Circuit des Évêques à Villevêque

Starting point: Engrenage-Moulin car park in Villevêque - free parking.

(S/E) From the Engrenage-Moulin de Villevêque car park, take the footpath towards the town centre. Walk along the car park, then turn right into Passage du Thiboué. Walk past the church, then cross Rue du Général de Gaulle towards the presbytery.

(1) Walk along the presbytery and cross the park to the library. Join Rue Jean de Rely. Cross at the pedestrian crossing, then go under the porch of a building.

(2) Cross the road and continue straight ahead on the footpath after the car park, towards the sports hall.

(3) Go around the sports hall on the left. Then turn left, then right to take a new footpath. At the crossroads, continue to go around a pond. Go around it and take the Chemin du Rodiveau on the right. Then turn immediately right.

(4) Turn right onto this road and, at the end, turn right to return to the town centre. Cross Rue Jean de Rely again to reach Chemin de l'Hôtellerie.

(5) Follow the road, then turn right onto a path running alongside a field. Then turn left onto Chemin de la Raverie, then right onto Rue de Griottes. Turn right onto Rue des Merisiers and join Rue de Brétigné.

(6) Follow it to the right and, before a roundabout, turn right onto the path running alongside the road, then turn right to go around the cemetery. Cross Chemin de la Buchetière and turn left at the end of the cul-de-sac, then left again at the roundabout. The Villevêque museum-castle is at the end of the road.

(7) Go down Rue du Général de Gaulle, turn left onto Rue du Pavé. At the bottom of the street, turn right to return to the Engrenage-Moulin de Villevêque car park (S/E).

Facilities available
- Picnic tables at the port of Villevêque
- Barbecues
- Benches

Practical information
- Public transport stop less than 500 m from the starting points
- Cycle path
- Toilets at the Engrenage-Moulin car park
Route marked in red, signposted with heritage information panels

Points of interest:

• Villevêque Castle Museum: a^12th-century fortress, it houses works bequeathed by the Duclaux family in 2002 to the city of Angers to serve as an annex to the Museum of Fine Arts. It has an important collection of medieval and Renaissance art.
  - Engrenage-Moulin de Villevêque: for eight centuries, the three mills in the commune produced oil, paper and flour. Today, only the Moulin de Froment and the Grand Moulin remain, now used to generate electricity.
• Villevêque beach: lifeguards on duty in July and August from Tuesday to Sunday.
• Bord du Loir: a non-navigable river that joins the Sarthe, then the Maine and the Loire.
• Saint-Symphorien Church in Villevêque, whose bell tower is listed as a historic monument.