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Varennes-sur-Loire

Tourism, holidays & weekends guide in the Maine-et-Loire

Varennes-sur-Loire is a town in Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire region, 60 km south-east from Angers and less than 10 km south of Saumur.

The territory of the locality, located on the right bank of the river, on the edge of the Indre-et-Loire department, is essentially implanted on a plateau shaped like a plain, protected from floods by a dike erected in the 12th century. 15th century.

However, these developments that allowed the development of the town did not preserve floods that punctuated its history until the nineteenth century...

However, thanks to two river ports, Varennes-sur-Loire is until the arrival of the railway a village of sailors, most of the traffic being devoted to the transport of fruits and vegetables grown in this fertile plain.

Like the neighboring villages, Varennes-sur-Loire also developed an important activity related to windmills, and there were more than a dozen at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The heritage and the typical environment of the banks of the Loire of the commune, which belongs to the Natural Park Loire-Anjou-Touraine, allow from now on the borough, which counts more than 1900 inhabitants, to welcome visitors amateurs of green tourism staying in Loire Valley, an economic axis that complements market gardening continues to flourish.

Geographical information

MunicipalityVarennes-sur-Loire
Postcode49730
Latitude47.2385530 (N 47° 14’ 19”)
Longitude0.0547330 (E 0° 3’ 17”)
AltitudeFrom 23m to 32m
Surface area22.66 km²
Population1887 inhabitants
Density83 inhabitants/km²
PrefectureAngers (72 km, 50 min)
Insee code49361
IntercommunalityCA Saumur Val de Loire
DepartmentMaine-et-Loire
TerritoriesAnjou, Loire Valley
RegionPays de la Loire

Nearest cities & towns

Turquant3.9 km (6 min)
Montsoreau4.3 km (8 min)
Candes-Saint-Martin4.8 km (8 min)
Parnay5 km (6 min)
Souzay-Champigny6.5 km (8 min)
Chouzé-sur-Loire7.4 km (8 min)
Fontevraud-l'Abbaye7.4 km (11 min)
Brain-sur-Allonnes7.5 km (8 min)
Dampierre-sur-Loire7.6 km (10 min)
Allonnes8.3 km (8 min)
Villebernier8.9 km (10 min)
Saint-Germain-sur-Vienne9.5 km (11 min)
Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil10.6 km (11 min)
La Breille-les-Pins12.4 km (16 min)

Things to see and do

The town has several classified buildings that will mark with interest a walk in the form of discovery of its historical heritage. This is the case of the church of Saint-Martin-de-Vertou, on the Place du Jeu-de-Paume, built according to a Latin cross plan. The bell tower dates from the twelfth century, but some spans are from the fifteenth and the main building of the sixteenth. Inside, you can admire a painting of the seventeenth signed Claude Musy depicting St. Francis preaching in the presence of Louis XIII and his wife Anne of Austria. This painting and a carved eighteenth century lectern, come from the Abbey of Fontevraud. As for the portal, it is more recent, and dates from the renovation work carried out in the 19th century.

Slightly away from the village, the manor of Chanfreau dates from the 15th and 16th centuries, and is distinguished by its singular architecture. The dwelling house has only one level and ends at each end with two turrets. A secondary building with large roof slopes is attached to a barn of basilical form composed of three naves and covered with a huge frame of chestnut. The gatehouse, decorated with watchtowers, from the fifteenth century, remained intact.

Built in locations outside the village, always, the farm of Mongeville, beautiful example of rural construction with half-timbering and red brick, which dates from the sixteenth century, and what remains of the old gentlemen of Chavigny (fifteenth and sixteenth), where lived Rabelais, are also worth a look.

A stroll on the territory of Varennes-sur-Loire will finally be marked by mills or vestiges of milling activity very active in the nineteenth century.

The mill cavier (so called because the wheels are underground) of Beilloire-Hersard in the Champ-des-Îles, built in 1822, if it ceased to function during the First War, was restored in the 1970s. It is still visited, even though the wings were damaged in 2008. All that remains are the remains of the other mills that counted the locality.

As far as the natural heritage is concerned, the banks of the Loire whose site is the islet of Parnay, frequented by protected species such as nesting terns, or the ancient ports testifying to the past of the small city will delight fans preserved nature.

Equidistant from Angers and Tours, Varennes-sur-Loire is an ideal stop for hikers. Two tours are specifically devoted to the locality and others include it, dotted with panoramas on the river or on some nearby castles.

Varennes-sur-Loire is also a stage of the pedestrian circuit of Mariners that we walk rather on foot and is on the route of the Loire à Vélo, along more than 600 km, obviously popular with cyclists in the summer.

Documentation, maps and information on all accessible hikes by contacting +33 2 41 40 20 60.

Also note that the Loire-Anjou-Touraine Regional Nature Park regularly offers outings and activities devoted to the natural heritage of the territory. Information on +33 2 41 53 66 00.

Another way to take advantage of the environment of the river and its tributaries, the fishing: to know the adapted sites and the regulations to respect, to contact +33 2 41 87 57 09.

Finally, for a game of tennis, it is possible to join the local club at +33 6 88 72 47 53.

Places of interest

Monuments

Events and festivities

The last Sunday of May, garage sales.

In mid-June, La Grande Tablée offers convivial meals and musical entertainment.

On the last Sunday of July, at the Chanfreau mansion, the festival of threshing offers exhibition and demonstration of old crafts, sale of used agricultural equipment, old-fashioned hype, country meal, fireworks and musical entertainment.

Finally, the market Friday and Saturday morning, place of the Jeu de Paume, perpetuates the tradition of market gardening (including asparagus and strawberries).

Weather

Tuesday 19 march
Min. 5°C - Max. 17°C
Day
Night
Wednesday 20 march
Min. 8°C - Max. 18°C
Day
Night
Thursday 21 march
Min. 12°C - Max. 21°C
Day
Night

Visits, leisure and activities nearby

Leisure activities

Last nameActivity typeRateCity
Fun sensory tour of La Grande Vignolle
Entertainment5 € to 7 € Turquant (2.6 km)
Introduction to the game of Boule de Fort
Sports sensations25 € to 80 € Saumur (10.5 km)
Discovery walk and activities with llamas
Nature and the great outdoors8 € Tuffalun (26 km)
Zoo de la Flèche queue-jump ticket
Entertainment26 € La Flèche (49 km)

Outings

Last nameOuting typeDifficultyDurationDeparture municipality
Ternay Castle Park
HikeEasy2:00Ternay (23 km)
Rose Circuit
Village visitEasy40 minGennes-Val-de-Loire (25 km)
The Great Sacred Path
HikeEasy3:00Mouterre-Silly (29 km)
Stack of Cinq-Mars
HikeEasy1:00Cinq-Mars-la-Pile (34 km)
Hamlet of La Basse Chevrière
Village visitEasy3:00Saché (37 km)

Restaurants

Bed & breakfasts

Vacation rentals

Campsites

Hotels

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