Passel: Discover Culture and Landscape

Passel can be explored through a range of cultural, historical and landscape themes. When planning a stay, you can choose from architectural history, archaeological traces and routes. Each local point of interest has its own timeframe: from a Neolithic discovery to buildings spanning several centuries and memories of the First World War.

Charterhouse, Chapel and Church

Today, only the lower sections of the entrance portal remain from the former Charterhouse of Saint-Louis, also known as Abbaye du Mont-Renaud. The ruins of a chapel also stand on Mont-Renaud. It was built in the 19th century, reusing elements from the 16th century. The chapel therefore brings together two periods of construction: the later building and the older components reused within it.

The parish church of Saint-Martin also brings together different periods, but in a different way. It was rebuilt after 1918; part of the façade of the earlier building, constructed in the second half of the 16th century, has been preserved. The history of the building is therefore not just a matter of dates, but also of which parts of an older structure survived. For a culturally focused stay, the chapel ruins and Saint-Martin offer two different examples of how older building fabric has been treated.

Archaeology, Landscape and Remembrance

A monumental Neolithic enclosure was discovered at Le Vivier in Passel. The archaeological site was exceptionally well preserved. This takes us much further back than the building history of the charterhouse, chapel and church, adding an archaeological dimension to the area’s historical themes. The period covered by these sites thus ranges from the Neolithic to the rebuilding after 1918.

Mont-Renaud is a hill separated from the Noyonnais uplands that rises prominently above the surrounding region. It is also associated with a memory of the First World War: a commemorative plaque recalls the 57th Infantry Regiment’s battles from 25 March to 13 April 1918 and how the regiment blocked the enemy’s route to Paris. Another point of interest is the Fontaine-Monument aux morts on Rue du Moulin in Passel. It was donated by Henry de Boulancy, the municipality’s mayor.

In the southeast of the municipal area lies the Moyenne Vallée de l’Oise bird sanctuary, a Natura 2000 site. For specific plans, check the applicable site protection requirements. This allows you to take Passel’s landscape into account alongside its buildings and places of remembrance, without treating these themes as interchangeable.

Compare Routes and Travel Times

The 10.5-kilometre Le Mont-Hubert walking and mountain biking route passes through Passel. The estimated time is about 2 hours and 20 minutes on foot and 45 minutes by mountain bike; the cumulative elevation gain is 153 metres. These figures help you compare the two modes of travel in terms of time. The approximate walking time and mountain biking duration should be understood as different estimates, not as identical plans for both options.

A map dated June 2025 shows the GR225 long-distance hiking trail and the Trans’Oise route in the Passel area. For a specific trip, check route conditions in connection with the work on the Canal Seine-Nord Europe. Together, the route information offers different starting points for planning your stay: Le Mont-Hubert, with its stated distance, travel times and elevation gain, and the two routes marked on a map in the Passel area. This lets you compare a tour’s timeframe with the municipality’s cultural, historical and landscape themes.

Discover more destinations: Bresles, Bailleval, Thiers-Sur-Thève, Le Hamel, Montataire, Mouy, Fresnoy-En-Thelle, Auteuil.

For the broader travel overview: Oise.