RoutesRoad cycling routesFranceCentre-Val de LoireChartresPontgouin
Château de Senonches – Ferté-Vidame Castle loop from Pontgouin
RoutesRoad cycling routesFranceCentre-Val de LoireChartresPontgouin
Château de Senonches – Ferté-Vidame Castle loop from Pontgouin
Moderate
19
riders
Château de Senonches – Ferté-Vidame Castle loop from Pontgouin
04:56
109km
860m
Road cycling
Moderate road ride. Good fitness required. Mostly well-paved surfaces and easy to ride. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.
Last updated: March 20, 2026
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After 13.9 km for 53 m
Waypoints
A
Start point
Train Station
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1
13.4 km
Château de Senonches
Highlight • Castle
Built on the foundations of a first building dating from the 11th century, this castle brings together a 12th century keep and two main buildings from the 14th and 17th centuries which are attached to it.
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2
13.6 km
Notre-Dame Church of Senonches
Highlight • Religious Site
The church tower was built around the middle of the 12th century, by Hugues II, lord of Châteauneuf and Senonches. It is built with grison. Originally, this tower served as an observation post and a fortress intended to protect the castle. The octagonal turret of the spiral staircase (122 steps), has thirty-two manholes or loopholes arranged for the defense of the keep in the event of a siege. The exterior has five floors. The windows are Romanesque and vary in shape on each floor. The church was located inside the square, protected by ditches. It itself formed a rampart.
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3
32.2 km
Château de Saint-Simon 🏰✨⚜️
Highlight • Other
To visit with Gael, passionate and fascinating guide!
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4
32.2 km
Ferté-Vidame Castle
Highlight • Other
In 1374, the Vendôme family, who possessed the prestigious title of vidame de Chartres (officer in charge of exercising the military and judicial powers of the bishop), bought the estate and had a stone castle built. This same castle was then acquired in 1635 by Claude de Rouvroy, a favorite of Louis XIII. His son, Louis de Rouvroy, better known as the Duc de Saint-Simon, retired to this area to write some 12,000 pages of his Memoirs; chronicles of the last years of the reign and the court of King Louis XIV at Versailles who, between portraits and memories, dismantles the courtesan machine, and its springs of appearances and power. He also had the stable building built there, the current "small castle" now housing the Orée du Perche Tourist Office.
At the end of his life, Saint-Simon no longer had any male descendants and his granddaughter, who inherited the estate, sold it in 1764 to Jean-Joseph de Laborde, banker to the court of Louis XV and farmer general (in charge tax collection). The Marquis de Laborde holds one of the largest fortunes in France, which comes in particular from the slave trade. He had the medieval castle destroyed and launched the construction of a new building: it is the castle whose ruins can be admired today. This was built in just three years. Consisting of three floors, it would have had 167 rooms and its facade is 150 meters long. Laborde is not limited to the reconstruction of the castle, he also redevelops the city park: a huge area of 860 hectares, surrounded by a wall of 13 kilometers which makes it the second largest park in the region after Chambord. It is also the last French-style garden created in France, with a perspective of 1.5 kilometers.
At the end of his life, Saint-Simon no longer had any male descendants and his granddaughter, who inherited the estate, sold it in 1764 to Jean-Joseph de Laborde, banker to the court of Louis XV and farmer general (in charge tax collection). The Marquis de Laborde holds one of the largest fortunes in France, which comes in particular from the slave trade. He had the medieval castle destroyed and launched the construction of a new building: it is the castle whose ruins can be admired today. This was built in just three years. Consisting of three floors, it would have had 167 rooms and its facade is 150 meters long. Laborde is not limited to the reconstruction of the castle, he also redevelops the city park: a huge area of 860 hectares, surrounded by a wall of 13 kilometers which makes it the second largest park in the region after Chambord. It is also the last French-style garden created in France, with a perspective of 1.5 kilometers.
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5
32.3 km
Saint Nicholas Church - La Ferté-Vidame
Highlight • Religious Site
CHURCH
SAINT NICOLAS
(17th century)
The town of La Ferté-Vidame takes its name from the Latin Firmitas Castrum which means the fortified villa belonging to the vidame'.
Its primitive church existed from the 12th century.
We find it mentioned in a charter dated 1136 under the name “Ecclesia Sancti Nicolai de Firmitate”.
Under the Ancien Régime, the rectory which was at the disposal of the abbot of Saint-Vincent-des-Bois became an annex of the parish of Lamblore. This particular situation of a chief town of a castellany belonging to a rural parish is explained by the detachment of the original parish from the territory around the castle.
Successor to the Huguenot heirs, Claude de Rouvroy de Saint-Simon, proclaimed by the grace of Louis XIII duke and peer of France, acquired the La Ferté estate in 1632. In order to erase all traces of Protestantism, of which the church had become over the centuries a very active platform, the Duke of Saint-Simon ordered in 1658 the demolition of the original church to replace it on the same site with the current building. The work was carried out promptly. On November 1, 1659, the Saint-Nicolas church was blessed by Messire Louis Oudard de Germens, canon priest of Chartres.
Classic in style with its homogeneous and ordered composition, the church was built according to a plan in the shape of a Latin cross. Its construction was inspired by the drawings of the famous Italian architect, Andrea di Pietro Palladio, whose sketches Duke Saint-Simon had brought back from Spain.
