Saint-Savinien-sur-Charente – Arsenal entrance loop from Bords

Saint-Savinien-sur-Charente – Arsenal entrance loop from Bords

Moderate

4.0

(2)

riders

Saint-Savinien-sur-Charente – Arsenal entrance loop from Bords

03:05

67.5km

310m

Road cycling

Moderate road ride. Good fitness required. Some segments of this route may be unpaved and difficult to ride. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: October 14, 2026

Tips

Includes movable bridges

Check opening times.

After 46.4 km for 46 m

After 47.2 km for 25 m

After 49.9 km for 29 m

After 50.3 km for 46 m

Waypoints

Start point

Train Station

Get Directions

10.4 km

Saint-Savinien-sur-Charente

Highlight • Other

Labeled “Small town of character”, but also “Village of stones and water” (an expression which describes this village very well), Saint-Savinien-sur-Charente is a small picturesque village in the Saintonge Romane nestled in a meander of the Charente, nestled between the river and a limestone cliff. The town is remarkable for its houses built right on the water on the banks of the Charente, its district of troglodyte dwellings in the heights, some of which date back to the Gallo-Roman era, its river port, its old buildings and its churches, including the magnificent Romanesque church dating from the 13th century.

Translated by Google •

Tip by

16.4 km

Bois Brossard

Forest

20.3 km

Saint-Vivien Church in Geay

Highlight • Religious Site

The church was built in Romanesque style in the 12th century. It consists of a single nave with four bays, which can be entered via a landing and several steps. It is decorated with three tiers of semicircular arches separated by columnar buttresses (Musee du Patrimoine de France).

Translated by Google •

Tip by

30.4 km

Along the canal

Highlight (Segment) • Other

Quiet and partially shaded cycle path along the Canal du Freussin à la Charente which flows into the Charente at Houmé.

Translated by Google •

Tip by

47.1 km

Bassin de Plaisance Lapérousse

Lake

48.2 km

Rochefort Maritime Arsenal

Highlight • Historical Site

In the 17th century, Louis XIV dreamed of reigning supreme on land and sea. To do this, he needs a place to build and arm his warships. In 1666, the Rochefort arsenal was established in the middle of the marshes, on the winding and silted course of the Charente. The royal rope factory, erected for the needs of manufacturing ropes for warships, is among its most emblematic buildings. The Rochefort Maritime Arsenal, nicknamed the “Versailles of the Sea”, was for a long time a place of technical innovation in shipbuilding. Between its opening and its final closure in 1927, nearly 550 warships were built there.
By crossing the Porte du Soleil de l'Arsenal, near the National Maritime Museum, you will be able to see two forms of refit, that is to say basins which were formerly used to clean and repair ships: The basin was filled with water to bring the ship in and then it was emptied in order to carry out repairs. One of its forms houses the hook, an activity for children. The other has long housed the shipyard of the Hermione, a replica of the French warship of the same name, a three-masted square ship in service from 1779 to 1793. But this ship is no longer here; she is in dry dock in Anglet to undergo treatment against a fungus which is attacking her hull.

Translated by Google •

Tip by

48.3 km

Arsenal entrance

Highlight • Historical Site

A very beautiful archway!

Translated by Google •

Tip by

48.6 km

Statues of the Young Girls of Rochefort

Highlight • Structure

Les deux Demoiselles is a French film musical.

Translated by Google •

Tip by

55.8 km

View of the old suspension bridge over the Charente River

Highlight • Viewpoint

From here you can enjoy a superb view of the suspension bridge over the Charente, on the Quai Auriol Roy Bry.

Translated by Google •

Tip by

56.6 km

Tonnay-Charente Suspension Bridge

Highlight • Bridge

The 1st bridge dates back to the Middle Ages (1242) and has been destroyed and rebuilt several times.
Pierre Debans replaced the obligation to use the ferry to cross the Charente by building a bridge according to Louis Dor's plans between 1841 and 1842 against a concession of 77 years. Its length is 623 meters including 90 meters for the longest span with a central deck measuring 204 meters. 3 piers support the bridge, two of which are on the right bank, and one on the left bank. It is connected to a masonry abutment with a total length of 416 meters and the access viaduct is entirely built on the left bank. The viaduct is supported by 51 ogival style arches. Its height is 23 meters with an air draft of 22 m above the water allowing ships to pass by chocking their parrot if necessary
In 1883, signs of weakness in the bridge prompted testing of load control. The wooden apron collapsed during these. It was not until March 1884 that the bridge was consolidated by the installation of a metal frame intended to support the floor which, itself, remained in wood. Between 1934 and 1935, the deck was replaced and reinforced by the construction of pylons and metal cables. Despite this consolidation work, the Tonnay-Charente bridge has never succeeded in meeting the needs of modern road traffic. Car traffic was definitively banned after the construction of another bridge in the town of St Hippolyte in 1964. It was partially reopened to pedestrian, cyclist and motorcyclist traffic from 1975 to 2004, when all traffic was was again banned in order to allow the repair of the deck, cables and masonry. It was not until 2009 that pedestrian and cyclist traffic was able to resume on the central part of the apron. Unfortunately 2 years later, a new repair by replacing the chipboard with a planking in locust wood means that traffic has to stop again. These renovations, whose lifespan was estimated at around forty years, began to show their limits in 2015 (424 pieces were damaged according to the city's technical services). In 2021, the municipality is launching a new project aimed at taking over the deck, the metal parts and all of the masonry, for a budget estimated at the start of the project at 10 million euros.

Translated by Google •

Tip by