Grez-Neuville lies on both sides of the Mayenne. A cycling route, a circular trail and historic buildings offer different ways to explore the town: the Vélo Francette follows the towpath, the Circuit de la Garenne à la Roche Fleurie crosses the river, and the Église Saint-Martin and Château de la Grandière each add their own features to the town’s architectural history. If you are looking for a holiday rental, you can first decide whether your trip will focus more on cycling, riverside scenery or culture.

Cycling route and riverside scenery

The Vélo Francette passes through Grez-Neuville and follows the Mayenne towpath there. For cyclists, this creates a clear connection between the town and a route along the river. The circular trail Circuit de la Garenne à la Roche Fleurie offers a different way to explore the landscape. It starts and ends in Grez-Neuville, crosses the Mayenne, passes hedgerows and wooded plots, and follows the river quays on the return. The routes thus differ in a way that is useful for planning: the Vélo Francette focuses on the towpath, while the circular trail features the river crossing and a succession of hedgerows, wooded plots and quays. If you would like to plan your stay around a particular way of moving through the landscape, you can choose between the cycling route and this circular trail.

Church and historic traces

The Église Saint-Martin was founded in the 12th century. It contains three altarpieces commissioned by Vincent Constable between 1697 and 1700. The building thus brings together an early foundation date and a much later commission for furnishings, dated precisely. Visitor materials are available on site to accompany your visit to the church. If you are interested in architecture and religious art, this offers a concrete insight into the building’s history and its three altarpieces.

Another historical reference takes us back to 1122. Raoul de Grez received permission from his feudal lord, Nicolas de Neuville, to build a chapel dedicated to Saint James. The chapel was subsequently transferred to Saint-Serge Abbey in Angers, which established a priory there. This history therefore includes both the chapel’s authorisation and construction, as well as its later transfer and the establishment of the priory. It offers a different way to explore the town’s history from the architectural and decorative history of the Église Saint-Martin.

At the Château de la Grandière, too, you can focus on a specific architectural feature: the château includes a 16th-century Châtelet d’Entrée, or gatehouse. Here, the term refers to the entrance building, not the entire château. Alongside the church, this detail shows how varied the town’s architectural history is: here, the focus is on church furnishings and a historic entrance building.

These topics span different periods: the Église Saint-Martin was founded in the 12th century, the chapel’s history dates to 1122, the Châtelet d’Entrée dates from the 16th century, and the altarpieces were commissioned between 1697 and 1700. The dates refer to different events—the foundation of a church, the construction and transfer of a chapel, the construction of a gatehouse and the commission for altarpieces. This allows you to distinguish the historic sites not only by type, but also by their respective periods.

Discover more destinations: Landemont, Le Fuilet, Passavant-Sur-Layon, Châtelais, Les Rairies, Chalonnes-sur-Loire, Chênehutte-Trèves-Cunault, Montreuil-Bellay.

Back to the wider travel overview: Maine-Et-Loire.