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MoreLe Mans 2021
09 March 2021
Le Mans is known as a ‘The Car Race Capital’ but it is also a ‘Ville Nature’ (nature town) and will make a great short break destination once we are able to travel to France again. City breaks will present a challenge for the authorities and it is believed towns that can offer something more than just a city centre visit will be more popular. Somewhere like Le Mans has an advantage in being so ‘green’ and environmentally friendly to start with.
Le Mans covers the same surface area as Lyons but has a considerably smaller population. Le Mans sits on two rivers – the Huisne and the Sarthe and contains over 350 hectares of open spaces within the metropolitan area. This includes parks, sports arenas, communal exterior areas and gardens (over 200 private family gardens and allotments in four corners of the town) plus in the very heart of Le Mans, a farm with over 85 animals, plus forests, woods and fields.
Image courtesy of Ville du Mans
L’Arche de la Nature – NEW accommodation
Image courtesy of Ville du Mans
L’Arche de la Nature – NEW accommodation – Just outside of the city centre is a wonderful space where the great outdoors can really be appreciated – L’Arche de la Nature. It includes a petting farm, herb and vegetable garden, 30 different hiking trails, 40 km of walking and conservation routes, 20 km of mountain bike trails, three orienteering areas, an arboretum, disc-golf, bike and canoe hire over a total of 500 hectares. Just a perfect post-lockdown location.
Image courtesy of Ville du Mans
Domaine de l’Epau expands with NEW eco-accommodation
Image courtesy of Ville du Mans
The Domaine de l’Epau is situated here in the Arche. Until recently, the Domaine offered simply a cafeteria, bar, restaurant and area to relax. Today, there is now some NEW eco-accommodation choices on offer at the Domaine too. There are either environmentally friendly ‘nests’ big enough for a family or small group of friends or otherwise ‘luxury’ eco-lodges in the trees, designed to leave the tiniest carbon footprint: recycling, derivation of electricity and so forth. On top of this, there is also a spa available to provide even greater relaxation for guests.
NEW hotel opening in 2021
Image courtesy of Le Prince Hotel & Spa
A NEW four-star hotel is also opening in 2021 – Le Prince Hotel & Spa, situated right in the centre of town, close to the sights and the shops. The Best Western Premier Collection establishment is in the middle of the old Convent of the Visitation building, which dates from the eighteenth century. There are also shops, restaurants, meeting rooms, the Europa Jazz venue, the Church of the Visitation and the FIAA Art Museum in the confines of this old religious building.
In contrast, the 38 rooms and suites in the hotel are refined, contemporary, practical and with a highly distinctive décor. The Maison Raphael Perrier, salon and spa is the perfect place to relax. Raphael is a world award winning hairdresser whose attention to detail in the spa and its menu of treatments is exemplary.
NEW – “the palace of gorgeous bedding” …
Image courtesy of Artyster
Artyster Is a NEW three-star hotel in Le Mans with a décor based on fairground art. Each room is completely different – different colour scheme, different pieces, representing different fairground attractions. All rooms are high-tech and all offer amazing linen – what they call a ‘palace of gorgeous bedding’. The restaurant of Chef Pierre Henri with its outdoor terrace and big comfy armchairs offers a menu with a strong Asian influence.
Artyster presents the work of interior designer Cedric Bardon who has also decorated the world-famous Hotel Negresco in Nice and the Unilever Dove Lounge in Paris. Cedric’s dimension is what makes the difference.
Image courtesy of Artyster
Free entrance to ALL Le Mans’ museums
Image courtesy of Ville du Mans
NEW for 2021 – all the museums of Le Mans will be FREE once they reopen this year (TBA). The idea is to help people rediscover the town and its amazing history. Le Mans already welcomed over 100,000 visitors to their museums back in 2019. There is a reorganisation taking place as well as this welcome initiative being put in place.
The reorganisation is principally to be able to show far more of the collections available to the town; only 5% of the items are currently on display. The Tesse Museum will be named the Museum of Fine Arts; the Hotel Tucé has been purchased to be the ‘Musée d’histoire de la ville’. Collections from the Queen Beregère Museum and the Carré Plantagenet will be shown there. The Carré Plantagenet will become the Natural History Museum. As imported shows from abroad are not possible due to Covid, Le Mans has been working with other cities like Tours and Angers, to arrange various showings for 2021.
Son et lumière – St Exupéry & the Little Prince
Image courtesy of Ville du Mans
NEW for 2021 – a new projection – ‘St.Exupéry and the world of the Little Prince’ for La Nuit des Chimères. This is a regular feature of Le Mans, a free sound and light entertainment show, with this new theme for summer 2021. Every night throughout July and August, the famous story will be projected on seven historic buildings of the town as has always been the case.
UNIQUE – Auberge de Bagatelle
Image courtesy of Auberge de Bagatelle
The Auberge de Bagatelle is the only Michelin starred establishment in the Sarthe department. The first star was awarded in 2018. Chef Jean-Sebastien Monné has been creating fresh, seasonal dishes, even during the lockdown with take-away/delivery boxes!
Patrons can’t wait for the restrictions to be lifted so that all may re-visit the restaurant, at the entrance to Le Mans, once again.
Image courtesy of Auberge de Bagatelle
Don’t forget – Date change for the diary: Le Mans 24h 2021
TOYOTA GAZOO RACING (JPN) CAR MODEL : TOYOTA TS050 – HYBRID TYRES : MICHELIN DRIVERS : Sébastien BUEMI (CHE) Kazuki NAKAJIMA (JPN) Fernando ALONSO (ESP), REMPORTE POUR MA SECONDE FOIS CONSÉCUTIVE LES 24 HEURES DU MANS © Dominique BREUGNOT (ACO)
The most famous of classic races, the Le Mans 24h will take place 21st and 22nd August 2021. The centenary of this famous race will take place in 2023. Also, the postponed 10th Le Mans Classic event will take place 1st – 4th July 2021.
Travelling to Le Mans:
Take the Eurostar or fly to Paris and travel from Paris Montparnasse Train Station via TGV Atlantique direct to Le Mans (55 minutes). It’s only around a two hour drive from Caen. Alternatively, take the car on the Shuttle or the ferry and speed off to the region independently.
