Foussais-Payré has kept over time the traces of its rich historical past.

The prosperity of Foussais-Payre over the past centuries and especially in the sixteenth century is witnessed by many remarkable buildings.

Four of them caught the attention of the Ministry of Culture :

The Romanesque church, listed as a historical monument

François Laurens House

The Priory xve century, current city hall, former Priory of a Benedictine abbey

Payré lime kilns, which operated in the nineteenth century and until 1914

You will be able to discover the tree of the freedom and the inn held by the family of the famous mathematician François Viète (one of the inventors of modern algebra).

Every year, the last week of July, the village hosts a symposium of chainsaw carving.

12 to 14 woodcarvers create unique works.

A visit is required !

In the forest of Mervent-Vouvant, the Marais Poitevin, the Bocage or in Fontenay-le-Comte, put on your trainers and let yourself be guided by the beauty of our region at each of your steps.

Discover the history of the Faymoreau mines (accessible SITE PMR, visual and auditory), an industrial site in Vendée 1827-1958.

The village of Faymoreau nestles discreetly and in peace in a green setting, at the bend of a small departmental road.

A bucolic universe, paradise for fishermen with its pond lined with small pontoons and wooden huts full of charm. A mining village where time seems to have stopped when you stroll through the small streets marked with rope, flanked on each side by houses all identical, with windowsills or door sills delicately flowered.

One day in 1827, a modest saboteur discovered, while digging a well, a coal seam. From there begins for the entire region of Faymoreau, a great adventure that will last 130 years (1827 to 1958). People from here and elsewhere, united by courage and solidarity, arrived in the mining basin to extract the "black gold" of the time.

Men, their sons and grandsons descend into the bowels of the earth at the risk of their lives.

The headframes shape the bocager landscape. Companies such as glassware and power plants are emerging to consume coal. The workers' village, organized by the Société des Mines a few steps from the old village, developed with the construction of the corons, the management, the chapel, the schools… On February 28,1958, the mine closed permanently. Today, mining history cannot be forgotten. The corons are still inhabited and the workers' gardens cultivated, the stained glass windows of Carmelo Zagari illuminate the Miners' Chapel, the museum located in the former dormitory of the glassmakers brings back the glorious industrial past of the Faymoreau mining basin.

Adapted visit on reservation from 10 people.

Factory tour in Mouilleron Saint Germain, Pouzauges or Chantonnay by appointment

The visit is reserved for people over 12 and is not accessible to people with reduced mobility.

The visit is for individual clients or small groups (12 to 20 people maximum).

For bookings of more than 6 people, please contact the Tourist Office of Pays de Pouzauges at + 33 2 51 91 82 46.

Online booking http://mbt-vendee-otpaysdepouzauges.for-system.com/z8691w120810e1_fr-visites-d-entreprises.aspx

Guided tour of the inhabited part of the Château de Terre Neuve, classified as a historic monument, splendid work of the xvth century, in the heart of its large park, overlooking the city of art and history of Fontenay-le-Comte.

The castle of Newfoundland was built in 1580, for Nicolas Rapin, Grand Prévot of the Connétablie de France and companion of Henri iv.

In this jewel of the French Renaissance, he received illustrious characters including the Duke of Sully, and Agrippa d'Aubigne.

In the nineteenth century, the Château de Newfoundland is owned by the famous Octave de Rochebrune, a famous aquafortist.

He made 492 etchings in Newfoundland and will be considered by some as "the Piranese of his time".

The castle is renowned for its Alchemical fireplace, its coffered ceilings of carved stones, its woodwork from Chambord Castle, suns gilded with gold leaf from King Louis xiv's room, the cabinet door of King François 1er.

You can admire paintings, furniture, collections and beautiful clothes from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

This castle is private and inhabited all year.

from 01/05 to 30/06 and from 01/09 to 30/09 from 10h to 12h and from 14h to 18h.

And from 01/07 to 31/08 from 10h to 18h continuous day.

Off season, for groups, by reservation.

Closed from October 1st to April 30th for individuals.

Go in search of the secret hidden by Octave de Rochebrune in his home in Newfoundland. This adventure is offered for free to complement the visit of the youngest.

The castle shop offers souvenirs for young and old

During the season you can picnic in the park of 5 hectares having taken his ticket.

Tel : 00 33 (0) 2 51 69 17 75

or : 00 33 (0) 2 51 69 99 41

chateau.terreneuve@gmail.com

Relive daily life in the Middle Ages, visiting the keep and the medieval garden.

Fortified during the Hundred Years War around 1380, by the knight and Lord Jehan Girard of Bazoges, the donjon was part of an older castle and served as residence for the lord and his family.

