Saint-Romain-La-Motte: Holiday Apartments and Holiday Homes

The municipal offering “Les balades colorées” in Saint-Romain-la-Motte comprises five circular hiking trails, all starting and ending in the church square.

Those considering Saint-Romain-la-Motte as a destination can combine their stay with the wish to rent a holiday apartment.

Hiking and Trails

The 3.5 km hiking trail begins behind the post office and ends in the church square. The 17.5 km section of the GR®765 from Saint-Romain-la-Motte to Saint-Alban-les-Eaux is signposted for walkers.

The Way of Saint James reaches Saint-Romain-la-Motte at the hamlet of La Brosse. After passing through Saint-Romain-la-Motte, the Way of Saint James continues via Béchevet and Senouche towards Saint-Haon-le-Châtel.

Churches and Spiritual Sites

The Église de Saint-Romain-la-Motte has a staircase with 102 steps leading to a 24-metre-high viewpoint offering a panorama over the Roannais Basin and the Monts de la Madeleine. The church is open to visitors who wish to discover its architecture and history.

The Église de Saint-Romain-la-Motte houses the 18th-century painting “le Christ au roseau”, which was added to the inventory of historic monuments on 25 April 1961. The municipal pilgrim hostel in Saint-Romain-la-Motte can accommodate up to three people for a maximum stay of one night.

The Haute-Maison Chapel is an octagonal building made of dressed stone, with a small apse, a white marble altar, ornately decorated pinnacles and a domed roof topped by a campanile. A door behind the apse of the Haute-Maison Chapel leads to a crypt beneath the chapel.

History and Architectural Heritage

The former church of Mareuil was dependent on Cluny and was dedicated to Saint Peter in 995. The Château de Vaux was built in the first half of the 16th century. Around 1590, Henri d’Apchon transformed the Château de Vaux into a fortress.

The entrance to the Château de Vaux preserves a pointed-arch portal and a stone window with tracery, or mullioned divisions. Excavations in the 19th century at the ancient cemetery of Saint-Romain-la-Motte uncovered stone sarcophagi.

The Musée Joseph Déchelette in Roanne displays Bronze Age objects originating from Saint-Romain-la-Motte (Mareuil). The Four à chaux de Senouche is considered to be a late-built lime kiln that operated for only a short time; its activity ended during the 1914 war.

The Four à chaux de Senouche is a granite-built lime kiln with an entrance spanned by a brick vault, an access ramp and an oval firing chamber lined with bricks.

Landscape and Wine

The Gamay grape variety adapted well to the soils of Saint-Romain; the village gave this variety the name Gamay de St Romain. In the Middle Ages, the Trébande area was primarily covered with vineyards, whose yields benefited the Benedictine Abbey of Ambierle.

Route “N°13 – du Gamay à la Côte” passes through the landscape of the Roannaise Plain, with rivers, ponds and bocage hedgerows. It passes near the Château de Boisy.

Further destination pages: Mably, Le Coteau, Rive-De-Gier, Saint-Polgues, Usson-En-Forez, Saint-Michel-Sur-Rhône, Ambierle, Roisey

To the overview of destinations in the wider area: Loire.