NATURE BY TRAMWAY
Only ten minutes from the town centre by tramway and a few yards from the L’Peau Abbey, the Arch of Nature domain is a large natural space showcasing the diverse landscapes of the Sarthe region. Along the footpaths, visitors will discover the river, the forest, the farmlands but also the House of water and the Prairie farm. Greens and playgrounds also allow the practice of sport in these lungs of the city. In all 450 ha of nature are open permanently to the public.
Since 1998, the Arch of Nature has been host to several events attracting more than 100,000 spectators each year.
The House of water is equipped with large aquariums showing the different ecosystems of the river and its fish: trout, barbell and bream. Smaller aquariums are dedicated to smaller species like blobs or minnows. An old water mill, built in 1906, retraces the history of the treatment of water.
The Prairie farm also tells the history of the local agriculture in a kitchen garden, an orchard and a space dedicated to chunks. The whole park can be ridden in thanks to a bicycle renting programme called Vel Nature.
THE FIRST EUROPEAN TWINNING
The alliance treaty signed in 836 between Le Mans and the German town of Paderborn is considered as the first twinning in Europe. It was first an oath of alliance an mutual support between two dioceses discussed when relics of St Liboire were moved to Germany. The tie survived and developed through history and became an official twinning in 1967. In 815, bishop Badarud, a Saxon friend of King Louis the Pious, became bishop of Paderborn. In 822, a close firend of his, Aldric, was named bishop of Le Mans. At the Aix synod in 836, the two friends were reunited and Badarud asked Aldric to lend him St Liboire relics as Paderborn had no patron saint. The transfer of the relics in 836 was the occasion to swear mutual allegiance.
It was a real treaty as History proved. In 1204, Le Mans officially expressed concern at rumours that Paderborn might lose its bishop see. In 1648, citing the treaty, Louis XIV personally intervened for Paderborn to remain Catholic in spite of Protestant pressure. During the French Revolution, several Le Mans priests found refuge in Paderborn. After the official twinning in 1967, a road in the Le Mans centrer was named after Paderborn.
The French capital of motor sports, Le Mans is home to one of the most legendary town circuits in the world, the Bugatti circuit. It is on a part of its course that the day’s stage will finish, a lap of honour that is rather frequent in the Tour history. The race visited several other car tracks like Spa-Francorchamps, Zolder, Dijon, Pau, Rouen-les-Essarts or the Monaco paddock area which served as the finish zone in the 2009 prologue. The Bugatti circuit was first visited by the peloton in 1975 and the stage was won by French sprinter Jacques Esclassan, who rode for team Peugeot: “With my chequered jersey, I had to win in Le Mans,” he joked.
Another famous circuit is part of the Le Mans cycling tradition, the Circuit de la Sarthe. An amateur race up to 1974, it opened to pros the next year for two successive victories by Bernard Hinault. Greg LeMond, Jean-François Bernard, Melchor Mauri, Piotr Urgrumov, David Millar or Luis-Leon Sanchez are among the other famous winners.
Local hero Laurent Brochard, the 1997 world champion, never managed to win on home soil, finishing on the podium in 1994, 2000 and2003. While several tragedies sturck the Le Mans 24 Hours, cycling also mourns Gerard Saint, one of France’s brightest prospects, who was killed in a crash in town in 1960.
The Plantagenet town
The old town is the medieval city as it was when it was confined to the walls which gave him its nickname of Red City. Inside the walls, most building date from the Renaissance period. The most famous are the house of Adam and Eve, and the Clairaulnay and Vaux mansions. The whole town is extremely well preserved and untouched by modern life. Au unique setting, it was used by many films as a décor.
St Julien cathedral
Built between the 11th and 15th century, the cathedral mixes Romanesque, for its nave, and Gothic for the chancel and the apse. Stained glass dates mostly from the 13th century.
