Montsûrs offers several distinct themes for a stay: preserved buildings, religious furnishings, the Jouanne and its arboretum, as well as a seasonal producers’ market. This lets you focus your trip on heritage, nature or a visit to the market.
Culture and architectural history
The Tour Pigeonnier is a preserved remnant of the former château of Montsûrs. The Tour Renaise is also a preserved building in Montsûrs. These offer two different starting points for exploring the town’s history: a specific remnant of the château and another preserved building.
The former Saint-Martin Church was abandoned in 1855. Its preserved choir contains a wooden altarpiece dating from 1722, created by Le Bourdais. The dates refer to different stages in its history: 1855 marks the church’s abandonment, while 1722 is the date of the altarpiece.
The Saint-Martin Chapel is a Romanesque building dating from the 10th century. Its high altar, tabernacle and altarpiece are listed as Monuments historiques. Here you can consider the Romanesque period and the listed status of the furnishings as distinct aspects of religious history.
The Eglise des Trois Marie de Montsûrs was built between 1855 and 1859 on the site of an earlier chapel. That chapel was dedicated to the Trois Marie—Marie-Madeleine, Marie-Cléophas and Marie-Salomé. The church is Neo-Romanesque and built of limestone and granite rubble stone. Among other features, it contains stained-glass windows from the François Fialeix workshop; these windows are protected as historic objects. The construction period, style, materials and protected windows offer different ways to understand the church.
The Jouanne, the arboretum and a walking trail
The Jouanne flows through Montsûrs, receives the Deux-Evailles stream as its main tributary, and then winds between the valleys of Saint-Cénéré. If you are interested in river landscapes, its course offers a focus of its own alongside the historic buildings.
A marked path runs along the Jouanne in the Arboretum de Montsûrs. The marked Arboretum walking trail No. 46 is a 4.9 km loop. This gives you both a riverside path and a named walking route of a specific length to consider when planning time in nature. The arboretum is free to access year-round; temporary changes are possible. Check current access and trail conditions before your visit.
Plan your visit around the seasonal market
The MARCHÉ DE PRODUCTEURS LOCAUX ET BIO changes location depending on the season. From October to May, it takes place every Thursday from 4:30 to 7:30 pm at the Halles de la Jouanne, formerly Proxi. From June to the end of September, it is held on the banks of the La Jouanne near the municipal campsite in Montsûrs. Check the date and location details before planning a market visit, as seasonal arrangements and venues may change.
The market features a range of local producers selling cheese, meat, beer, apple juice, coffee, honey, vegetables, flowers and preserves. You can consider a market visit as a travel interest in its own right, alongside the buildings and riverside paths. For your planning, both the seasonal change of location and the date of each event are important.
More destinations
Discover more destinations: Couesmes-Vaucé, Saint-Samson, Blandouet, Bais, Longuefuye, Louverné, Lesbois, Ruillé-Froid-Fonds.
Go to the main travel overview: Mayenne.
