Bannay: Holiday Apartments and Holiday Homes

Bannay combines waterways, historic buildings, and routes on rails and wheels. The Pont du P-O railway bridge is particularly striking: built between 1890 and 1893, it spans the Ru and the Loire over a length of 850.70 metres and has been used since 2005 by the tourist Cyclorail du Sancerrois on the former railway line between Cosne and Saint-Satur, which runs through Bannay.

Water and Buildings

The lateral canal to the Loire is also part of the village’s architectural history. It was built between 1822 and 1838 for inland navigation. The washhouse in Les Chenus, beside the Belaine stream, is associated with a local legend according to which its water could reflect souls.

Culture and History

The Church of Saint-Julien in Bannay has a single-nave body, a significantly higher choir, and two turrets on the west façade. In 1781, Anne de Givry financed restoration work on the church; the nave was extended and two turreted gables were built as part of the work.

The Puits d’Amour was built in the 1830s by the administration of the lateral canal to the Loire as a meeting place. Young people left messages between the stones of the well. The Puits d’Amour was restored in 2015 and inaugurated on 18 November 2015.

Landscape

The Île de Cosne on the Loire was protected as a classified site in 1952. This enabled regulated use of the area, with a campsite and nature reserve.

Experiences on Wheels

The Détour de Loire – Boucle vélo No. 3 cycle route begins in Bannay. On this cycle route, the Loire à Vélo connects the port of Léré with Bannay. The Détour de Loire loop is flat and safe for most of its route and is largely surfaced.

The Cyclorail du Sancerrois uses a custom-built rail bike with four seats: two pedal seats and two passenger seats. It also offers a 13-kilometre round trip on the former railway line to a Gallo-Roman bathing complex in Bannay.

Other places at the same administrative level include Clémont, Le Subdray, Vesdun, Brécy, Thaumiers, Jars, Oizon and Ménétréol-sur-Sauldre.

For the higher-level travel overview: Cher.