Totally Frenched Out

From the blogger formerly known as Samdebretagne

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Le Mans

I travel to a lot of different cities for my job, but now that I am married to C, I don't often take the time to check out the new ones - getting home after a week away has become more of a priority.  But a few weeks ago, I found myself with a non-refundable train ticket and a few hours to spare, so instead of heading to the station to wait, I parked the car and decided to walk around Le Mans, a city I had been through many times but never visited.
The only thing I really knew about Le Mans is that they had the famous 24 heures du Mans, the annual 24 hour car race circuit held every June.  So it was a surprise to discover that the city had a fantastically-preserved old town, called the Cité Plantagenêt and/or le Vieux Mans.
I would have loved to have had this as my bedroom as a child.  If you look closely, you'll see a teddy bear waving hello, so I must not be the only one to feel this way:
One of the things I really loved about the city was how things just seemed to be built on top of the other. This picture shows several old doors that have long been filled in, plus a blue door that leads to who knows where.
 
 There were also all kinds of homes with fabulous doors:
 I don't know about you, but I would be quite happy to live at either Number 18 or 20 on this street:
And then there was this door  and it's crooked entrance:
Gérard Depardieu filmed Cyrano de Bergerac here, and these little gun holes reminded me of that, and of the ancient history of the city, which goes back all the way to Roman times.
 The other thing that struck me about the city was the incredible detail in so many of the buildings:
 I've seen a lot of timbered cities in my day, but none have ever had the detail of those in old Le Mans:
These people obviously took great pride in their homes and there was a really interesting mix of building materials that I haven't seen elsewhere:
 Another really typical feather where these little figurines that graced the doors of many homes:

Lastly, there were several homes with turrets and the like, which is always fun:
There is also a pretty imposing cathedral:
 Detail of the cathedral door:
Lastly, I left the city with a smile on my face thanks to these city employees, who whooped and hollered as I walked by and yelled out that I was "charmante".
I'm not sure if there's enough to do to spend a whole day in Le Mans, but at only an hour from Paris, it'd be a great place to stop for lunch or dinner on your way in or out of town!



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9 Comments:

Blogger deedee said...

hehe...yay for the "fonctionnaires" :)

May 2, 2012 at 8:51 PM  
Blogger Crystal said...

I haven't got "charmante" yelled at me lately...maybe it's time to dye my hair blonde? ;)

Le Mans looks really pretty! I kinda pictured it as a boring, ugly town. Your pics proved me wrong!

May 2, 2012 at 9:00 PM  
Blogger Gwan said...

I'm surprised too, I have heard good things about the 24 hours even from non-motorsporty people (it's expensive though!) but also pictured the town as a bit dreary for some reason... I occasionally see trains to the North-West (where I have never really explored, but am always meaning to) routed through Le Mans, perhaps one day I might take one and stop to have a look around!

May 2, 2012 at 9:12 PM  
Blogger melinda said...

glad to see & hear about LeMans....i had no idea there even was an old town.....you never hear anything about it....i have driven by or around it but never been there......thx

May 3, 2012 at 12:25 PM  
Blogger Sharyn Ekbergh said...

We stopped overnight in one of the small cities in that area when we were driving to St. Nazaire from Provence. It was modern and ugly on the outskirts and in the center was the beautiful old town where the beautiful old hotel was. There seemed to be an element of criminal activity, more police presence than I have seen in France. Kind of like they were keeping the tourist area safe. It was uncomfortable.
Isn't it sad that we no longer build anything as beautiful as these old places?

May 3, 2012 at 4:00 PM  
Blogger purejuice said...

thank you for a beautiful insight into a place i just thought of as a racetrack. charmant indeed!

May 7, 2012 at 7:24 AM  
Blogger kristen said...

what a lovely town out of a movie! thank you for sharing the great photos and commentary!

May 9, 2012 at 1:45 AM  
Blogger Raphaël Zacharie de IZARRA said...

LE VIEUX-MANS, CITÉ DES ESPRITS :


http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xqx11v_le-vieux-masn-cite-des-esprits-raphael-zacharie-de-izarra_news



Raphaël Zacharie de IZARRA

May 18, 2012 at 9:19 PM  
Blogger *Ulrike* said...

Wow! Such a beautiful town! I love all the figurines too. I took a lot of photos like that when we were in Germany visiting family. I think it is so unique!

June 3, 2012 at 4:14 PM  

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