The best cycling routes around Vienne-En-Val

Spacious garden with beautiful trees, Papillorama and castle

the temple of love

Nestled in a meander of the Loire, the town of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire is home to one of the most beautiful jewels of Romanesque architecture: an 11th and 12th century basilica including the porch tower, decorated with twelve historic capitals. , the monumental portal and the nave constitute the most remarkable elements. Founded around 650 on the grounds of an ancient Gallo-Roman villa, Fleury Abbey has housed the relics of Saint Benedict, founder of Western monasticism and patron saint of Europe, since 672. During the 8th century, the patronage of the Prince of the Apostles was abandoned for that of Saint Benedict. This event is at the origin of the rapid expansion, prosperity and influence of the abbey which became Saint-Benoît de Fleury, while the village later became that of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire. In the 9th century, after the ordeal of the Norman invasions which pillaged and destroyed the monastery, Fleury Abbey flourished again. The 10th and 11th centuries were the great era of Fleury's spiritual, intellectual and artistic influence. The construction of Fleury was probably completed in 1218. A few centuries later, the Hundred Years' War and the Wars of Religion ruined the monastery and disrupted regular life, the community's numbers collapsed. The French Revolution will end up dispersing the community of Fleury Abbey. But in 1944, a community of around forty monks resettled in the area and undertook the reconstruction of the monastery. A community of thirty-three monks lives there today under the direction of Father Abbot Etienne Ricaud. In 1947, the fourteenth centenary of the death of Saint Benedict led the abbey to be elevated to the status of a basilica. The visitor is invited to admire the fabulous historic capitals present in the porch tower, the nave and the choir; the magnificent paving which extends around the altar as well as the crypt where the relics of the patron saint rest. Not to be missed is the north portal and its monumental lintel carved in high relief.

We already find traces of a monastery in Fleury in the year 620. In 660, relics of Saint-Benoît were brought there and the abbey became Saint-Benoît de Fleury. Around the year 1000, the abbey experienced a golden age and the construction of the current basilica was launched. It will be consecrated in 1218. From the 16th to the 18th century, wars and the Revolution damaged the monastery. However, a community of 24 monks still lives there today.

Bridge lit by LEDs, different illuminations and colors depending on the time of year, particularly summer, an application was even created for the occasion under the name bridge & lights

Parc Floral de La Source is a 35-hectare garden that is home to a variety of plants, animals and attractions, such as the butterfly greenhouse, mini golf and the local produce market. You can enjoy the beauty of nature and the freshness of the water, the park being located at the source of the Loiret. The park is open all year round.

If you are looking for a peaceful and natural place to stop off during your hike, you can visit the Courpain nature reserve, a 13-hectare space located at the confluence of the Loiret and the Loire. This site is part of the Saint-Mesmin nature reserve and is home to a forest rich in 23 species of trees and 15 species of shrubs. You can enjoy the seasonal beauty of this place, such as the white carpet of snowdrops in March, the concert of birds in May, or the white rafts of water crows on the Loiret in June.

This loop takes you to Sologne where you will find plains and wheat fields which offer bucolic images before disappearing into the Sologne forest, where oaks and acacias hide vast private ponds.