The best traffic-free bike rides around Saint-Hilaire-De-Loulay

A beautifully restored old watermill, in the heart of a beautiful natural site.

19th century church whose unfinished bell tower was topped with a slate spire which clashes a little - a lot - with the rest of the monument.

Unfortunately signs that camping is prohibited

This temple, built on the Saint-Gilles hillside, has been listed as a Historic Monument since March 14, 1988. It owes its name to the friendship between the Cacault brothers and the sculptor François-Frédéric Lemot, initiators and creators of Clisson's Italianate architecture in the early 19th century. Pierre Cacault wanted to build a mausoleum in memory of his brother François, who died in Clisson on October 10, 1805, but he lacked sufficient financial means. ➢ It was François-Frédéric Lemot who helped his friend carry out his project. He purchased the former Saint-Gilles-et-Saint-Brice chapel and its outbuildings at the end of 1808. The buildings are part of the cemetery, which has long been used for the burial of parishioners from all over Clisson, except for La Trinité. ➢ Paul de Berthou states in his work "Clisson and its Monuments" that "...the church of St. Gilles and St. Brice had been large and beautiful, but a lord of Clisson had its proportions reduced because it overlooked the castle too closely and posed a danger to him in the event of a siege." ➢ The remodeled church includes two chapels forming arms of the cross, one dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and the other to St. John the Evangelist, whose brotherhood once sat on this site. A small bell tower, containing two bells, stands at the crossing of the transept. ➢ Pierre Cacault died on January 29, 1810. François-Frédéric Lemot took over the project and decided that the monument would be dedicated to the memory of the two brothers. In 1811, he acquired land on the Saint-Gilles hillside and commissioned the architect Mathurin Crucy to draw up the plans. ➢ The first project was inspired by Greek temples. Mr. Crucy proposed a plan representing a peripteral temple of the Doric order, without a base, with six columns on the façade, surmounted by a pediment. F.F. Lemot simplified the plan, retaining a "cella" and four Doric columns surmounted by a triangular pediment on the façade. This choice recalls the Temple of the Sybil in Tivoli and is found in other contemporary monuments (the Temple of Friendship in Belz, the memorial monument to the victims of Quiberon in Auray). ➢ The Temple of Friendship was built between 1812 and 1824 on the former foundations of the parish church of Saint Gilles. The side chapels were razed, their foundations later serving to build a small, asymmetrical transept. The old nave was demolished and the walls rebuilt in line with those of the choir, with the entrance door on the side of the current cemetery. ➢ It took several years before the roof was laid and the plastering completed (1824). ➢ This temple was to house the tombs of the Cacaults. Antoine Peccot (1766-1814), a friend of Mr. Crucy, the Cacaults, and F.F. Lemot, had proposed, before 1814, that a dedication be inscribed to the Cacault brothers. The poem invited passersby to remember the talents, virtues, and prodigal benefits of these two brothers. The inscription was never engraved. The tombs were never built because the heirs of the Cacault brothers did not authorize the transfer of the ashes of Pierre and François (buried in Nantes). .➢ On May 6, 1827, François-Frédéric Lemot died in Paris. His body, repatriated to Clisson on May 18, was buried in the Temple of Friendship. ➢ On September 17, 1829, this tomb was blessed by the vicar of Notre-Dame. From then on, the site was designated: "Lemot Chapel" or "Chapel of the Blessed Virgin." Permission was granted to sing the station mass there on St. Mark's Day, as well as on Rogation Day, and to say devotional low masses. ➢ The monument underwent restoration in 1995.

Clisson Castle has quite a story to tell: first an impregnable fortress overlooking the Sèvre, then a ducal residence, and finally a romantic ruin. In the 12th century, the powerful lordship of Clisson built this stone castle with highly elaborate defensive architectural systems: arrow slits, gun ports, and slits. A strategic point protecting the border of the Duchy of Brittany in the 15th century, it was abandoned by its owners from the second half of the 17th century onward before being burned down by Republican troops in 1793. But, beyond its grand history, this castle also has a more historic significance! In 1807, François-Frédéric Lemot, creator of the Garenne Lemot estate (a picturesque landscape located on the other side of the river), was captivated by these ruins and purchased it to turn it into an ornamental factory. The château was declared a historic monument in 1924, before being acquired by the Loire-Atlantique department in 1962. Today, visitors can visit it, take a guided tour, or simply experience its history. A stop on the Journey through the Vineyard, it's a stopover during the wine tourism tour of Nantes' wine country, featuring natural sites, heritage features, characterful villages, and unique cellars.

