Le Mans never ceases to surprise its visitors: it offers a superb heritage with the Plantagenet city which sends tourists back to the Middle Ages, a Roman wall next to which only Constantinople and Rome do not have to blush, an Egyptian gallery at the Tasse museum which exists nowhere else, etc. A more active city than we think on the night side, it offers the historical richness and calm of a medium-sized provincial city during the day. And the city of Sarthe is world-famous for its famous motor race, the Twenty-Four Hours of Le Mans, which will take place this year on the weekend of June 16 and 17. A perfect opportunity to discover the city's treasures.

The Plantagenet city, the hidden jewel

Le Mans conceals in its heart a hidden jewel, remarkable at the national level: the Plantagenêt city. This ancient medieval city owes its name to the Plantagenet dynasty, which came from the Counts of Maine and Anjou, who settled there from the 12th to the 14th century. A place to stroll and stroll, the city extends over twenty hectares of cobbled streets lined with hunter wheels. Punctuated by timber-framed houses and Renaissance-style hotels, sheltered by a Roman wall and overhung by a cathedral, the old town gradually reveals itself before you and takes you through the centuries. In 2002, Le Vieux Mans became the Plantagenêt city. Once called Vindunum, this city has existed since Celtic times. The Red Pillar House, the Green Pillar House, the Two Friends House, the St. Paul House, the Annunciation House, the Drapery House, the Suspended House... Many are the remarkable residences that line the route of the Old Le Mans Promenade. The winding alleys, the stone stairs, the typical houses, the private mansions, the small squares, the churches... Walking through the streets of the old town allows you to discover a unique heritage with incomparable charm. In the heart of the city is the majestic Saint-Julien Cathedral. The construction of the cathedral took place between the 11th and 15th centuries and followed the evolution of the architectural styles of the different periods. Saint-Julien Cathedral, along with Notre-Dame-de-Chartres, houses some of the most beautiful medieval stained glass windows in the world, such as the Ascension stained glass window. You can also admire one of the peaks of Western Gothic painting: the Concert of 47 Angels Musicians, which was painted in the 14th century on the vaults of the chapel

Then, following the itinerary, we discover the collegiate church of Saint-Pierre-la-Cour, the Carré Plantagenêt, the house of Queen Berengère, the royal abbey of Saint-Vincent and the Palais des Comtes du Maine.

Strolls and museums on the programme

To walk around, you will also have to go through the Jardin des Plantes. Designed at the initiative of the Société d'horticulture de la Sarthe, this garden, owned by the City since 1881, has been a classified site since 1945. The first sketches were made in 1870 by Jean-Charles Alphand, chief engineer of the Paris Promenades, creator of the Buttes-Chaumont in Paris. Its five hectares are divided into two parts: the French garden and the English garden. The latter communicate through a rocky underground called Ragot Passage. A true space for floral cultivation, with its many beds and flower beds, the French garden is easily recognizable by its large straight alleys and statues arranged in the centre of the lawn plots. A terrace planted with lime trees almost a hundred years old overlooks the magnificent rose garden. On the other side of Ragot Passage, the English garden is a landscaped garden that offers various walking routes, via winding paths that sometimes run along a river that flows peacefully before flowing into a lake where swans, ducks and water hens live together. Statues, sculptures and fountains line the paths, interspersed with oaks, elms, redwoods and other remarkable trees.

As for museums, the Green Museum, the Natural History Museum, gathers one of the oldest collections in France with nearly 200,000 specimens (only a part of which is on display to the public). Geology, zoology, botany, that will delight young and old alike. Upstairs, the first room, dedicated to animals in their environment, offers a series of windows where they can be found in thickets, groves or fields; the second room (Jurassic Sarthe) is dedicated to minerals from the Precambrian era to the primary era... This doesn't mean much to you? Be aware that these fossils are dated from 620 million to 245 million years BC. That's enough to put it in perspective! There is no shortage of curiosities

For lovers of painting, the Tasse museum has a very rich pictorial collection and sumptuous art objects and furniture. The painting collections include works from several schools: French, Italian, Flemish and Dutch from the 15th century to the 20th century. All the Sienese and Florentine Primitives form a major part of the collections, as well as the 17th century paintings, particularly French and Caravaggesque Italian paintings. Finally, in the basement, a major surprise: the Egyptian tombs of Nefertari and Sennefer are reconstructed

The Le Mans Twenty-four Hours, a mythical car race

The Le Mans Twenty-four Hours is simply THE classic of endurance! And it is no longer to be presented since it represents one of the major motor races of the world sport. Since 1923, the race has been held on an equally famous circuit (including the Bugatti circuit), some of whose passages are part of the automobile legend; the Hunaudières straight line, the Dunlop bridge, the Tertre Rouge, Arnage and Mulsanne curves. We remind you that this event was conceived at the 1922 Motor Show, which was held at the Grand Palais in Paris. The idea was born during a meeting between Charles Faroux, journalist of La Vie Automobile, Georges Durand, secretary general of the ACO, surrounded by some eminent members of the club, and Émile Coquille, representative in France of the detachable Rudge-Whitworth wheels.

But the international reputation of Les Vingt-quatre Heures du Mans due to the constant activity on the circuit is also thanks to a magnificent 4,000 m² museum, located next to the Circuit des Vingt-quatre Heures, on the outskirts of the city. The atmosphere allows visitors to immerse themselves fully in the spirit of the famous race. The history of the automobile is traced through cars and collectibles arranged here and there, and through the projection of films, the presence of multiple archival photographs and the reconstruction of scenes and sets. The museum building, with its modern architecture and aircraft wing shape, was designed by Perrot, Donzé and Barbotin in 1990. Once inside its walls, the lighting highlights the cars displayed in a remarkable way, since Amédée Bollée's Obedient (1873). This museum pays tribute to the Manceaux, the Bollée, as well as to pilot Jean Rondeau (the only driver to have won the race at the wheel of a car he had himself built in 1980)

As for the race, see you this year on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 June to take place in these legendary stands.

Smart info

When? When? The city of Le Mans can of course be visited all year round, even if the arrival of the sunny days is of course more pleasant. To attend the 2018 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, come and visit us on the weekend of 16 and 17 June.

Getting there. By car, take the A11 from Paris, Angers and Nantes, the A28 from Rouen, Caen, Lyon, Tours and Bordeaux and the A81 from Rennes. By train, TGV from Paris-Montparnasse (18 connections per day) and many other major cities in France

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