Mauléon: Medieval Townscape and Trails

Mauléon combines a typically medieval townscape with historic landmarks, viewpoints and trails for walkers and cyclists. If you’re looking for a hotel in Mauléon, you can plan your stay around whether you’re most interested in the town’s history, the Ouin landscape, marked trails or seasonal events.

Townscape and Historic Traces

Mauléon retains a typically medieval town layout. Remains of the medieval town walls can be seen along the streets. The castle overlooks the Ouin Valley and offers an exceptional panoramic view. In the Saint-Jouin district, the bell tower has a Romanesque heritage. The Abbey of the Holy Trinity was founded towards the end of the 11th century. Another historic trace is the former tannery, a testament to the city’s once highly significant leather industry. The town walls, abbey and tannery represent different aspects of the town’s history; from the castle, by contrast, the Ouin landscape comes into view.

Walking, Views and Cycling

Mauléon has 90 kilometres of rural trails for walking. There are also four signposted walking routes. The trail network and marked routes offer two different ways to plan: the stated total length of rural trails, or the choice of signposted routes. In the Mont Gaillard and Ouin Valley area, the signposted walking trail “La cité castrale et son patrimoine paysager” (The castle town and its landscape heritage) can be found. The area also includes the permanent orienteering course “De Saint-Jouin à la cité castrale” (From Saint-Jouin to the castle town), with ten checkpoints over 2.8 kilometres. A viewpoint at the Mont-Gaillard monument offers a view of Mauléon. For cycling, the Véloroute V93 connects Bressuire, Nueil-les-Aubiers and Mauléon with the Sèvre Nantaise Valley, and continues on to Nantes, the banks of the Loire and Saint-Nazaire. Check the current route signs before setting out.

Natural Sites and Rock Engravings

The Rochers gravés des Vaulx site is in Saint-Aubin-de-Baubigné and includes several dozen engraved rocks. The rocks are protected as historic monuments; they feature human figures, animals and various symbols from the Bronze Age, dated from 2200 to 800 BC. The site offers an archaeological focus alongside Mauléon’s historic buildings. The Rochers gravés des Vaulx and the Mont Gaillard and Ouin Valley area are designated as Espaces Naturels Sensibles (Sensitive Natural Areas) of the Deux-Sèvres department.

Events Throughout the Year

The Médiévales de Mauléon takes place every two years. The Vendredis du Patrimoine are themed guided walks held in Mauléon every summer. This distinction is useful when planning your dates: the Médiévales returns every two years, while the walks are part of the summer programme. Check the dates for your travel year before planning your stay around them.

Discover more destinations: Pamproux, Beaulieu-sous-Parthenay, Les Alleuds, Cherveux, Hanc, Sauzé-Vaussais, Châtillon-Sur-Thouet, L'absie.

For the main travel overview: Deux-Sèvres.