Promenade dans la cité Plantagenêt au Mans

To follow a Plantagenêt circuit in Le Mans is to go to the Saint-Julien cathedral, in which, in 1128, Geoffrey married Mathilde, heiress of the Anglo-Norman domain. In spite of the destruction caused by the fire that the Cathedral suffered, what remains of that period can still be admired: the portal opening onto the Grand-Rue, completed in 1158, and, in the nave, the ribbed vaults that have been called "Plantagenet vaults". We then proceed to the Palace of the Counts of Maine, which was located in the place of the present City Hall and its immediate surroundings, at the corner of Rue de la Comédie and Place du Hallai. Remaining within the same perimeter, one descends the steps towards the collegiate church of Saint-Pierre-La-Cour, founded in 969, whose reconstruction was undertaken in 1093: today, one can still admire two bays of the nave from this period. If you still have a little time and feel like walking, you can go down towards the Sarthe, to the Louis-Blanc quay, to admire a cellar with arcades. We then head towards the right bank of the Sarthe to the church of Notre-Dame-du-Pré, a remarkable Romanesque ensemble. On the way back to the town centre, a visit to the Couture church, which - after a fire - was rebuilt in the 12th century, is a must. Then, we take the car again to head towards the Abbey of l'Épau, the last reference to the Plantagenets, stopping on the way at the Maison-Dieu de Coëffort, built at the end of the 12th century and whose remarkable interior architecture should not be missed, even if when we get there, nothing suggests it...

Rate: free of charge.

Duration: about 1h30 (this is the duration of the city of Plantagenêt only and not the visit of the whole).

Difficulty: easy.