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Get to know Rabelais Get to know Rabelais home villagehome village

2 h 30

Circuit : 8 km

GPS coordinates : N 47°13537E 0°17093

Labe

l Balade en Touraine

Mairie de Seuilly2 place François Rabelais

37500 SEUILLYTél. 02 47 95 90 35

Mairie de CinaisLe Bourg - 37500 CINAIS

Tél. 02 47 95 91 16

Agence départementale du tourisme30 rue de la Préfecture - BP 91808

37018 TOURS CEDEXTél. 02 47 31 47 48

www.touraineloirevalley.com/rando

If you encounter any problem during the process of your walk,

please inform us at rando@cg37.fr

Hikers' code of ethics

The Conseil général d'Indre-et-Loire and the Comité de randonnée pédestre offer you the possibility to discover a number of way-marked paths specifically selected according to the following criteria: richness of architecture and landscape, accessibility to a large number of people, particularly families, clear way-markers and services (accommodation, catering) offered nearby.

Staight on

Change of direction

Wrong way

To find your wayYellow

Label Balade en Touraine

Cherish and respect nature. Listen to it, do not spoil it and do not harm it. Stay on the trail and be discreet. Do not damage plants or undergrowth. Do not smoke in the forest or do not light fires. Do not scare animals. Do not neglect human contact. Respect and get to know this rural world that welcomes you.

Accommodation / CateringHolidays rental

Bed and breakfast

Restaurant in Cinay

Car park

Picnic area

Tourist-office of ChinonPlace Hofheim37500 ChinonTél : 02 47 93 17 45

Légend

N

The route starts from the abbey in the centre of the village of Seuilly. Founded in 1100 by Benedictine monks, it was here that

François Rabelais first studied. Today the abbey houses the CPIE (Permanent Centre for Environmental Initiatives) which organises thematic guided excursions. A Maison de Pays offers local products, exhibitions and artisan crafts. Follow the yellow waymarkers.

Follow the white stone path which connects the abbey to the La Devinière. Sur les pas de Rabelais botaniste (in the footsteps

of Rabelais the botanist) information boards line the path for around 600 metres. The explanatory boards and games allow you to discover that nature is not just for specialists. Now enter the museum car park.

A visit to the La Devinière museum is highly recommended. Rabelais was born in this house in 1494. This is the place where

the Picrocholine wars from the writer’s novel Gargantua took place. Today La Devinière houses a literary museum which hosts many events and temporary exhibitions. After leaving the car park, turn left and follow the road which climbs towards the hillside.

When you get to the Cinais cemetery, pause to appreciate the beautiful uninterrupted view of the Seuilly plateau. To the south

you can see the château de Coudray Montpensier built in the 14th and 15th centuries. To the east you can see the royal fortress of Chinon which has recently been restored. Redescend to the village of Cinais.

Pass the church dedicated to Saint-Hilaire which was built in the 19th century to replace an older structure pillaged by Protestants

in 1562. Then climb the chemin de La Garenne which is bordered by houses dug into the tufa stone known as troglodyte dwellings. Turn left.

To see, to discover• The Royal Fortress of Chinon After a five-year restoration project, the scale of which has never before been seen in Europe, the fortress of Chinon, a key location on the French history map, brings to life the historical characters it has known, from the Plantagenets to Joan of Arc, through a new scenography.

When you get to the crossroads turn left. You will come to the camp des Romains which is in fact a site dating from the

Iron Age (1st millennium BC). Until its demolition, the site consti-tuted a megalithic ensemble unique in the Chinon region. Turn right to cross the heathland. There are no less than 25 different varieties. Information boards tell you about the flora and fauna and the many mysteries surrounding these parts.

Continue on the plateau, the highest point of Seuilly at an altitude of 110 metres. You cross woods, comprised mainly

of oaks and chestnut trees, and fields of grain. White markers indicate that you are on the chemin de Saint-Martin; it was very nearby in Candes-Saint-Martin that the saint died. On these markers, as well as the compass points, the initials D et M stand for Doyenné de Saint-Martin (a group of several parishes). Turn left.

Leaving the Bois de Bourg walk between cultivated fields and the edge of woods. Turn left, then right. Opposite you

on the Seuilly hillside again stands the magnificent château de Coudray Montpensier, which, after having survived two Picrocholine wars, recently underwent gargantuan - to borrow Rabelais’ term – restoration works.

You are nearly at the end of the walk. You will see a few vines. These vines produce a Touraine AOC (Appellation

d’Origine Contrôlée) wine. This wine production area, known as “Seuilly”, will from the 2015 vintage, be part of the prestigious Chinon AOC appellation. Go back to the abbey enclosure where, according to Rabelais, Friar John of the Funnels valiantly defea-ted no less than 13,622 men who came to pillage the vines.

To see, to discover• The Puys du Chinonais Espace Naturel Sensible (environmentally fragile area) and its circular «Balades en Touraine» path

• The Loire à Vélo bike path

• The Véron Ecomuseum in Savigny-en-Véron

From Seuilly to Cinais, this walk offers a great deal of variety - small valleys, woods, moors, a panoramic view and a famous character in François Rabelais. Walk in the footsteps of the famous writer.

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Curiosity

Meals available

ToiletsWater supply

View point

Accomodation

Museum