Discover Lessard-Et-Le-Chêne

In Lessard-et-le-Chêne, discover landscapes, architectural history and apple-growing. The parish church on the hillside of the Pays d’Auge combines sweeping views over the Caen Plain with Romanesque origins and later alterations. Domaine des Essarts offers a different focus: its organically managed orchards and the processing of apples into cider give your visit an agricultural dimension. A route described in a hiking guide lets you discover stud farms and views of Château de Lessard-et-le-Chêne.

Church, hillside setting and architectural history

The parish church of Lessard-et-le-Chêne stands on the hillside of the Pays d’Auge, surrounded by its cemetery. It offers sweeping views over the Caen Plain. Église Notre-Dame de Lessard has Romanesque origins and was altered in the 16th and 19th centuries, without any substantial change to its structure. Two aspects therefore go together in understanding the church: its early architectural history and the later interventions that largely left its basic structure intact. If you are interested in architecture, you can view the church not as belonging to a single building phase, but by considering its origins and alterations together.

One specific feature of the interior is the painted and gilded high altar. It bears three polychrome statues: Christ with the Sacred Heart, John the Evangelist and Saint Louis. Polychrome means decorated in several colours; together with the gilding, the term describes the altar’s coloured finish. The figures provide a clear artistic focus and complement the architectural history with the church’s sacred furnishings. If you are interested in architecture and visual details, the church offers several points of interest.

Orchards and cider at Domaine des Essarts

Domaine des Essarts is open to visitors year-round and has 20 hectares of organically managed orchards on the sunny slopes of the Vie valley. A one-hour guided tour follows the stages of the process, from planting and tending the orchards through to harvesting and processing organic apples into cider. This sequence brings cultivation, harvesting and processing together under one clearly defined theme. The duration also gives you a specific time frame when planning the tour as part of your stay. If you are interested in fruit growing, you will gain insight into several stages from orchard to finished product.

After visits, tastings of apple juice, cider or Calvados made on site are offered. The tour and tasting have different focuses: the tour covers work in the orchard and processing, while the tasting centres on the products. As visitor arrangements may change, you should confirm the tour in advance. You should also check the availability of tastings before your visit.

Walking route, stud farms and château

A hiking guide, updated on 11 April 2022, describes how to walk uphill from the first junction to see Haras de Lessard et le Chêne. The route through the stud farms offers views through the trees of Château de Lessard-et-le-Chêne. The guide identifies the Haras as a stud farm for breeding yearlings. The same guide notes that the château is not open to visitors; check the visiting arrangements before your trip. This allows you to distinguish seeing the château from visiting it. For your planning, the walking route and viewpoints are just as relevant as the time-limited tour at Domaine des Essarts: they offer different ways to discover the landscape and its attractions.

Discover more destinations: Valsemé, Pennedepie, Saint-Arnoult, La Bazoque, Trévières, Le Mesnil-Villement, La Pommeraye, Aignerville.

For the wider travel overview: Calvados.