RoutesBike touring routes & trailsFranceNew AquitaineSaintesSaint-Romain-De-Benet
Cathedral of Saintes – Tour de Pirelonge loop from Saint-Romain-de-Benet
RoutesBike touring routes & trailsFranceNew AquitaineSaintesSaint-Romain-De-Benet
Cathedral of Saintes – Tour de Pirelonge loop from Saint-Romain-de-Benet
Moderate
4.4
(5)
9
riders
Cathedral of Saintes – Tour de Pirelonge loop from Saint-Romain-de-Benet
04:09
70.8km
330m
Cycling
Moderate bike ride. Good fitness required. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.
Last updated: April 10, 2026
Waypoints
A
Start point
Bus stop
Get Directions
1
5.78 km
The Maison Forte of Pisany
Highlight • Castle
* On road maps and city plans, the construction is called: The castle.
* But in the dictionary of fortified castles, it is noted: The strong house.
Doubt is therefore allowed but I prefer the wording of the dictionary "La Maison Forte"
The history of the stronghold:
* In the 12th century, archaeologists assume the construction of a small fortified castle.
* In the 15th century, the site became the property of the President of the Parliament of Bordeaux.
* At the end of the 15th century, the "castle" was modernized.
* In the 16th century, during the Wars of Religion, the Sainte Barbe chapel was destroyed.
* At the beginning of the 18th century, the "castle" was sold to Charles-Auguste Bessier, advisor to the King
* In the middle of the 18th century, buildings and land belonged to Jean-Charles de Senecterre who did not maintain the buildings much.
* In 1784, the building was partially destroyed damaged by a violent storm
* Around 1792, the revolutionaries requisition the ruins. They are sold as national property.
* In the 21st century, the discovery of the outside from the road is open and free. Visiting the interior is prohibited.
* But in the dictionary of fortified castles, it is noted: The strong house.
Doubt is therefore allowed but I prefer the wording of the dictionary "La Maison Forte"
The history of the stronghold:
* In the 12th century, archaeologists assume the construction of a small fortified castle.
* In the 15th century, the site became the property of the President of the Parliament of Bordeaux.
* At the end of the 15th century, the "castle" was modernized.
* In the 16th century, during the Wars of Religion, the Sainte Barbe chapel was destroyed.
* At the beginning of the 18th century, the "castle" was sold to Charles-Auguste Bessier, advisor to the King
* In the middle of the 18th century, buildings and land belonged to Jean-Charles de Senecterre who did not maintain the buildings much.
* In 1784, the building was partially destroyed damaged by a violent storm
* Around 1792, the revolutionaries requisition the ruins. They are sold as national property.
* In the 21st century, the discovery of the outside from the road is open and free. Visiting the interior is prohibited.
Translated by Google •
Tip by
2
18.5 km
The Amphitheatre of Saintes
Highlight • Historical Site
The Santons people occupied Saintonge during the Gallic era. The Romans conquered the region and settled on the banks of the Charente. The town of Saintes (then designated Mediolanum), located at the western end of the Via Agrippa which linked Lyon (capital of the Three Gauls) to the Atlantic coast, quickly became monumental.
At the time of Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD), the city probably became the capital of the province of Greater Aquitaine (Aquitania). This then extended from the Loire to the Pyrenees. Mediolanum is endowed with important public monuments: the amphitheater, the arch of Germanicus, the thermal baths and the aqueduct are still partially visible today. At the time of its peak (end of the 1st century – beginning of the 2nd century), the city must have had several thousand inhabitants.
The amphitheater of Mediolanum is one of the earliest in Gaul. It is estimated that its construction began during the reign of Tiberius (14 – 37 AD), and was completed during the reign of Claudius (41 – 54 AD). Like many amphitheaters of the Roman Empire, that of Saintes was located on the outskirts of the ancient city in a chosen and developed site: the “vallon des Arènes”. Thanks to a favorable topography, the builders were relieved of part of their work, the amphitheater resting on the slope of the valley. This elliptical monument, with imposing dimensions (126 meters long and 102 meters wide), made it possible to accommodate several thousand spectators around bloody and violent representations such as gladiator fights (munera) or animal hunts (venationes ).
In the 3rd century, the city declined and was entrenched within an impressive rampart, built from the remains of public and funerary monuments from previous decades. The amphitheater is then no longer used. Since the Middle Ages, it has been used, among other things, as a stone quarry. It was classified as a Historic Monument in 1840. It was from this moment that it was gradually restored.
Today, despite the disappearance of the superstructures, the remains provide a faithful image of what this monument could have been at the time of its splendor.
The site welcomes visitors all year round. Certain objects found during various excavations in the amphitheater district are visible at the archaeological museum.
