Loop of La Sauve on foot - An abbey in Entre-Deux Mers at LA SAUVE - Tourist routes

Distance: 8 km

walk

Duration: 2h

Difficulty : Easy-to-use

SAVES HER

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SAVES HER

Perched on a hill in the heart of Entre-deux-Mers, the Abbaye de la Sauve Majeure is one of the most spectacular monuments in Bordeaux. It was in 1079 that Saint Gérard de Corbie founded this Benedictine abbey by clearing with his monks the great primary forest, the "Silva Major". On the road to Compostela, it served as a regional starting point and stage for the pilgrimage. Classified in 1998 "World Heritage of Humanity", the whole remains today grandiose and very representative of Romanesque art. This circuit will allow you to discover the abbey and the village of La Sauve.

Loop of La Sauve on foot – An abbey in Entre-Deux Mers

Your itinerary

Getting to the starting point

The start

Your starting point is in the parking lot of the abbey of La Sauve-Majeure, along the D239. Go up the road for a few meters along the wall of the Maison des Vins de l'Entre-Deux Mers and turn left at the green beacon to take a small path. You now follow the markings which lead you to the corner of Place de La Sauve. You go down the main street for about fifty meters and turn left into the rue de Curton. You leave the subdivisions after crossing a small stream and you walk along meadows. Turn around regularly to choose your best view of the abbey. You will see a palombière on the hill before crossing the cycle path. After the track, you enter the undergrowth on the right (beacon). You will walk there for about a quarter of an hour, in the shade and in the cool. On your left, below, the panorama over the valley allows you to see a fairytale white castle in the distance.

Step 2

You come out of the undergrowth on a small paved road and you turn left.

Step 3

You are on the plateau, surrounded by vines. Be careful, when you arrive at the hamlet, you turn left between two poplars (beacon). You take a grassy path which then becomes a sunken path. This charming path runs along a stream and tends to merge with it in rainy weather, be careful... You then come out on a wide gravel path in the middle of meadows where horses graze. You arrive at the white castle that you had seen from the undergrowth.

Step 4

Continue to the departmental road, but just before, on your left, turn at the beacon.

Step 5

You join the undergrowth, then, soon, the vines and you cross the cycle path again. Go past a gate and continue straight. A hollow path again, but wide and comfortable, under the foliage, brings you back to La Sauve. At the bend of a bend, straight in front of you in the clearing of a meadow, you see the bell tower of the abbey looming on the horizon.

Step 6

Continue this path until you come out at the foot of the village. You then cross the D671 being extremely careful then take the rue de Naujan opposite and turn left at the next crossroads. You see the wall of the abbey and join the parking lot. Do not miss a visit to the monument. The warm-up you have just done will allow you to effortlessly climb the 157 steps of the Romanesque bell tower.