The best traffic-free bike rides around Saint-Brice-Sous-Rânes

“Death gladly strides through the realm of joy, Gladly he presses his hand upon flowery brows. In ashes tomorrow and torn garments, Head bowed, joy's memory becomes our reproach and pain. Funeral processions follow our games; Saturnalia can be our cradle, Woe is us! only of dirges!” Text: Victor Hugo, (1802 – 1885): “Ode sur la mort du duc de Berry” (1820)

The town has two old market halls dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries. While one of them has been closed for renovation into a community hall, the second has remained open and hosts local events and hikers looking for a pleasant spot to picnic and rest.

2 small halls converted into a rest area for a well-deserved break

Nice little cafe/epicerie in centre of town, open on Sunday (in August at least)

Gardens open Monday to Friday in summer, closed for lunch - check website

Riding up there by bike was quite strenuous, but the view from the top was worth the effort. It was well worth it.

This church was built in the 16th century. It was remodeled and enlarged starting in 1850 (with the construction of chapels, the choir, and the sacristy). The Heritage Foundation organized a fundraiser for the restoration of the church: the purpose of the fundraiser is to restore the exterior of the church (stained glass windows and bell tower), as well as the interior (altarpiece, master paintings, baptismal font, fixing the pews to the floor, Stations of the Cross). The cost of this work is estimated at approximately €70,000. February 9, 2022: Renovation work on the church building completed, carried out by the Beauvain History and Heritage Association (restoration of the altarpieces, stained glass windows, baptismal font, as well as the roof, bell tower, clock mechanism, the Calvary on the Rock, the church door, and the heating system).

In 1874, the project for a new church was born, at the instigation of Father Macé, then vicar, who had the municipality and even the priest against him. The nave, however, was completed in 1878, the tower the following year, the consecration took place in 1881. The building is constructed of local granite, also in Romanesque style but its axis is perpendicular to that of the old one, the entrance towards the road to Carrouges-La Ferté. The nave is supported by ten granite pillars made from a single piece and 2 m. high. The only treasure is the altar decoration, Louis XIII, given by Father Dufriche-Desgenettes to his friend Father Lapierre. Father Husson made the furnishings of the sacristy and the church with his own hands: stalls, confessionals, pulpit. Burned by bombing on August 14, 1944, the church was unusable. In 1953, after extensive restoration, religious services were reinstated, and two years later, the three bells were replaced, along with the stained-glass windows themselves. Those in the choir depict the life of Saint John the Baptist, the patron saint; four smaller ones depict the four chapels of Joué (La Raîtière, Le Bel, St-Jacques, and St-Roch) with the coats of arms of the founding families. A lintel bearing the Le Verrier coat of arms, taken from the seigneurial chapel dedicated to Saints Hubert and Suzanne in the church, was incorporated into the tower's masonry; this lintel was designed in La Chaux, by the Count of Contades.