Car Hire in Le Mans, France
Le Mans is 80km northwest of Tours in the département of Sarthe, the easiest way from the Loire valley but also included here as a good, relatively untouristy base between Normandy plus the Loire valley, with fast transport connections into Angers and Tours. Town is taken over by car hobbyists in the midst of June for the famous 24-hour race, but also for the rest of the year, it is still lively enough, with a bit of remarkable museums and one of the most exquisite old quarters of any city in France. It was here, in 1129, that Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Maine and Anjou, married Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England, and where their son, the near future Henry II, was born.
The intricate web of the old town lies on a hill on top of the River Sarthe to north of the central place de la République. Its ancient streets, a hotchpotch of lavish Renaissance stonework, medieval half-timbering, sculpted pillars and beams along with grand classical facades, remain encircled from the original third- and fourth-century Gallo-Roman walls , supposedly the best-preserved in Europe and operating for several hundred metres. Steep, walled steps lead up from the river, and longer flights descend to the southern side of the enclosure, by means of old Gallo-Roman entryways. Should you be serious, you can look at photographs, road maps as well as plans of Vieux Mans, plus kinds of the city's ancient arts and crafts, such as the product of Malicorne ceramics, in the Musée de la Reine Bérengère (daily 9am-noon & 2-6pm; 16F/?2.44), one of many Renaissance houses on rue de la Reine-Bérengère.
Rearing on the hill from the eastern side is the immense Gothic apse of the Cathédrale St-Julien , which includes a Romanesque nave and radiating chapels, on place du Grente (also known as du Château), at the crowning point of the old town. As indicated by Rodin, the now badly worn sculpted figures of the south porch were rivaled only in Chartres and Athens. Most of the stained-glass windows here were added in the 13th century, some time right after the first Plantagenet was buried in the church in 1151, and nevertheless the most brilliant colours in the otherwise austere interior come from the tapestries.
On the 1850s a road was tunneled within the quarter - a slum during the time - helping to preserve its self-contained unity. The road tunnel comes out on the south side, by a remarkable monument to Wilbur Wright - who tested an early flying machine in Le Mans - and into place des Jacobins, the vantage point for St-Julien's double-tiered flying buttresses and apse. At this point, you'll be able to walk east through the park towards the
Musée de Tessé (daily 9am-noon & 2-6pm; 16F/?2.44), a various several pictures and also sculptures including Georges de la Tour's light at its most extraordinary within the Extase de St-François , and copies of spectacular medieval populist murals in Sarthe churches. Further, it includes an enamel portrait of Geoffrey Plantagenet, which has been originally part of his tomb in the cathedral.
The modern centre of Le Mans is place de la République , bordered through a mixture of Belle Époque buildings and even more modern office blocks, as well as Baroque bulk of the church of the Visitation , constructed in 1730, which has a balustrade inside created by one of the sisters of the order. Just south of right here is Notre-Dame de la Couture, a church with Plantagenet vaulting along with a fine Last Judgement scene in the doorway on an otherwise rather repugnant facade. The name has nothing to do with dressmaking but is a corruption of the word culture from the days when the church was encompassed by grown fields. Inside there are numerous treasures, together with a shroud of the early seventh-century bishop of Le Mans who established the monastery to which this church belonged.
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