Logis de la Touche

Discover the former Templar Commandery and its outbuildings

Former 13th century Templar Commandery, then Commandery of Malta, with later buildings dating from the 15th to 18th centuries forming a dwelling in an enclosed courtyard. The property includes the manor house and its outbuildings, monks' house, barn, stables and dovecote.
Tour of the exterior, inner courtyard and garden.
Restored by the owners and listed in the supplementary inventory of historic monuments.

The grounds are open to the public in July, August and the first week of September, except on 14 July and 15 August.
By reservation on 07 82 37 48 07 on the following days and at the following times:
- Mondays from 3pm to 6pm,
- Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10am to midday and from 2pm to 6pm,
- Fridays from 10am to midday.

Also open to the public every year during Heritage Days, on the third Saturday and Sunday in September, from 10am to 6pm.

Free admission
On-site parking
Dogs allowed on a lead
No smoking
No picnics

The Commanderie de la Touche, with its rich history, is a must-see for the curious traveller. Intrigued at first by its imposing silhouette, the visitor is inevitably overcome by vertigo as he contemplates the high walls of its eight centuries of existence. When you enter the courtyard through a majestic porch, you immediately feel the significance of this unique heritage as you discover an architectural ensemble of great beauty. And yet, what remains of those time immemorial?
A real challenge, partly met by the impressive restoration work of recent years. It's a dream come true.
Emotion mingles with enthusiasm.
Here in the Vendée, in this land of deep furrows, even before so much blood was spilt, men lived in their deepest faith with the value of their vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Today, these monastic commitments have lost their innate meaning, and they deserve to be remembered and revealed.
When, in these sacred lands, the glorious songs of these pious men could be heard, we should not be surprised to hear the walls still speaking to us. For they carry within them both the strength of those lives of hope and the gentleness of those sincere souls.
This is what the monks of the Order of the Temple and their successors in the Order of St John, known as the Order of Malta, who lived here, passed on to us.
Today, as we search for points of reference in our lives as modern human beings, lost without the spirituality that made us human, these places are unhoped-for resources where everyone can come to meditate on the transmission of our Fathers and share it.
This is our wish for the Commanderie de la Touche, hidden in the heart of our bocage and overlooking the Lay valley. May we be its architects.