Sablé-sur-Sarthe to Grez-Neuville, 10 nights

Moor a few steps from the Sablé-Solesmes golf course. A calm and green stopover.

Boule de fort is a traditional Loire-region bowling game played… in slippers! Learn more at the local factory or watch a game at the Boule de Fort Club.

Stroll through the picturesque streets and visit the 12th-century church, then head to the Bois de la Jeunerie for a nature walk on an educational trail highlighting local wildlife and flora.

A must‑stop for fluvial tourism fans,at the River House museum, learn how barges and gabares navigated rivers before the advent of modern locks and canals. A local equestrian centre is also nearby.

Juvardeil grew thanks to its riverside location on the Sarthe. In the past, barges paid tolls here, and the town thrived with the construction of 30-meter-long flat-bottomed freight boats. Discover this heritage via a hiking circuit and a stop at the water sports base (canoe rentals, etc.).

Terms like épinette, dulcimer, and psaltery unfamiliar? These are types of zithers. In Etriché, luthier and musician Didier Beauclair welcomes you to his Atelier de la Cithare (by reservation). Patrimoine enthusiasts can also explore the Chapel of the Moulin d’Ivray and the historic hemp oven.

While passing through Cheffes-sur-Sarthe, take a moment to admire the slightly twisted steeple of the listed church Notre-Dame-de-Cheffes. From here, you can also reach the Champigné Golf Course (5 km) and the Château du Plessis-Bourré (7 km), a stunning moated castle featured in many films (Peau d’Âne, Le Bossu, Fanfan la Tulipe, La Princesse de Montpensier...).

Every winter, the vast floodplains become an exceptional haven for migratory birds like black-tailed godwits, greylag geese, and curlews. Perched above Briollay, the botanical garden offers panoramic views over the Basses Vallées Angevines. Good to know: the park features over 70 species of red berry shrubs, which visitors can pick freely.

Écouflant has everything for a family-friendly stop: a village interpretation trail, a sensory garden near the Town Hall, the Sablières Park (with supervised swimming in summer), and the Anjou Aventure tree-top adventure park.