The best traffic-free bike rides around Rouans

Located in the place called Champs-Neufs in Frossay, La Machinerie du canal housed two imposing steam engines capable of pumping up to 150,000 m³ of water per day to maintain the constant level of the Canal de la Martinière. Designed by the Fives-Lille company at the end of the 19th century, this impressive hydraulic system made it possible to compensate for evaporation and water leaks from the locks to ensure the passage of large commercial ships. Today restored and transformed into a museum space, the building preserves its original installations and bears witness to the industrial genius of the time.

The bridge of the Champs-Neufs lock (in Frossay) is distinguished by its riveted metal mesh railings and its wooden deck. Designed during the creation of the Canal de la Martinière (late 1880s / early 1890s), this structure is in the pure tradition of the wrought iron and riveted constructions popularized by the Eiffel workshops at that time. It is directly connected to the famous stone building of the Champs-Neufs machinery right next door, which housed the canal's water supply pumps. It is a very popular and particularly photogenic passage for all cyclists and hikers who tread the canal banks!

The triple lock of Les champs neufs, located in Frossay on the Canal de la Martinière, is a masterpiece of 19th-century river engineering: * A cascade crossing: Unlike a simple lock, this structure comprises three consecutive chambers that allowed ships to compensate for the difference in level and effectively regulate water flow between the Loire estuary and the canal. * The steam machinery: Right next to the chambers stands the stone building of the La Machinerie du canal, which once housed imposing steam pumps responsible for maintaining the canal's water level constant for commercial navigation. * Heritage and promenade: With its lock gates, metal bridge, and preserved period mechanisms, it is one of the most spectacular and instructive stopping points on the route along the banks.

A remarkable engineering work inaugurated at the end of the 19th century to maintain maritime navigation towards Nantes, the Canal de la Martinière stretches its 15 kilometers parallel to the Loire estuary. Lined with period machinery, imposing locks, and natural bird reserves, it is today a prime spot for walking, fishing, and cycling on the Voie Verte. The site also hosts the contemporary artwork Misconceivable (the "soft boat") from the Estuaire trail.

Join the port of La Morinière for a break by the Acheneau.

Beautiful walk around Chaumes-en-Retz

Neo-Gothic style church. It was inaugurated in 1894, replacing a church deemed too small and too fragile, which itself replaced an earlier church destroyed during the Vendée wars.

In the distance, the Cordemais power station appears before our eyes, offering verticality to the flatness of its surroundings.