Tuffé its abbey and lake

A charming village, appreciated for its lake with a leisure center offering water sports and fishing, and for its marked hiking and mountain-biking trails. The commune is also famous for its abbey, and for the Transvap, a tourist railroad with steam engines and vintage railcars. The Château de Chéronne, a 5-hundred-year-old edifice, is also part of this heritage. For your stay, Le camping du lac, a 4-star municipal campsite, awaits you on the Tuffé leisure park, a stone’s throw from the village and all its shops.

Tuffé Abbey The priory, the dovecote and the gardens

Tuffé Abbey is a former Benedictine monastery (7th-18th centuries) that became an earthenware factory in the 19th century. Here you’ll discover the priory dwelling, the dovecote and the main house. In addition to the premises, there’s a themed garden, a local cultural center and a tourist information point.

Today, the abbey is a cultural center open to all, offering visitors the remains of the abbey, its gardens and a program of art, history and nature exhibitions and events.

Free admission!

Founded in the 7th century by a noblewoman named Loppa, the women’s abbey became a men’s abbey, then a priory attached to Saint-Vincent du Mans abbey in the 11th century. The priory flourished with the arrival of the Maurist Benedictine monks in 1646. They enlarged and rebuilt all the convent buildings. They converted the garden into a place for relaxation, meditation and contemplation.

During the French Revolution, the site was sold as national property and, from 1798 to 1830, became the headquarters of one of the first major earthenware factories in the Sarthe region. Remains of the monastic buildings characteristic of classical Maurist architecture remain.

Following the purchase of the main buildings by the commune in 2003, restoration work was undertaken and the site’s development was entrusted to an association, Les Amis de l’Abbaye, which brings the site to life, rehabilitates the gardens, organizes tours and offers a varied cultural program all year round. Throughout the year, the abbey welcomes numerous artists who exhibit their creations in the heart of the site. One of the many events is the Advent craft market, held at the end of the year. This highly reputed event attracts some thirty artists and craftspeople each year.

And last but not least, the Abbey’s boutique sells a wide range of local produce.

The Abbey gardens

Ever since the abbey was founded in the 7th century, gardens have been cultivated here, no doubt in different ways at different times. In 2008, the gardens were restored to serve as a backdrop to the preserved buildings, and to evoke the diversity of their real or imaginary history, reflecting the evolution of man and cultivated nature.

A dozen garden worlds have been created, making it easier to understand where the buildings once stood. They take visitors on a poetic and temporal stroll.

Come and explore the seven themed gardens: the farmyard, the porch passage, the forecourt, the pre-orchard, the secret gardens, the catalpa lounge and the undergrowth. Two other areas have been reinterpreted to complement the history of the site: the Prior’s Promenade and Frère Léonard’s Garden of Stars. They are maintained in a spirit of sustainable development by the association’s volunteers, thus contributing to the enhancement of a remarkable built heritage.

Opening hours

April, May, June and September: Thursday and Saturday, 10am to 12pm and 2pm to 5:30pm / Friday and Sunday, 2pm to 5:30pm

July and August: daily from 2pm to 6pm / Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 12pm and 2pm to 6pm

October: Thursday and Saturday, 10am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm / Friday and Sunday, 2pm to 5pm

Rates

Free admission all year round

Contact

Tuffé Abbey

3 ter Place du Général Leclerc, 72160 Tuffé-Val-de-la-Chéronne

02 44 32 17 56

Website

Abbaye de Tuffé

Focus on the Abbey brochure

Published by the Pays d’art et d’histoire du Perche Sarthois, this focus will accompany you on your visit. The various points of interest are presented in detail.

This guide will also help you learn more about the history and evolution of the Abbey.

Download the Focus3MB

The village other discoveries!

Water park

Covering an area of 40 hectares, the leisure park offers a wide range of activities: water sports in season, fishing area, supervised swimming in season, pedalo hire, children’s play areas, tennis and volleyball areas, fitness trail, climbing wall… Lake accessible all year round, water sports activities only in July and August.

Château de Chéronne

Château de Chéronne, a historic monument turned accommodation and events venue, and its English-style park are isolated from urban activity by over 400 hectares of woodland and farmland. The river “La Chéronne” feeds the main pond, which is a haven for a variety of wildlife. The château is visible from the hiking trail accessible from the leisure park.

The Transvap

Between Beillé and Bonnétable, a section of the old “ligne des Ducs” perpetuates the tradition of the railroads of yesteryear on an 18 km tourist trail, thanks to the “antique railcars” and “steam locos” of the Transvap association. A low-speed journey back to the past, where you can take time out to admire the scenery.

Camping du Lac

In a green setting by the water, everything for the family and everything to recharge your batteries. The campsite is located on the edge of a lake on the Tuffé leisure park, a stone’s throw from the village and all its shops. It’s the ideal place to spend a relaxing, invigorating holiday with family or friends. 105 pitches, heated indoor swimming pool open all season.

Open from April to October

Camping du Lac

Tuffé on foot and by bike

N°14 : De Tuffé à Saint-Denis-des-Coudrais

13.0km

Pédestre2h 45minFacile
Boucle

N°14 : Aux confins des collines du Perche

50.0km

CyclotouristeMoyen
Boucle

N°15 : Héritage de la Vallée de l'Huisne

67.0km

CyclotouristeMoyen
Boucle

Discovery trail through the village of Tuffé

Since 2006, the Pays, in partnership with the Pays de la Loire Region, has been carrying out a heritage inventory of its territory. In 2017, a new study was launched to examine the villages through their morphology, architecture and relationship with the countryside.

Tuffé, one of eleven villages selected for an in-depth study, is deeply marked by its monastic past. Its streets are dotted with a rich heritage and a wide range of housing from the late Middle Ages to the 20th century.

This tour takes you on a journey of discovery through some of this heritage, identified during the inventory.

Download itinerary4MB

Julien-Rémy Pesche

Quite a large town (…) consisting of a vast, fairly regular square, formed in part by the old cemetery, on which stands the parish church, and a few houses of fairly good appearance, including several inns; four roads extend from this square to the east, northeast, southwest and west…

Excerpt from Dictionnaire topographique, historique et statistique de la Sarthe, 1842.