Discover Parçay-Meslay

Parçay-Meslay brings together church history and architecture with wine, a walking trail and several green spaces. For planning your trip, you can easily consider these themes separately: Saint-Pierre and the historic buildings offer a cultural focus, while La Parcillonne and the green spaces appeal to other interests. Wine tastings and a classical music festival add to the options. If you’re looking for a hotel, it may help to decide first whether architectural history, wine or time outdoors will shape your stay.

Church and architectural history

Saint-Pierre Church was first mentioned in 968 in a document issued by an archbishop of Tours. It has a fresco in the apse’s dome-shaped vault, which was rediscovered in 1924. The apse forms the end of the church interior; a dome-shaped vault is rounded like a dome. The years 968 and 1924 refer to different things: the church’s first mention and the fresco’s rediscovery. Thus, an early historical reference point meets a later rediscovered decorative feature.

Architecture and scale

La Commanderie was a former manor house in Parçay-Meslay, built between 1460 and 1490 in the Flamboyant Gothic style. The Grange de Meslay takes you further back in time: it was built in 1220 and is protected as a historic monument. As an example of 13th-century civil architecture, it adds an earlier period to the story of the area’s buildings. The Grange is 60 metres long and 25 metres wide, making it more than twice as long as it is wide. When considering the two buildings, you can take into account both their different construction periods and the scale of the Grange.

The Grange de Meslay is also a venue for a classical music festival. As programme dates may change, check the latest dates before your trip when planning to attend a concert. A concert can be a reason in itself to plan your travel dates around the programme.

Wine and tastings

Wine tastings are offered in the tuffeau-stone caves at Caveau des Perrières – Caves Gautier in Parçay-Meslay. The cellar, which is more than a kilometre long, is used to make Vouvray AOC wines. This offers two distinct ways to explore the subject of wine: tasting and the production of Vouvray wines. If you’re planning a wine tasting, ask about the current arrangements for visits in advance.

Walking trail and green spaces

The La Parcillonne walking trail starts at the Salle des Fêtes on Rue des Sports and passes through vineyards in the Vouvray AOC-AOP appellation. A small slope along the route is dotted with caves and houses built partly into the rock. On the same trail, you’ll encounter both vineyards and caves and rock-built houses as distinct landscape features. The southern section is marked in red; check the trail markers locally before setting out.

For outdoor relaxation, Parc de Grand'Maison offers a shaded area for leisure activities as well as a renovated music pavilion. If the pavilion is important to your plans, check its condition in advance. Bois de Château Gaillard is a walking area with rich biodiversity and also has a fitness trail with exercise equipment at various difficulty levels. The two green spaces offer different experiences: shade and leisure are the focus at the Parc, while the Bois is geared towards walking and exercise. Check the availability of the exercise equipment on site.

Discover more destinations: Rouziers-de-Touraine, Souvigné, Ligré, Perrusson, Charnizay, Le Louroux, Manthelan, Lignières-de-Touraine.

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