Discover La Tour-Saint-Gelin

For planning a trip to La Tour-Saint-Gelin, two hikes with different distances and durations provide a practical starting point. The area also offers vineyards, walnut trees, forests and local history. If you are looking for a hotel for your stay, you can decide in advance what to focus on: hiking, nature or cultural history.

Hiking: compare distance and duration

The Randonnée La Tour-Saint-Gelin is an easy circular hike: it is 9.6 km long and takes two hours. La Grande Bruère covers 11.8 km, is rated moderate and takes three hours. In direct comparison, La Grande Bruère is 2.2 km longer and takes one hour more; it is also rated as more difficult. You can weigh up distance, duration and difficulty together. The Randonnée La Tour-Saint-Gelin is described as a circular route. La Grande Bruère starts and ends at Place de l’Église in La Tour-Saint-Gelin.

Landscape and birdlife

The Randonnée La Tour-Saint-Gelin passes through vineyards, walnut groves and hamlets. It also runs through oak and conifer forests, where many birds can be found. The forests along the La Grande Bruère route are home to migratory birds, including the hoopoe. In addition to distance and duration, these landscape features and nature themes may also help you choose a route.

Church, manor house and local history

The Église Saint-Gelin dates from 1909. Most of its stained-glass windows are attributed to J. L. Lobin; the attribution therefore applies to the majority of the windows. The year it was built and its stained-glass art are two notable aspects of the church.

In the hamlet of La Rancheraie, the manor house has several notable architectural features. To its north is an underground refuge. The architecture and the refuge are two distinct aspects of the local heritage.

A former tradition in the village centre involved a castle and a special wedding-feast privilege: the bride had to bring the lord of the castle the first bowl of soup and two roast chickens. This local tradition differs from the architectural features of the church and manor house: it concerns a former obligation relating to the wedding feast.

Saffron cultivation

Safran de Val grows Crocus sativus in clay- and limestone-rich soil on an area of 2,000 to 3,000 m². This adds cultivation as a topic alongside hiking and history. If you are interested in agricultural topics, you can include this in your travel plans. Crocus sativus is the botanical name of the saffron plant. The growing area of 2,000 to 3,000 m² is equivalent to 0.2 to 0.3 hectares, giving you a clear idea of the scale of saffron cultivation.

Discover more destinations: Thilouze, Tauxigny, La Membrolle-Sur-Choisille, Tours, Neuillé-Le-Lierre, Crissay-Sur-Manse, Saint-Genouph, Avoine

For the regional travel overview: Indre-Et-Loire.