The best traffic-free bike rides around Mareau-Aux-Bois

Very beautiful village which is definitely worth the detour. You can notably discover its castle, built in the 13th century under Philippe Auguste. Don't hesitate to dismount and take a walk in the pedestrian part of the village.

The Château de Courcelles-le-Roi is discreet behind its high walls and hedges, and yet it has left its mark on the history of France, welcoming within its walls some of the most illustrious kings. A former fortified castle whose construction dates back to the 11th century, it was destroyed and rebuilt three times, including twice during the Hundred Years' War. Located on the lands of the Orléans forest where the kings came to hunt, Saint-Louis and Charles VIII stayed there. Anne of Brittany, Queen of France and wife of Charles VIII, gave birth there to a baby, François, who unfortunately only lived a few hours. Guided tours are organized there.

The Manoir de la Taille, also known as the Château de Bondaroy, is a fortified manor house which dates from the 14th century and was the birthplace of two Renaissance poets, Jean and Jacques de La Taille. You can admire the impressive facade, towers and gatehouse, as well as the surrounding countryside. You can also explore the neighboring town of Pithiviers, which has a rich heritage and a famous pastry, the pithivier.

Permanent place of artistic creation taking place at the foot of the Château des Deux Tours, built in the 13th and 15th centuries and today in ruins.

The Manor of La Taille, also called Château de Bondaroy, is a fortified manor whose construction dates back to the 14th century. Opulent construction, it does not leave indifferent the walkers who follow its thick walls. Listed in the register of historical monuments in 1974, the manor is now a private property. Banquets and seminars are sometimes organized there and it is possible to visit the place during the summer.

Pithiviers is a commune located in the heart of Beauce, in the hollow of the Egg. In a very rural Beauce, Pithiviers is a historical and cultural lung. The Château de Bellecour, the Saint-Georges collegiate church, the town hall or the Place du Martroi are just a few examples of the many curiosities that swarm the city. With 9,000 inhabitants, the city has all types of shops, from accommodation to restaurants. Wander the alleys of its old center to find a pretty table or a comfortable mattress. The Pithiviers train station is now closed to the public, but buses from the Ulys network serve daily Orléans (line 20) and Montargis (line 11) where a train station allows travel to Paris.

Innocuous in appearance, Pithiviers station is totally different from all other stations in France, because it is infamous for having served as a base for the deportation of Jews to Nazi extermination camps. It was in the camp very close to this station and in that of Beaune-la-Rolande, of which nothing remains today, that 16,000 Jews (including 4,500 children) were interned, after being arrested, notably during the so-called "greenback" roundup and the Vél' d'Hiv roundup in 1942. Very few survived. Until the spring of 1942, families were sometimes authorized to visit internees, and these same places saw internees, families, their mail and packages arrive or leave in transit for months. The paroxysm of horror occurred during the summer of 1942 with the shift from a policy of racial exclusion to a policy of genocide. After the Vél d'Hiv roundup, more than 3,000 children will remain for almost a month, alone in these camps, separated from their mothers deported in previous convoys. All these children will be sent to Drancy and most will end up deported and exterminated. In the summer of that same year, there were 8,100 people sent directly from Loiret stations to the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. These places have thus been witnesses to the tragedy of history and the implacable genocidal system put in place by the Third Reich. Because here we are at the heart of the process and the workings which made it possible to carry out the Shoah. This station also testifies to the policy of collaboration with decisions taken by the Nazis and implemented by the French administration. Now, no passenger trains arrive at Pithiviers station, and it has been transformed into a Shoah Memorial. Free, the museum is open Saturdays and Sundays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. A few hundred meters away, in Square Max Jacob, located at the intersection of rue de l'Ancien Camp and rue Jules Morin, there are also several commemorative plaques linked to these events. Finally, to bring a less somber note, it should be noted that the station hangars also house a transport museum exhibiting some old locomotives and vintage wagons, some of which are visible from the road.

Through this alley, over the stone wall, you can enjoy a pleasant view of the ruins of the Château des Deux Tours and the garden of the Théâtre des Minuits. The ruins correspond to the last vestiges of one of the two medieval castles built here by the powerful abbey of Ferrières in Gâtinais. Work is undertaken every summer to restore and upgrade the site. This historic site has been invested by the Théâtre des Minuits, to make it a place of cultural life, creation and performance. The land spreading out behind the ruins has been laid out as a free garden, far from the conventions of the French garden. In particular, it houses a rose garden with more than 200 roses.