Through vineyards and picturesque villages around Brissac-Quincé

Departure from the car park of the Domaine de la Belle Étoile near the Maison Perce Neige

(S/E). Take the road on your right and at the stop sign, continue straight ahead until you reach the departmental road. Cross the road carefully and turn left onto Rue du Petit Houx, towards La Petite Gachetière.

(1) At the T-junction, turn left onto Rue de la Gachetière, then continue along Route de Montayer. Pass Maison Pêche Nature and ignore Allée des Maréchaux on your right. Cross the vineyards and on your right, you will see Château de Brissac in the distance. Enjoy the view and take a break after the hill! Continue straight ahead and join a cross road (D55).

(2) Take the cycle path on the right, ride alongside the vineyards and you will reach a roundabout.

(3) Take the^third exit, D123, and rejoin the cycle path on the right, then return to the departmental road. Continue for about 500 metres and turn right onto the small road, Rue de Coquereau, which crosses the vineyards. At the next intersection, take the road on the right under the trees.

(4) Pass Moulin Roux, continue straight ahead and go up Rue Pierre Niveleau. Feel free to dismount for this difficult section and take the time to admire the view of the Brissac valley on your right.

(5) At the top of the street, turn right at the stop sign. Admire the characterful houses of Brissac. Continue to Place de la République with the Tourist Office on your left. Enjoy a picnic break here with a breathtaking view of the Anjou vineyards and the famous Château de Brissac.

(6) Continue down Route du Tertre towards the château.

(7) At the D55, at the bottom of the slope, turn left and then a few metres later turn right. Cross the bridge and, at the fountain, continue to the right along Via Caluso. Take a 90° left turn and join the^first street on the right, Ruelle aux Loups.

(8) Follow this road straight ahead, entering the forest, where it may be difficult not to dismount on this climb. Then continue along the road opposite (ignore Rue des Lilas on the left) until you reach the track that starts on the right at the corner of the woods, Promenade Versillé.

(9) Take this path, walk along the horse paddocks and the playground, and enter the forest on the right.

(10) At the edge of the woods, turn left, walk alongside the houses on your left for a few metres, then turn right and join the Ruisseau de Montayer. Without crossing it, turn left and follow the stream on your right to the four-way crossroads , watching out for roots!

(11) Turn left and at the end of the path, turn right and rejoin the route you took earlier at Petite Gachetière.

(1) Turn left and follow the path back to the Domaine de la Belle Étoile car park (S/E).

Comfortable shoes.
Suitable clothing.
Water.
Camera.

Between (1) and (2):
Maison de la Pêche et de la Nature (House of Fishing and Nature), managed by the Maine-et-Loire Federation for fishing and the protection of the aquatic environment.
On the edge of the Brissac Forest, in the heart of the ponds, the Interpretation Centre, built in 1993, features a series of aquariums containing fish from the rivers of Anjou.
Allée des Maréchaux, its name tells us that the Cossé Brissac family had an exceptional four titles of Marshal of France.
Vineyard.

(2) Entrance to the Armorican massif, also known as Anjou Noir, consisting mainly of schist.

(4) Moulin Roux, a private residence and former watermill on the Aubance. The name originally came from Moulin Raoul and dates back to the 15th century. It is a tannery mill (a factory where oak bark is ground for use in tanning hides).

Between (6) and (8) The Château de Brissac, the tallest château in France, with its monumental façades rising up in the middle of a magnificent landscaped park with century-old trees. With its seven floors and 204 rooms, this monument deserves its nickname of Giant of the Loire Valley. Acquired in 1502 by René de Cossé,^1st Lord of Brissac, it is now the residence of the 13th Duke of Brissac. It remains open to visitors, as there is so much to see: its 16th-century chapel and Belle Époque theatre, its dazzling décor of gold-leaf ceilings, tapestries and precious furniture.