Discovering Châteaubriant

Start: Rue de Tugny. Park in the car park at the entrance to the municipal campsite.

(S/E) Go through the entrance gate and turn left immediately. Cross the campsite and enter the woods.

(1) Take the path to the right. Go round the edge of the woods and head down towards a large car park. To your right, below, you’ll see the Nantes-Châteaubriant tram-train line.

(2) Walk down the car park keeping to the right until you reach an exit opposite a pedestrian crossing. Cross the road at this crossing and enter the second car park on the other side of the road. Continue down the new car park, moving away from the road and heading towards the far end of the car park. When you reach Rue d’Angers, turn right, go under the bridge, then at the roundabout, turn left.

(3) 50 m after the roundabout, on your left, take the steps leading up to the hill, then follow the concrete path running alongside the tram-train line. After passing some buildings (offices), take the path on the right which joins the road.

(4) Cross the road and take the uphill path opposite. At the top of the path, walk through a small housing estate. Leave the estate on the right. At the bottom of the street, take the first street on the left, Rue Saint Exupéry.

(5) Just before reaching the main road, take the small path on the left. Leave the path on the right and immediately take the path on the left, which goes uphill. Go to the end of the second pond and go round it. Take the path on the right leading towards some houses. Continue keeping to the right and go up the hill.

(6) Take the path on the right. On your left you will see the Velodrome. Go to the end of the path, go round the Velodrome and turn left onto Rue André Malraux. At the bend, take the path on the left which goes round the back of the building. Turn left back onto Rue André Malraux. Then turn left, then right onto Rue Jean Guéhenno.

(7) Take the small path on the right. At the end, turn left and then left again onto the street. Then turn right onto Rue René Guy Cadou. At the bend, take the path on the left which leads into a wooded park. Take the second path which turns sharply right and heads up towards some buildings. Walk past the first building. Go through the archway under the second building. Cross the car park on the left and head towards the nearby road.

(8) Cross the road and take Rue des Platanes, then turn left onto Rue des Charmilles. At the end of the street, at the bend, take the path on the right which goes down some steps to Rue du Bois du Parc. At the end of the street, turn right onto the street which goes down to a roundabout.

(9) Head towards Place des Terrasses. Enter the Château park, cross the park and head down to Promenade du Duc d'Aumale on the left. At the end, turn left onto Rue du Château. Turn right onto Grande Rue. Take the first street on the left, go round the "Marché Couvert" on the right, Rue Aristide Briand. Take the second street leading onto Place de l'Église. Take the small passageway on the right-hand side that goes through the Médiathèque. Exit on the right and turn left back onto Rue Aristide Briand until you reach the Town Hall.

(10) Go round the Town Hall on the left and continue straight on. Next to the cinema, go straight on and cross the car park. Cross the road and take the first left onto Chemin de Choisel. At the end of the street, cross over to take the steps leading down to the Choisel site. Take the first entrance to the Choisel pond and walk along it to the car park.

(11) Head towards the back of the car park, on the road side. Follow the path that runs alongside the road. This path goes round the Leisure Centre, the Aquatic Centre and the racecourse, and returns towards the Choisel Ponds after making a wide left-hand bend. When you reach the first pond, take the path on the left which goes round two ponds.

(12) Head down the steps towards the main pond and walk along its right-hand side. As you leave the pond, turn right onto Rue du Moulin de Choisel. At the end of this street, you will arrive in the Châteaubriant Health Centre area. Turn left onto Rue de la Poterie, then right onto Rue de Maumusson. At the retirement home, turn left onto Rue Jean de Laval. Turn left and then immediately right onto Rue Sainte Elizabeth.

(13) At the first junction, turn right onto Rue de la Trinité. Cross a minor road and, at the end of the street, turn right onto Chemin de la Font Saint Jean, which is lined by a large stone wall. At the end of the street, turn left onto Rue du Prieuré de Béré, which runs between the cemetery and the 11th-century Church of Béré, a listed historic monument.

(14) Turn left onto Rue Amand Franco, which runs down alongside the “Champ de Foire”. As you walk up this street, at the foundry, turn right onto the small Rue de la Métallurgie, then left onto Rue du Commandant Bachellerie. Cross the busy road with care and take Rue Saint-Eloi opposite, then turn right onto Rue Vieille Voie until you reach the roundabout.

(15) Opposite, take Rue Jacquard to number 15. Do not turn left, but continue straight on to take the path opposite. Cross the park and continue straight on along Rue François Couperin, then continue along this street, crossing Avenue de l’Égalité. Then turn right onto Rue de l'Aubinais, then take the small path on the left. This path leads onto a cycle path. Take it on the left. Turn right onto Rue du 8 Mai 1945 until you reach the Ville en Bois roundabout. Enter the small Bois de Tugny and immediately take the first path on the right.

(1) Turn right onto the path that crosses the small campsite to return to the car park (S/E).

Toilets: behind the town hall, just after passing the (12) in Choisel Park and at the bottom of the Château park.

Châteaubriant Castle. Guided tours available.

At the bottom of Place Général De Gaulle, opposite the château, is the Tourist Office and, to its left, the municipal theatre "Théâtre de verre" with its all-glass entrance, hence its name.

Choisel Park. Day camp, aquatic centre, racecourse, ponds, leisure and sports facilities.