Around 1,500 hectares of vineyards surround the village of Le Puy-Notre-Dame. Four signposted circular routes ranging from 4 to 40 km lead through the vineyards, surrounding hamlets and typical village lanes.
You can rent a holiday apartment in Le Puy-Notre-Dame.
Nature
The Circuit d’Interprétation Viticole is a 3.7 km walking route with eight interactive information panels. They provide information in French and English about work in viticulture throughout the year.
The Régalade educational trail focuses on regional grape varieties, pruning and vine blossoms; two stations feature true-or-false questions.
Le Puy-Notre-Dame is less than 5 km from the Vélofrancette route. The Voie des Plantagenêts leads in one stage from Doué-la-Fontaine to Le Puy-Notre-Dame and in the following stage from Le Puy-Notre-Dame to Thouars.
History
Le Puy-Notre-Dame was one of the 32 walled towns of Anjou. The village was a fortified town; old town gates and walls have been preserved in the historic lanes.
Places
The Notre-Dame collegiate church dates from the 12th and 13th centuries and has welcomed visitors for more than 700 years.
The Sainte Ceinture relic is housed in the Notre-Dame collegiate church. For centuries, it has been the subject of an annual pilgrimage.
The Cave Vivante du Champignon is located in a former tuffeau quarry dating from the 16th century. A slideshow and staged displays explain the history of the cave, tuffeau geology, marine fossils, troglodytic housing and local history.
The Cave Vivante du Champignon offers tours of troglodytic dwellings dating from the 16th century, where cultivated and wild mushrooms are grown. The underground galleries were subsequently reused by generations of mushroom growers and winegrowers.
At the end of the visit to the Cave Vivante du Champignon, a tasting of wines from the family winery Le Clos Saint-Maur is offered.