At the time of Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD), the city probably became the capital of the province of Greater Aquitaine (Aquitania). This then extended from the Loire to the Pyrenees. Mediolanum is endowed with important public monuments: the amphitheater, the arch of Germanicus, the thermal baths and the aqueduct are still partially visible today. At the time of its peak (end of the 1st century – beginning of the 2nd century), the city must have had several thousand inhabitants.
The amphitheater of Mediolanum is one of the earliest in Gaul. It is estimated that its construction began during the reign of Tiberius (14 – 37 AD), and was completed during the reign of Claudius (41 – 54 AD). Like many amphitheaters of the Roman Empire, that of Saintes was located on the outskirts of the ancient city in a chosen and developed site: the “vallon des Arènes”. Thanks to a favorable topography, the builders were relieved of part of their work, the amphitheater resting on the slope of the valley. This elliptical monument, with imposing dimensions (126 meters long and 102 meters wide), made it possible to accommodate several thousand spectators around bloody and violent representations such as gladiator fights (munera) or animal hunts (venationes ).
In the 3rd century, the city declined and was entrenched within an impressive rampart, built from the remains of public and funerary monuments from previous decades. The amphitheater is then no longer used. Since the Middle Ages, it has been used, among other things, as a stone quarry. It was classified as a Historic Monument in 1840. It was from this moment that it was gradually restored.
Today, despite the disappearance of the superstructures, the remains provide a faithful image of what this monument could have been at the time of its splendor.
The site welcomes visitors all year round. Certain objects found during various excavations in the amphitheater district are visible at the archaeological museum.
Translated by Google •
Tip by
3
19.8 km
Nice discovery
Highlight • Other
beautiful passages along the Charente with pretty monuments and small waterfront cafés in Port d’Envaux and Saintes.
Translated by Google •
Tip by
4
20.0 km
View of the Arch of Germanicus and the Charente River
Highlight • Viewpoint
5
20.1 km
Cathedral of Saintes
Highlight • Religious Site
Saintes is a city that shines with its millennial heritage and its Gallo-Roman monuments. As unusual as they are well preserved, these nuggets will take you on a real journey through time.
Translated by Google •
Tip by
6
20.3 km
Saint-Pierre Cathedral (Saintes)
Highlight • Religious Site
The cathedral in Saintes was dedicated to Saint Peter (Saint Pierre). Simon, nicknamed Petrus (rock), was a fisherman on Lake Genesareth when he - together with his brother Andreas - was called by Jesus Christ to be a "fisherman of men". According to the Catholic understanding he is the highest apostle, and the two millennia long line of popes - currently Francis - are in his successor. On statues and paintings Peter is almost always shown with two keys in his hand, this attribute refers to the Bible verse in Matthew: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; what you will bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and what you will loosen on earth will be loosened in heaven ”(Chapter 16, verse 19).
Together with Paul, Peter is also known as the "princes of the apostles", their common feast day in the saints' calendar is on June 29th.
Together with Paul, Peter is also known as the "princes of the apostles", their common feast day in the saints' calendar is on June 29th.
Translated by Google •
Tip by
41.6 km
Bois de la Tour
Forest
8
42.0 km
Tour de Pirelonge
Highlight • Monument
Pirelonge Tower in Saint-Romain-de-Benet. The Pirelonge Tower is a Gallo-Roman stone tower. This monument, certainly built under the Roman Empire on the edge of the ancient road linking Saintes to Bordeaux, is a cenotaph in the form of a solid column, 24 m high, with a square section, crowned by a cone. (Wikipedia). Listed as a Historic Monument.
Translated by Google •
Tip by
9
62.3 km
Romanesque capitals of the Church of Saint John the Baptist in Saujon
Highlight • Religious Site
Baroque style church built from 1679 to 1683 on the site of an earlier Romanesque building, according to the design of Jacques Guérinet, architect of the convent buildings of the Abbaye-aux-Dames de Saintes; the interior has a stone pulpit and two chapels, one of which was adorned at the beginning of the 20th century with the four capitals found on the excavation site of the priory of Saint-Martin, the other having a baroque decoration. The basket-handle vault has been plastered and paneled since a restoration in the 1960s, a paneling also replaces the old choir boxes; the stained glass windows all came from the famous workshop of Gustave-Pierre Dagrant in Bordeaux between 1913 and 1922.
Translated by Google •
Tip by
B
70.8 km
End point
Bus stop
Way Types & Surfaces
Way Types
49.3 km
7.56 km
7.26 km
5.25 km
1.41 km
< 100 m
Surfaces
47.2 km
22.6 km
550 m
254 m
179 m
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Elevation
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Highest point (70 m)
Lowest point (0 m)
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Weather
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Tuesday 26 May
35°C
17°C
0 %
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Max wind speed: 11.0 km/h
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