Today, restored and furnished on five floors, the donjon offers an exceptional view from the walkway on the bocage Vendée.

Throughout the visit you will discover the furniture and sculptures that illustrate the daily life in the Middle Ages.

The spiral staircase will take you to the walkway at thirty meters high, where you can admire an exceptional view of the medieval garden, the village of Bazoges and the surrounding countryside.

Visit with the medieval garden and the local museum.

Cultural Site of the Department of Vendée

Founded in 1068, Saint Vincent Abbey benefited from the protection of the Counts of Poitou and Dukes of Aquitaine.

Aliénor, who was born in Nieul in 1122, granted her the status of Royal Abbey while she was Queen of France. In spite of the destructions linked to the wars of Religion, the abbey is one of the few monastic ensembles of the Lower Poitou novel preserving abbey, cloister with its four galleries and conventual buildings almost intact.

In addition to visiting the Abbey, there is a scenography and interactive terminals to know the operation of an abbey, the origins and history of monastic movements, the history of the Abbey of Nieul and its regional influence…

At the heart of a Small City of Character, an architectural gem of exceptional quality, highlighted by a unique restoration, opens its doors for a visit to the border of reality and virtual.

The castle accessible Tourism and Disability offers many animations.

Access to the castle is via an entrance porch consisting of a carriage door and a pedestrian door. This porch gives access to a large courtyard serving as a farmyard, as opposed to the upper inner courtyard of the castle. This spacious courtyard is lined, on three of its sides, with farm buildings for agricultural use (stables, barns, stables and dwelling house), dated for the whole of the 17th century.

Facing this farmhouse stands the medieval fortress. The two architectural ensembles were separated by a water moat, which surrounded the castle until the 18th century. The main access is now by means of a restored drawbridge.

A wonderful heritage to discover:

• The entrance castle
• The High Court
• The office
• The kitchen
• The stately home
• The dungeon

Cultural Site of the Department of Vendée

In the heart of the Chassay forest, the Priory of Grammont is a miniature abbey in a green setting.

In the twelfth century, thanks to the numerous donations of the Plantagenets kings reigning over Poitou, a new monastic order was established, the order of Grandmont.

Around 1197, Richard Lionheart, very attached to this province, decided to continue the business of his father by founding a new grandmontain monastery. Thus the priory of Grammont is born, in the heart of the forest of Chassay, on the site of an old parish.

Soon, the monastery is supported by the community of Grandmontains monks, who apply the strict rule initiated by Etienne de Muret.

Body of sea water. Access on one level. Supervised beach. Inflatable structures "Bimb'Aqua" and "Bimb'Gliss". Swimming school. Triathlon area.

Dogs strictly prohibited. Fishing prohibited in the bathing area, allowed on the perimeter only by line.

First aid station nearby

Surveillance period: from July 1st to August 31st

Number of MNS: 4

MNS attendance times: 12.45h- 18.45h

Number of Handiplagists: 4

Opening hours of presence of disabled people: 12.45h- 18.45h

WC of which disabled less than 100 m

Accessible shower

Accessible cloakroom

Sale of drinks nearby

Relive the history of the largest medieval fortress in the West at Tiffauges

Castle Tiffauges is the largest medieval site in the region, with a rich past on the borders between the kingdom of France and Brittany.

Its conservatory of war machines is the best example, as are the entertainment and shows on offer.

Discover a fascinating and intriguing story related to the lord of the place : Gilles de Rais

Show, 3D film, crossbow shooting.

Unique in the world : largest collection of war machines in operation !

The Haras de la Vendée, heritage of the National Studs created by Napoleon 1st.

It represents one of the main heritage riches of the city of La Roche sur Yon. This site is also a crossroads for all associations in the horse industry.

Today, the Haras de la Vendée encompasses a cultural and tourist activity, coupled with the equestrian activity always present.

Supervised beach during Ascension, Pentecost and in July and August.

Snack / WC / Schools and nautical equipment rental

Animals tolerated, kept on a leash outside the supervised beaches.

Cultural Site of the Department of Vendée

The Logis de la Chabotterie, is a typical house of Bas-Poitou and high place of the Vendée War.

Thanks to the 9 furnished historic rooms and the closed garden backed by the house, discover the history :

• Logis de la Chabotterie
• General Vendéen Charette
• Wars of Vendée

The animations in the year :

• The last course of Charette
• The Treasure of Charette
• The Nature course
• Adventure books

The Logis de la Chabotterie is a starting point for a circuit on the theme of the War of Vendée which passes by the Lucs-on-Boulogne, the forest of Grasla, the chapel of Tulévrière…