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Routes
Bike touring routes & trails
France
Normandy
Alençon
Mieuxcé

Saint Leonard's Church – Castle of the Dukes of Alençon loop from Mieuxcé

Routes
Bike touring routes & trails
France
Normandy
Alençon
Mieuxcé

Saint Leonard's Church – Castle of the Dukes of Alençon loop from Mieuxcé

Moderate

4.0

(1)

6

riders

Saint Leonard's Church – Castle of the Dukes of Alençon loop from Mieuxcé

01:49

29.1km

270m

Cycling

Moderate bike ride. Good fitness required. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: June 21, 2026

Tips

Your route passes through protected areas

Please check local regulations for:

Parc naturel régional Normandie-Maine

Waypoints

A

Start point

Bus stop

Get Directions

1

18.3 km

Footbridge over the Sarthe and park

Highlight • Other

2

19.1 km

St. Leonhard

Highlight • Other

3

19.2 km

Saint Leonard's Church

Highlight • Other

The Saint-Léonard church takes its name from the hermit Saint Léonard de Vandoeuvre. The latter, born at the end of the 5th century, left his family to serve God and settled in a place called Vandoeuvre, in Saint-Léonard-des-Bois, where he lived in austerity for several years. Joined by a few disciples, he built a monastery protected by King Clotaire. The relics of Saint Leonard, who died in 570, were transported in 868 to Corbigny by the monks of Vandoeuvre to preserve them from the Normans. Part of these was undoubtedly returned around 1025 thanks to the second lord of Alençon, William I, and deposited in an old chapel dedicated to Saint Martin located on the site of the current Saint-Léonard church. This saint is often invoked to cure deafness.

A first Saint-Léonard church, attested between 1160 and 1182, was probably built very close to the Saint-Martin oratory. This disappeared around the middle of the 13th century in forgotten circumstances, but parish life remained concentrated in the chapel until the end of the 15th century.

It is on the latter that the current church was built, in tertiary ogival style and flamboyant Gothic interior, by Duke René d'Alençon and his wife Marguerite de Lorraine. Most of the work took place from 1490 to 1505 and it was this same year that the building was placed under the name of Saint Leonard de Noblac, a character then more popular than Saint Leonard de Vandoeuvre.

On the stained glass windows of one of the eleven side chapels, which was for a certain time dedicated to Louis IX, ancestor of the counts and dukes of Alençon, and on the walls, appeared the coats of arms of the houses of Alençon and Lorraine, today now disappeared. It was in this chapel that the duchess and the duke attended services and in which a fireplace was built for them which no longer exists. After René's death, his heart is placed in a lead box, itself in the shape of a heart, covered with a stone. When around 1510, René's heart was transferred to the church of Saint-François de Mortagne, the empty box was left in his vault. In 1776, the stone, which also bears the imprint of a heart, was removed, then put back in its place, and this imprint, erased by the friction of the feet, no longer exists except in memory. In 1562, the church was pillaged by Protestants. At Easter 1645, Hertré's granite vault collapsed. Replaced by a simple plaster cradle, it was not until 1836 that a new Gothic style vault was built. The main door was built in 1663 and the clock was installed in 1727. Until 1789, this church depended on Notre-Dame and did not have a baptismal font. The carved wooden altar and pulpit, two side consoles and some mostly modern stained glass windows, deserve the tourist's attention. The Saint-Léonard church, restored in the 17th-18th centuries, then completely refurbished in the 19th century by the architect Isidore Dédaux, is classified among the historic monuments.

Translated by Google •

Tip by

4

19.9 km

Château des Ducs d'Alençon

Highlight • Castle

Alençon is the capital of the Orne department and lies on the southern edge of Normandy. It was once very famous for its lace and was therefore known throughout Europe. There is evidence of the existence of the city of Alençon as early as Roman times. In the 11th century, when the Normans secured their duchy to the south, the first fortified settlement was built here. This was later followed by the construction of a mighty castle. The city really achieved economic prosperity around 1650 when Madame La Perrère invented an original lace. It was in no way inferior to the Venetian lace known at the time, but it was considerably cheaper to buy. With the support of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, a royal factory was founded. As a result, more than 8,000 people worked in lace production. The "Point d'Alençon" lace was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010.

Translated by Google •

Tip by

5

20.1 km

6 bike boxes for cycle tourists who want to visit Alençon without any hassle

Translated by Google •

Tip by

6

20.8 km

The castle of the Dukes of Alençon is an old fortified castle, from the end of the 12th century. Its remains stand in the heart of the French commune of Alençon in the Orne department, in the Normandy region. During the Revolution, the remaining buildings of the castle were transformed into a prison, a function which it retained until 2010. The castle is classified as a historic monument.

Translated by Google •

Tip by

B

29.1 km

End point

Bus stop

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Way Types & Surfaces

Way Types

23.6 km

1.91 km

1.90 km

1.32 km

295 m

< 100 m

Surfaces

19.4 km

7.72 km

752 m

560 m

511 m

207 m

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Elevation

Elevation

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Highest point (200 m)

Lowest point (130 m)

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Weather

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Friday 10 July

37°C

21°C

0 %

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Max wind speed: 17.0 km/h

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