The Trinity Church is getting a makeover in the heart of Clisson Off-limits since 2018, the Trinity Church in Clisson is undergoing extensive restoration work until 2027, accompanied by reinforcement and safety work. The Trinity Church in Clisson has been off-limits since 2018 due to pieces of tufa stone found on the floor of the building, raising concerns about safety issues. The restoration has been decided upon, along with reinforcement and safety work. This work is expected to continue until 2027. The construction site will soon be explained to the residents of Clisson, using signs. The artwork and furnishings have been protected and stored, tarpaulins protect the building and the workers, the vaults and framework will be restored, and the wall plasterwork will be examined and redone where necessary. The work will concern the side aisles until next summer, the nave for the following twelve months. Then it will be the turn of the choir and transepts between January 2026 and spring 2027, then the sacristy, the bell tower and the outbuildings.

The Church of the Trinity was originally a Benedictine priory, with a parish, dependent on the abbeys of Saint-Martin-de-Vertou and Saint-Jouin-de-Marnes. In the 11th century, it was occupied by the canons regular of the Order of Saint Augustine. In 1645, Fontevrist nuns from La Regrippière en Vallet settled there. The convent burned down in 1794 by the infernal columns of the Republican armies. From the 11th century onwards, the church had a choir with an apse, side chapels, and a square bell tower. In the 17th century, the Benedictine nuns replaced the Romanesque choir with an elongated one, featuring a remarkable Baroque altarpiece. They demolished the southern part of the choir to build their oratory. During the French Revolution, the church returned to the parish. Around 1867/1868, work was undertaken. The façade was redone in a neo-Romanesque style, while the neo-Gothic style was preferred for the interior of the religious monument.

La Roche-Pépin, a village in Saint-Georges and its abandoned chapel—this could have been the headline in the newspaper Ouest-France in May 1992. Indeed, in the heart of the Saint-Georges hamlet stands the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin, located on the pilgrims' route to Santiago de Compostela. A chapel with the distinction of belonging to the village's inhabitants. The construction of this building began in 1858, without the bishop's authorization. Its founders, Eugène Jaunet (mayor of Saint-Georges in 1857) and his sisters Victorine and Elisa, were a wealthy family who fed the poor. On May 16, 1859, Monsignor Delamare blessed the chapel. A building that, after their deaths, would gradually fall into disrepair. But the month of Mary continued to be celebrated there until 1952. Miss Gris, who looked after the chapel, said, "When I was young, we celebrated the month of Mary there, avoiding standing under the dangerous areas." The upper part of the chapel deteriorated, and in 1970, the slate roof finally collapsed. Father Jagueneau, who had attempted repairs, gave up due to the scale and cost of the work. The bell that rang the Angelus and for funerals was almost taken down in 1972. Only the sacred stone of the altar was removed. In 1986, a stone falling from the top of the building hit a car, creating controversy and tension among the villagers, some of whom reinforced the upper part of the walls. Michel Bonnet, the mayor, gathered the villagers to discuss a crucial question: should the chapel be razed, as some local residents suggested, or should funds be raised to restore the building? In 1992, under the leadership of Marc Jaulin, the Association for the Preservation of Heritage was founded and raised funds for two years to restore the chapel. The restoration took place from May 1993 to May 1997, requiring 545 hours of volunteer work, at a total cost of €42,662, of which €32,342 was funded by the association and municipal and departmental grants. Today, the restored and flower-bedecked chapel is open to visitors, and the month of Mary is celebrated there in May. Léone Epaulais, who arranges flowers and maintains the chapel, also recalls a legend: "More than a hundred years ago, the crown of the Blessed Virgin was thrown onto the flames of a fire, and the fire went out."