the realm of joy, Gladly he presses his hand upon flowery brows. In ashes tomorrow and torn garments, Head bowed, joy's memory becomes our reproach and pain. Funeral processions follow our games; Saturnalia can be our cradle, Woe is us! only of dirges!” Text: Victor Hugo, (1802 – 1885): “Ode sur la mort du duc de Berry” (1820)

St Julien church (in the background) was built in the Byzantine style and has a number of amazing mosaics, you can also visit the top of the tower by arrangement with the tourist office.

Located to the west of the Orne, the medieval town of Domfront, perched on its promontory, is one of the “Most Beautiful Detours in France” and the “Small Towns of Character”.

Riding up there by bike was quite strenuous, but the view from the top was worth the effort. It was well worth it.

This church was built in the 16th century. It was remodeled and enlarged starting in 1850 (with the construction of chapels, the choir, and the sacristy). The Heritage Foundation organized a fundraiser for the restoration of the church: the purpose of the fundraiser is to restore the exterior of the church (stained glass windows and bell tower), as well as the interior (altarpiece, master paintings, baptismal font, fixing the pews to the floor, Stations of the Cross). The cost of this work is estimated at approximately €70,000. February 9, 2022: Renovation work on the church building completed, carried out by the Beauvain History and Heritage Association (restoration of the altarpieces, stained glass windows, baptismal font, as well as the roof, bell tower, clock mechanism, the Calvary on the Rock, the church door, and the heating system).

In 1874, the project for a new church was born, at the instigation of Father Macé, then vicar, who had the municipality and even the priest against him. The nave, however, was completed in 1878, the tower the following year, the consecration took place in 1881. The building is constructed of local granite, also in Romanesque style but its axis is perpendicular to that of the old one, the entrance towards the road to Carrouges-La Ferté. The nave is supported by ten granite pillars made from a single piece and 2 m. high. The only treasure is the altar decoration, Louis XIII, given by Father Dufriche-Desgenettes to his friend Father Lapierre. Father Husson made the furnishings of the sacristy and the church with his own hands: stalls, confessionals, pulpit. Burned by bombing on August 14, 1944, the church was unusable. In 1953, after extensive restoration, religious services were reinstated, and two years later, the three bells were replaced, along with the stained-glass windows themselves. Those in the choir depict the life of Saint John the Baptist, the patron saint; four smaller ones depict the four chapels of Joué (La Raîtière, Le Bel, St-Jacques, and St-Roch) with the coats of arms of the founding families. A lintel bearing the Le Verrier coat of arms, taken from the seigneurial chapel dedicated to Saints Hubert and Suzanne in the church, was incorporated into the tower's masonry; this lintel was designed in La Chaux, by the Count of Contades.