Cool little towns near Le Mans

[ATLFalconsFAN]

I'm hoping you guys can please give me some advice for my trip to Le Mans next year. I've never done scrutineering before and want to add it to the list of things to do. My plan will be to arrive in Paris on Saturday morning and take advantage of trains to get to Le Mans rather than renting a car as I've done in the past.

I'll plan to rest my head at the campsites (the 10-10ths site for International travelers to be precise) when they open starting on Wednesday night. Before then though, Saturday to Tuesday night I'd like to stay in a nearby town or city instead of staying in Le Mans. I'm hoping to take it as an opportunity to see some other area nearby since I've done Le Mans before already. And also a way to avoid the Le Mans week hotel markup.

So... a town that can be reached from Paris by train and can also get me back to Le Mans on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. So preferably somewhere no more than 90 minutes away by train. A town that is big enough where there will be things to see when I'm not in Le Mans and hopefully will not get boring. A town with a nice public square or old town feel where at night I can visit a little bistro for dinner and go to a bar and sit outside with a nice glass of wine.

Does such a place exist? Do you see any major flaws in my plans?

Thanks in advance!

[GT6]

You might like to try Rouen, a little larger than but full of history and plenty to do there

[isynge]

Simon's suggestion of Rouen has a lot going for it. Tours to the south is also worth throwing into the mix. Looking north west Rennes may also be an option for you, and looking at train times (Die Bahn, the German railways site is pretty good for looking up times) seems it's pretty easy to get to Le Mans

Another option, which is probably more reliant on having a rental car, is to look at area like the Perche valley to the East of Le Mans, where there are a whole load of fun small towns e.g. Nogent le Rotrou to nose around, as well as some very nice chateaux.

If you want to PM me I can also flag up some good hotels that fall outside the catchment area of the usual race period price bumping.

[Muppetdave901]

Hey Scott,

Can't really comment on any of the larger towns etc. but if your plans change and you end up taking the car route, let me know as I can point you in the direction of lots of smaller places that might take your fancy.

[Mal]

Looks like you can get to places in the Loire like Amboise or Blois by train in less than a couple of hours - I would think these would be a really nice option.

[Gingers4Justice]

Angers is also worth a visit - its tapestry blows Bayeux out of the water. Along with Tours and Le Mans, these three cities are my favourite in France, although Angers has to be the prettiest.

Le Charte-sur-le-Loir is a brilliant place to visit in race week, with the food at the Hotel de France being surprisingly cheap.

[ATLFalconsFAN]

Thank you very much everyone for your input. I think I have settled on staying in Angers. It looks like a cool town with all of the criteria I was looking for. Half hour train ride from Le Mans, nice looking pedestrian area, great castle to go and see.

Seeing as how srutineering doesn't start until later in the afternoon on Sunday I think I'll stay in Paris for a couple of nights, then take the train down on Sunday and get settled in Angers before heading up to Le Mans.

[Aysedasi]

Sounds an excellent plan - we'll need to be on the lookout for you on Sunday afternoon in town!