For a stay in Casson, two very different walks offer clear options: the challenging Chemins-Creux route is a 16.5-kilometre loop taking 4 hours and 30 minutes; l’école buissonnière, by contrast, is a 3-kilometre walk suitable for everyone. Nature trails, historic religious buildings and a visit with snail tasting by reservation add further highlights.
Trails through the bocage countryside
The Chemins-Creux route passes through Casson, Héric and Nort-sur-Erdre. Its challenging rating, distance of 16.5 kilometres and stated duration of 4 hours and 30 minutes make it a longer, demanding option. The route passes through Casson’s bocage countryside, where oak trees line the sunken lanes. These lanes were once used to drive livestock and allowed water to drain away in winter. The landscape and its former use are thus integral to the character of the route.
For a shorter alternative, l’école buissonnière is three kilometres long and suitable for everyone. It includes 13 sites across Casson that are of botanical, environmental or ecological interest. The fun, educational trail is laid out like a treasure hunt, with a ladybird and a grasshopper guiding visitors. Its shorter distance and treasure-hunt format offer a different experience from the long, challenging route. Local signage may change.
The Sentier des enfants de Batz offers another point of interest. This nature trail has seven information panels about the history of the municipality of Casson, its built environment and its biodiversity. It is also a place of remembrance and a shaded walking route. The information on the panels may change.
Casson’s municipal map shows the Vélodyssée and the Chemins Creux walking route. The map may be updated.
Churches, chapels and architecture
The Église Saint-Louis dates from 1841 and was designed by the architect Chenantais. The church houses a listed 15th-century alabaster relief depicting the Adoration of the Magi between two saints. The bell tower is also noteworthy: it is home to a very rare species of bat.
The Chapelle Sainte-Anne was listed as a historic monument by decree dated 14 February 1989. The Chapelle de la Recouvrance dates from 1860 and replaced an earlier chapel, which had been mentioned as far back as 1649. Historically, it was a place of procession where people prayed for the healing of sheep and sick children. Its construction history and former religious practices give the site a longer historical perspective.
The Château du Plessis includes the façades and roofs, the staircase with its wrought-iron railing, the Empire-style salon and its decorations, the porch and grand staircase, and the landscaped garden with its two stone lions at the entrance to the planted semicircular forecourt.
A visit with snail tasting
La F’Hermaphrodite offers a visit with snail tasting by reservation. Check in advance whether a slot is available. The farm offers prepared Gros-gris snails in their shells, as chouquettes, cooked and preserved; product availability may change. In Casson, nature trails, architectural history and a distinctive culinary experience come together, without every outing being limited to just one kind of experience.
Discover more destinations: Gorges, Vigneux-De-Bretagne, Saint-Julien-De-Concelles, La Chapelle-Launay, Basse-Goulaine, Sion-Les-Mines, Saint-Père-En-Retz, Vieillevigne.
For the broader travel overview: Loire-Atlantique.
