Saint-Mars-Du-Désert: Mill Routes and Local History

When looking for a hotel in Saint-Mars-Du-Désert, it helps to decide what you want to focus on during your stay. If you enjoy getting around on foot, you can choose from orienteering courses and a circular route featuring mills and scenic views. The town’s history includes, among other sites, the Église Saint-Médard and the Chapelle de la Ceriseraie. You can plan your trip around whether you would rather enjoy an outdoor activity or explore historic buildings and details.

Orienteering Courses and Mill Route

Four orienteering courses are offered in Saint-Mars-Du-Désert, suitable for families or friends. Participants follow a course marked with checkpoints and use a special orienteering map; a compass can also be used if needed. The meeting point for the courses is at Plan du Verdier. The focus is on navigating with the map and checkpoints, rather than simply covering a distance.

The Détour des Moulins offers a different way to explore: the circular route is 11.9 kilometres long, and three hours are allowed for the walk. Visitors can see three mills along the way, including the Moulin des Places. The route also offers a view of the Plaines de Mazerolles. The Moulin des Places was used to generate electricity—another detail connecting the mill route with the history of local buildings.

For planning purposes, the difference between the activities is clear: the Détour des Moulins has a specified distance and duration, while the orienteering courses centre on marked checkpoints, a map and the possible use of a compass. This makes it easier to consider which format better suits your stay, without reducing both activities to the same kind of outing.

Église Saint-Médard and Local History

The Église Saint-Médard stands in the heart of the town and is an important part of the community’s architectural and historical heritage. The present church was built from the 1850s onwards to plans by Nantes architect Henri Gilée (1816–1885), and rebuilt in the pointed-arch Neo-Gothic style. An earlier church in Saint-Mars-Du-Désert had origins dating back to the 10th century. The town’s documented building history therefore reaches further back than the construction of the present church.

Individual features also give the church its distinctive character: its four bells were baptised on 7 August 1877. Frescoes by the Lemasson brothers are located above the door on the west wall of the north transept. These details about its design, history and art can be understood as different aspects of the town’s ecclesiastical heritage as you explore.

Chapelle de la Ceriseraie, Presbytery and Skatepark

Another point of interest is the Chapelle de la Ceriseraie, on a hill in Saint-Mars-Du-Désert. The site includes a mill as well as the chapel, which was founded in 1602. The presbytery houses two statues: “Vierge à l'Enfant” and “Christ en croix”. These distinct sites and works of art add further historical points of reference to the picture offered by the Église Saint-Médard.

For a different kind of leisure activity, the Skatepark de Saint-Mars-Du-Désert covers 450 m² and is located at the new sports complex. Along with the orienteering courses and the Détour des Moulins, it shows that a stay need not focus solely on historical sightseeing. When choosing a hotel, you can first consider which of these activities or aspects of local history are of particular interest for your trip.

Discover more destinations: La Baule-Escoublac, Saint-Brevin-Les-Pins, Pont-Saint-Martin, Cordemais, Mouzillon, Treillières, Saint-Michel-Chef-Chef, Malville

For an overview of the wider region: Loire-Atlantique.