The best walks and hikes around Etang De La Poiteviniere

This church was built in the mid-19th century. It can be seen from afar from the surrounding hills, as its size is remarkable for a small village.

Beautiful 19th-century washhouse located on the Erdre River. A footbridge provides a beautiful view of the washhouse and the river. Picnic tables are available.

The Provostière pond, with a surface area of 73 ha, is connected to the Vioreau lake by the Rigole des Ajaux. This complex is part of the supply system of the Nantes-Brest canal. Its hydraulic management is ensured by the Loire-Atlantique Department, which has owned it since 2008. A 5.5 km path on which a bird observatory is located allows you to go around the pond in about 1h30.

The ornithological observatory allows you to discover a large number of birds such as the kingfisher, the black-headed gull, the herring gull, the cormorant, the great crested grebe, the grey heron, the egret and the moorhen.

July 25, 1944, shortly after 3 p.m., a Mosquito type plane, a light and fast twin-engine, appeared in the sky of Riaillé, followed a few seconds later by two German fighter planes. Arriving above the hamlet of l'Enclose, one of the fighters gained altitude and dove on the Canadian plane, riddling it with bullets. After starting a curve, the burning Mosquito crashed very close to the Provostière pond. The debris littered the ground for about fifty meters, the fire and the explosion of the ammunition made it impossible to approach. When the fire died down, the inhabitants rushed to the scene and found the charred bodies of the pilot and the navigator. They were identified as Lieutenants Burgess and McPherson. The Germans, who came to the scene, told the mayor that he could bury the bodies but without an official ceremony. However, the occupier's orders were not respected. The bodies were wrapped in sheets and transported to a nearby farm, the village carpentry made the coffins. The next day, a religious ceremony was held in the parish church in the presence of many Riaillé residents and wreaths of flowers covered the coffins. The procession then headed to the cemetery under the supervision of German soldiers who did not intervene. For 80 years, these two Canadian officers have been resting in the Riaillé cemetery. Their tomb is regularly maintained and decorated with flowers by the UNC-Riaillé Mémoire association but also by anonymous people who thus perpetuate the memory of their sacrifice. https://www.echoancenis.fr/actualite-4422-riaille-le-25-juillet-1944-deux-aviateurs-canadiens-etaient-abattus-dans-le-ciel-de-riaille

The water mills mark the route of the Erdre trail, first the Moulin Pelé then that of the Benâte.

The wash house is located on the banks of the Erdre, at the exit of the town of Riaillé towards Ancenis. This beautiful building was abandoned for a long time before being restored in 1990-1991. This stone building would have been built around 1850, it measures 20 meters long and 6 meters wide. Today, the site of the wash house is a pleasant place, equipped for picnics as well as a footbridge spanning the Erdre to lead to the Riante Vallée room. https://www.riaille.fr/decouvre/sites-remarquables-et-sentiers-de-randonnee/sites-remarquables-de-la-commune

According to old documents and plans, the current Notre-Dame church was built on the site of an old church consecrated in 1500. The departmental archives of Loire-Atlantique tell us that the construction of the current church was took place in successive phases over 46 years. The new choir and the transept would have been built between 1841 and 1842, part of the nave between 1852 and 1855 and the completion of the church would have been carried out between 1880 and 1882, then 1886 and 1887. The installation of the clock dates back to 1922. The current circular part of the sacristy was built after demolition of the remains of the old rectory in September 1936. The three large rose windows are remarkable as well as the carved wooden pulpit. The Stations of the Cross are one of the brightest in the region. https://www.riaille.fr/decouvre/sites-remarquables-et-sentiers-de-randonnee/sites-remarquables-de-la-commune