Neuillé-Le-Lierre: Architecture, Wet Meadows and a Cycling Loop

The Église Saint-Pierre, the Prairies humides de Saint-Rigomer and the “Balade dans l'est Tourangeau” loop offer three different perspectives on Neuillé-Le-Lierre: architectural history, wetland habitats and cycling.

Église Saint-Pierre: Masonry and Choir

The nave of the Église Saint-Pierre retains its exterior walls from the 11th century, faced with small-scale masonry. The choir dates from the 12th century and has a semicircular apse with a calotte vault. A calotte is a dome-shaped vault; the apse is the semicircular end of the choir. The dates refer to different parts of the building: the 11th century refers to the nave’s exterior walls, and the 12th century to the choir. This allows you to distinguish the wall treatment from the vaulted end as separate architectural features of the same church.

Maison Bellevue and the Former Brickworks

Beyond the church, Maison Bellevue and the workers’ houses with brick decoration add to the picture of the village’s history. Maison Bellevue was built in 1870 for a wine merchant. The workers’ houses accommodated employees of the former brickworks and brick kiln. Maison Bellevue thus provides a specific construction date, while the workers’ houses are linked to earlier brick production through their function as employee housing. Alongside the Église Saint-Pierre, religious architecture, trade and brickmaking emerge as distinct themes in the village’s history.

Wetland Habitats near Saint-Rigomer

The Prairies humides de Saint-Rigomer are located in Neuillé-Le-Lierre, cover 4.3 hectares and are a continental ZNIEFF type 1. They are among the few remaining complexes of oligotrophic meadows in the Brenne Valley. Oligotrophic means nutrient-poor; the term describes a characteristic of the meadows, not the size of the area. The 4.3 hectares refers to the area in Neuillé-Le-Lierre, while the classification as one of the few remaining complexes refers to the Brenne Valley.

The habitat mosaic includes sedge marsh, tall-herb stands and wet meadows; a small population of marsh dock lives within this mosaic. A sedge marsh is wetland vegetation dominated by sedges, while a tall-herb stand is made up of tall-growing herbaceous plants. These terms make the different habitat types tangible and give the nature theme a specific ecological dimension in addition to the area covered.

Cycling Route through the Brenne Valley

The “Balade dans l'est Tourangeau” cycling loop runs from Reugny through the Brenne Valley to Neuillé-Le-Lierre, then continues in the direction of Autrèche. Unlike the church or the natural area, the loop describes a route: the sequence of places situates Neuillé-Le-Lierre between Reugny and the direction of Autrèche.

Bakery Opening Hours

The bakery in Neuillé-Le-Lierre is open daily from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; pizza and snacks are available from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. As opening hours and offerings may change, check the current hours before visiting.

Discover more destinations: Athée-Sur-Cher, Cinais, Joué-Lés-Tours, Ingrandes-De-Touraine, Rouziers-de-Touraine, Beaumont-Village, Bléré, Parçay-Meslay.

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