Travel Guide Mareuil-Sur-Lay-Dissais

Mareuil-sur-Lay-Dissais, more commonly known as Mareuil, is located 20 km from the coast, in a region where plains, hedgerows and marshes make up the scenery, it is also famous for its wines. Once dominating the gulf of the Pictons from its cliff, the city was named Maravallum by the Romans before being taken in turn by the Arabs, the Normans and then the English. The inevitable Du Guesclin had to take it back several times, and the city was not spared either by the Wars of Religion or by the Wars of the Vendée. It is therefore not surprising, when arriving on the bridge, to discover a castle, a superb Romanesque church installed on a rocky promontory whose chevet is reflected in the calm waters of the Lay, to offer walkers a pretty "postcard". The church was in fact the work of a very important restoration, but the peaceful harmony of the place has been preserved, and that is the main thing. As for the castle, its purpose was to defend the entrance to the Lay valley. It is accessed by the small street to the left of the church. It was built in the 13th century and transformed in the 18th century, and all that remains is the keep, a massive tower covered with a four-sided tiled roof whose silhouette is refined by an elegant turret in one corner and another covered with slates on the opposite side. To discover the surrounding area, you can choose the 5 km yellow and white signposted path which starts from the market square, but also simply walk up or down the very pleasant banks of the Lay.