Saint-Avit-De-Tardes: Church, Village Centre and Circular Walk

Saint-Avit-De-Tardes has a compact village centre arranged around a former priory. If you are looking for a hotel in Saint-Avit-De-Tardes, the history of its buildings, walking and motorsport can offer different starting points for planning your trip. This can help you decide whether you would prefer to focus your stay on architecture, a hike or driving activities.

Church, Priory and Village Centre

Saint-Avit Church is a single-nave building with three bays and a straight-ended chancel. The three bays divide the nave into sections. The church dates from the late 13th century; it was raised and fortified in the 14th or 15th century. A south chapel was added in the modern era. These building phases give the church a long history of development, while making it clear that the later addition should not be mistaken for part of the original floor plan.

The former priory is attached to the north side of the church. Two wings arranged at right angles enclose an entrance courtyard. A portal leads into it, with pilasters topped by bulging pyramids crowned with spheres. The sequence of courtyard, portal and wings makes the layout of the former priory easy to understand. The church also has a bell gable; the cemetery, with its magnificent tombs, lies directly alongside it.

A Protected Altar Ensemble

The altar ensemble in Saint-Avit Church is classified as a protected monument. Its niches contain statuettes, from left to right, of a bishop, Saint Peter (?), Saint Paul (?) and Saint Margaret. The question marks next to Peter and Paul are part of the identifications and should be retained when viewing the ensemble. To understand the building’s history, it is worth appreciating this furnishing as a detail in its own right, alongside the church’s age and design.

Walking or Motorsport

If you would like to plan a hike, there is a circular route starting in Saint-Avit-De-Tardes. The route description, updated on 23 December 2024, goes along the D 28, the Roman road near La Prade and the red-and-white-marked GR4 to Lacaux and the Moulin de Teiteix. It gives the route’s length as 5.8 kilometres, rates it “very easy” and estimates a duration of 1 hour and 30 minutes. As this route description dates from 2024, it is advisable to check the current route before setting out.

The Circuit du Mas du Clos offers a different activity: the 3.1-kilometre race track features various types of corners, including sweeping bends, double bends, right-left turns, banked turns and straights. Driving and motorbike days, as well as driving courses, are held there. If these events matter to your travel plans, check the event dates in advance.

The two options offer quite different ways to plan your trip: the circular walk is described in terms of its distance, difficulty and duration, while the circuit focuses on driving activities and the design of the race track. You can shape your stay around whether you would rather explore on foot or are interested in motorsport.

Discover more destinations: Champagnat, La Celle-Sous-Gouzon, Azerables, La Courtine, Pontarion, Parsac, Saint-Agnant-de-Versillat, Lourdoueix-Saint-Pierre.

For the regional travel overview: Creuse.