Discover Saint-Bonnet-Le-Courreau

Saint-Bonnet-Le-Courreau offers different ways to enjoy a stay: hiking trails, historic buildings, a mineral spring, and insights into cheese-making and milling. These themes appeal to different interests, giving you a choice between outdoor activity, history, and visits centred on traditional crafts.

Hiking between the valley and plateau

The La vallée de Chorsin route is 13 km long, moderately difficult, and takes approximately 4 hours and 50 minutes to walk. It leads from an old glacial valley up to the Plateau de Garnier, which is part of the Hautes-Chaumes. For planning your day, its length and approximate walking time provide a concrete guide; the route also takes you from the valley up to the plateau.

The GR3 is available to hikers in Saint-Bonnet-Le-Courreau. The old Pont de Subertha is used by both the GR3 bis and signposted circular route no. 5. The hiking options can be considered according to different features: La vallée de Chorsin by length, difficulty, and approximate time required, and the GR3 bis and circular route no. 5 also by their shared use of the old bridge. This lets you take route planning and a historic landmark into account together when making your choice.

Landscape and views

Font Fort is a carbonated mineral spring that emerges from a fissure in the bed of the Pierre Brune stream. At the edge of the village, an orientation table offers panoramic views across the département and the Alps when weather conditions are suitable. If the view is important to you, plan for it as a weather-dependent possibility. The spring and the view offer different connections to the landscape: one is its geological setting in the streambed, the other the expansive vista revealed by the table in suitable weather.

Church, chapel, and old bridge

The church of Saint-Bonnet-Le-Courreau dates from the early 16th century. The Chapelle Saint-Roch is a Renaissance chapel and recalls that Saint-Bonnet developed from a priory located in Courreau. The old Pont de Subertha also has a historical connection: it has stood since the Renaissance. Together, they offer different perspectives on local history—the date of the church, the priory commemorated by the chapel, and the bridge's long-standing presence. You can thus discover religious buildings and a historic bridge as distinct points of interest.

Cheese-making and a visit to a mill

At Pont de la Pierre, the Société fromagère de St Bonnet le Courreau offers a glimpse into the traditional production of Fourme de Montbrison (AOP). Moulin des Massons is a working mill in the Vizézy valley. A guided tour focuses on oil production and ends with a tasting. Visitors can also watch logs being sawn at the water-powered sawmill. The two visits have different focuses: Fourme production at Pont de la Pierre, or oil, tasting, and sawmilling at Moulin des Massons.

Discover more destinations: Chambles, Chandon, Chambœuf, Nervieux, Saint-Jean-La-Vêtre, Bussières, Saint-Galmier, Saint-Symphorien-de-Lay.

For the broader travel overview: Loire.