SENTIER DES COTEAUX ET DES COULÉES

The harbour slipway and quays have been redeveloped since the famous caging bridge at Mauves sur Loire. They are the starting point for hiking trails leading to the hills and valleys of Mauves.

Mauves-sur-Loire, on the eastern edge of the Nantes conurbation, has been inhabited since ancient times, thanks to the exceptional beauty of its landscape and its strategic riverside position.
More recently, until the 1950s, Mauves-sur-Loire was a popular holiday destination for the people of Nantes. Even today, the town offers a harbour setting with an air of guinguette. Criss-crossing the 10 km of the commune, the Coteaux trail offers a wide variety of atmospheres and landscapes. Towpaths, winding little streets, steep paths nestling in the undergrowth and vast meadows grazed by horses all follow one another along this loop, which requires good shoes and a bit of stamina.

Along the way, you can stop off in shady grassy clearings and enjoy the view. The trail is dotted with numerous lookouts from which you can take in the Loire valley at a glance, from La Chapelle-Basse-Mer to Loroux-Bottereau, and from La Varenne to La Pierre Percée. Breathtaking panoramas of Europe's last wild river.
In the lower reaches, the Coteaux trail takes you close to the Faux-monnayeurs cave. The Malestroit brothers, who owned the Château d'Oudon, are said to have made counterfeit gold coins here. On the other bank, the miller from Île-en-La-Chapelle-Basse-Mer, attracted by the glow coming from the cave, denounced the two brothers, who were arrested and beheaded in Nantes in 1516.