La Rabatelière / Saint-Etienne-du-Bois Vendée Vélo Tour

The route

From La Rabatelière, reach the Forêt de Grasla by cycling along small roads. Take care, you need to ride alongside the larger D6 road for some 900m before arriving at the forest. Next, head for the Logis de la Chabotterie via small roads, while a long wooded alley takes you up to the historic manor itself. Continuing on from this Logis to the Historial de la Vendée, you ride along country roads and tracks. Next, the trail guides you along a path reserved for cyclists, taking you across the Boulogne River no fewer than three times before you continue on along quiet roads. This stage offers fairly easy cycling. There are just two relatively substantial slopes to climb before arriving at Les Lucs-sur-Boulogne.

Don't miss

• Le Refuge de Grasla: this tourist site presents a moving historical reconstruction of a village of wooden refuges (loges) built in the heart of the forest between Grasla and Les Brouzils in 1794, when local Vendéens hid in these parts to avoid the wrath of French Revolutionary troops.
• Le Logis de la Chabotterie: this manor was at the heart of the Guerre de Vendée, a violent local civil war during which many pro-Royalist Vendéens took to guerrilla warfare against French Revolutionary troops. The historical displays also reflect life in the local countryside in the 18th century. Around this historic site, the estate is a protected natural space (espace naturel préservé) in whose unspoilt surrounds you can spend many a happy hour. (Accueil Vélo accredited site)
• Espace Naturel Sensible de la Boulogne, another protected, fragile natural area, presenting visitors with a fine natural setting. Follow the Chemin de la Mémoire, the starting point being the Mémorial, recalling a massacre of villagers by French Revolutionary troops in 1794, and to this day a place of remembrance in Vendée. 
• L'Historial de la Vendée spreads the historical net wide, inviting visitors to learn about 7,000 years of regional history. (Accueil Vélo accredited site)
• Les Lucs sur Boulogne: Eglise Saint Pierre et Saint Paul, a church where a soundtrack explains the epic story told in the stained-glass windows, about a priest who refused to renounce his religious vows during the Revolutionary Guerre de Vendée.
• Saint-Étienne-du-Bois :
  • La Tulévrière hamlet: presenting a rich heritage, what with its chapel (open daily), built by locals during the Guerre de Vendée, under the impetus of the anti-Revolutionary Abbot Ténèbre, and its former forge, which operated for over a century, marking village life (open for visits in summer)
  • Domaine des Iles: located at Le Marché Nouveau, a great place to stop to learn about the local wine, vin de Pays (IGP Val de Loire) (open Wednesday to Friday at the end of the afternoon, and on Saturday mornings).

SNCF train stations

Note that there are no train stations on this stage.