The architecture remains faithful to the marriage of stone and brick while giving this alternation a fanciful touch. Very majestic, the facade is built according to the Italian pattern (bossed pilasters, superposition of orders, pediment, volutes), a style also in vogue in France since 1630.
The arms of the Saint-Simon family were engraved on a stone at the pediment of the portal and on two others on either side of the portal. They were burned during the Revolution. Today, only the date engraved on the frieze remains: 1659.
16 59
Square in plan, the bell tower, which adjoins the church in the northern part, is topped with a dome surmounted by a lantern. Two bells are housed in the bell tower: one dates from 1762, the second from 1813.
The history of the church is closely intertwined with that of the lords of the parish, including the families
Saint-Simon, Laborde, Bourbon-Penthievre and Bourbon-Orléans remain the most famous.
Grandstands accessible from the outside and opening onto the side chapels recall their presence.
In 1743, at the request of Louis de Saint-Simon, a great memoirist, the family vault was built in the Chapel of the Resurrection. A slab on the ground marks the location of the grave.
Unfortunately, during the Revolution, the tombs were desecrated, the bones of the benefactors were extracted from the vault and scattered in a common grave dug at the apse of the church.
The church was the subject of significant restorations at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, including the interior ornamentation of the building which is a manifestation of the neo-classical style.
SAINT NICOLAS
(17th century)
The town of La Ferté-Vidame takes its name from the Latin Firmitas Castrum which means the fortified villa belonging to the vidame'.
Its primitive church existed from the 12th century.
We find it mentioned in a charter dated 1136 under the name “Ecclesia Sancti Nicolai de Firmitate”.
Under the Ancien Régime, the rectory which was at the disposal of the abbot of Saint-Vincent-des-Bois became an annex of the parish of Lamblore. This particular situation of a chief town of a castellany belonging to a rural parish is explained by the detachment of the original parish from the territory around the castle.
Successor to the Huguenot heirs, Claude de Rouvroy de Saint-Simon, proclaimed by the grace of Louis XIII duke and peer of France, acquired the La Ferté estate in 1632. In order to erase all traces of Protestantism, of which the church had become over the centuries a very active platform, the Duke of Saint-Simon ordered in 1658 the demolition of the original church to replace it on the same site with the current building. The work was carried out promptly. On November 1, 1659, the Saint-Nicolas church was blessed by Messire Louis Oudard de Germens, canon priest of Chartres.
Classic in style with its homogeneous and ordered composition, the church was built according to a plan in the shape of a Latin cross. Its construction was inspired by the drawings of the famous Italian architect, Andrea di Pietro Palladio, whose sketches Duke Saint-Simon had brought back from Spain.
The architecture remains faithful to the marriage of stone and brick while giving this alternation a fanciful touch. Very majestic, the facade is built according to the Italian pattern (bossed pilasters, superposition of orders, pediment, volutes), a style also in vogue in France since 1630.
The arms of the Saint-Simon family were engraved on a stone at the pediment of the portal and on two others on either side of the portal. They were burned during the Revolution. Today, only the date engraved on the frieze remains: 1659.
16 59
Square in plan, the bell tower, which adjoins the church in the northern part, is topped with a dome surmounted by a lantern. Two bells are housed in the bell tower: one dates from 1762, the second from 1813.
The history of the church is closely intertwined with that of the lords of the parish, including the families
Saint-Simon, Laborde, Bourbon-Penthievre and Bourbon-Orléans remain the most famous.
Grandstands accessible from the outside and opening onto the side chapels recall their presence.
In 1743, at the request of Louis de Saint-Simon, a great memoirist, the family vault was built in the Chapel of the Resurrection. A slab on the ground marks the location of the grave.
Unfortunately, during the Revolution, the tombs were desecrated, the bones of the benefactors were extracted from the vault and scattered in a common grave dug at the apse of the church.
The church was the subject of significant restorations at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, including the interior ornamentation of the building which is a manifestation of the neo-classical style.
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6
33.0 km
View of the Château de Saint-Simon⚜️🏰✨
Highlight • Historical Site
The view of the Château Saint-Simon and the Mousseuse basins offers an exceptional panorama of the Château de Saint-Simon, a 16th century building that belonged to the famous memoirist Louis de Rouvroy, Duke of Saint-Simon. You can also admire the Mousseuse basins, which are part of the castle park and reflect the elegance of its architecture. The hike is easy and accessible, and you can start from Maison Saint-Simon, a museum dedicated to the life and work of the Duke. Along the way, you will learn about the history and culture of this remarkable site.
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7
77.8 km
Ascent of the Notre-Dame du Mont Harou Church
Highlight • Religious Site
You absolutely must do this small climb to be able to enjoy a magnificent panorama!
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8
95.1 km
Church of Manou
Highlight • Religious Site
Very beautiful bell tower of red bricks
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B
109 km
End point
Train Station
Way Types & Surfaces
Way Types
109 km
839 m
Surfaces
85.8 km
23.6 km
< 100 m
< 100 m
< 100 m
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Elevation
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Highest point (270 m)
Lowest point (140 m)
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Monday 25 May
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