Discover Oizé: Hiking Trails, Nature and Heritage

Oizé brings together natural areas, hiking trails and striking examples of cultural heritage. If you’re looking for a hotel for a trip to Oizé, you can first consider whether you’d like to explore the surroundings on hiking trails, learn about wetlands and their biodiversity, or focus on architectural and historical sites. The Fessard runs through the commune; meadows and bocage hedgerows shape the landscape, along with wooded areas and wetlands.

Landscape, Wetlands and Hiking Trails

Oizé has four hiking trails ranging from 5 to 21 kilometres, offering a way to explore the area around the commune. This range gives you a concrete comparison of trail lengths as you consider how to fit hiking into your stay. The distances in kilometres make the difference between shorter and longer routes clear.

The Tourbière du Poumon vert is a wetland in Oizé and is also designated as a biodiversity corridor and biodiversity reservoir. It is home to the common kingfisher, Mercury bluet, black woodpecker and little owl; their presence may vary seasonally. These names represent different species associated with the wetland, giving the landscape a distinctive connection to nature.

Other areas in Oizé are also associated with ecological inventory designations. La Tourbière de la Fontaine du Bouchet is one of the ZNIEFF sites designated in Oizé. La Lande des Soucis is a continental ZNIEFF type 1 site that extends, among other places, across Oizé. The description dated 12 June 2024 lists wet heathland, conifer stands, ponds, meadows and low heathland there. The sites’ natural features therefore differ not only in their designations, but also in the types of landscape described.

Architecture and History

The Église Saint-Hilaire combines a Romanesque nave with a Gothic choir in the Plantagenet style. The church contains a 13th-century wall fresco depicting the burial of Saint Hilary. It is one of only two known depictions of this subject. The church has been classified as a Monument historique since 29 April 1994. The architecture and fresco thus bring together two different historical perspectives in a single building: the combination of different architectural styles and a distinctive subject.

The former Benedictine priory of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine in Oizé has been listed as a Monument historique since 24 July 1989. At the Moulin de Boisard, water supply and restoration history come together: the mill is located on the Fessard and is fed by a mill channel that diverts part of the stream from the Poumon Vert area. Restoration began in 1995; the waterwheel was replaced in 2014.

The Manoir de Montaupin lies south of the town centre. Around 1342, Montaupin was a seigneurial estate; only one of the fir trees planted there remains today. A few fragments of wall and the main entrance are all that remain of the Château du Boschet. The village washhouse in Oizé was restored in the 2000s. Together, these details reflect different periods: from an estate dating to around 1342, through surviving structures, to more recent restorations.

Explore the Moulin du Rouveau

At the Moulin du Rouveau, visitors can take part in an educational activity in which they solve puzzles among the animal enclosures. A two-hour animal-care activity is also available by reservation. It includes discovering different species, as well as feeding and brushing animals in the enclosures. The two formats have different focuses: solving puzzles during the exploration and hands-on animal care during the activity, which requires a reservation.

The planning details differ too: for the hiking trails, the focus is on route length; for the animal-care activity, it is a fixed two-hour duration and the need to book. This lets you assess the options according to their specific planning details without treating a hike and an activity as equivalent.

Discover More Destinations

Discover more destinations: Saint-Ulphace, Roézé-sur-Sarthe, Mulsanne, La Chartre-Sur-Le-Loir, Saint-Ouen-en-Belin, Saint-Victeur, Chemiré-le-Gaudin, Courgenard.

For the broader travel overview: Sarthe.