What to do in Beaugency

Beaugency is a town for walking. From 5 rue de la Maille d'Or, the place du Martroi is a minute away and the Loire seven. Here is what we tell our guests.

Starting from the hotel

The Hostellerie de l'Écu de Bretagne stands at 5 rue de la Maille d'Or, in the middle of the old town, opposite the church of Saint-Étienne. The place Saint-Firmin and the Tour César are five minutes away, the Loire seven. You leave the car in the courtyard on arrival and take it out only to drive to a château.

• On footPlace du Martroi 1 minute away, the Loire 7
• By bicycleThe Loire à Vélo route runs below the town
• By carCourtyard closed from 11pm to 6am, 6.30am at weekends
• By trainStation 1 km away, fifteen minutes on foot

The old town in two hours

The old centre is compact and the loop is done at an easy pace. The cobbles and the slopes call for comfortable shoes.

• Place du Martroi, the market on Wednesday and Saturday mornings, and the timber-framed house at number 30.
• The clock tower, a former town gate restored in 2025, spanning the rue du Change.
• Place du Petit-Marché, the tourist office under the covered market, the shops and delicatessens.
• The Templars' house in the rue du Puits-de-l'Ange, built in the twelfth century, rare for its Romanesque windows.
• Place Saint-Firmin and place Dunois, where the bell tower, the Tour César and the château face one another.
• Rue de l'Abbaye, along the abbey church, then down to the Devil's tower by the Loire.
• Rue du Pont, the liveliest street, with its restaurants, washhouses and river views.
• The Tavers gate, the old western way out of the ramparts, a few minutes from the hotel.

The monuments

Two of them are worth a stop. The Tour César, a 36-metre Romanesque keep listed in 1840, has dominated the town since the eleventh century; you can admire it from outside all year, as the inside opens only for the European Heritage Days.

The château, rebuilt around 1440 for Jean de Dunois, a companion of Joan of Arc, is now a digital art centre, with large-scale projections in its rooms and a medieval garden opening onto the Loire. Opening times change with the season, so check them before you go.

The banks of the Loire

Walk down the rue du Pont: the Loire is seven minutes away. The bridge, recorded from the twelfth century and 435 metres long, is the oldest stone bridge on the river. Legend has it the devil offered to build it in one night in exchange for the first soul to cross; in the morning the townspeople sent over a cat, and the people of Beaugency have been called cats ever since.

On the quai Dunois, facing the bridge, La Guinguette de Beaugency is open from June to September: local charcuterie boards, ice cream, pétanque and concerts on summer evenings. To the west, the Barchelin walk follows the river to the Observa'Loire, an eighteenth-century pavilion open to the public, with a picnic area. Across the bridge, a 4 km path crosses a nature site managed by the Conservatoire d'espaces naturels, where terns nest and beavers live.

Cross the bridge on foot at the end of the day: the town looks its best from the south bank.

By bicycle

The Loire à Vélo route runs along the embankment below the town. It is waymarked, flat and suitable for families. Two stages start here.

Royal Fat Bike, on +33 6 67 25 21 59, delivers bicycles to the hotel and hands them over before you set off. On foot, the Petite Mauve and vallée du Rû path forms a 13 km loop, about four hours.

Where to eat

The restaurants in the centre are all a few minutes' walk away, in the rue du Pont, the place du Martroi and the place du Petit-Marché.

Opening times vary with the season. Book, especially at weekends: reception will gladly do it for you.

The market, guided visits and the tourist office

• Market: Wednesday and Saturday mornings on the place du Martroi, next to the hotel, and Tuesday morning in the Garambault district. Depending on the season: asparagus, strawberries, melons, cheeses, honeys and Orléans-Cléry wines. We keep what you bring back cold for you.
• Guided visits: « Plongée dans le passé » (1 hr 30) on the medieval and Renaissance monuments, and « Le mystère des Marmousets » (1 hr), a treasure hunt for children aged 6 to 11.
• Through the year: the Val de Lire children's book fair in spring, the Estivales and the maize maze in July and August, the European Heritage Days in September, the only chance to go inside the Tour César.
• Two apps tell the story of the town as you walk: Wivisites, and Baludik for children.
• Tourist office: under the covered market on the place du Petit-Marché, four minutes on foot. Telephone: +33 2 38 44 32 28.