A city of northwest France west-southwest of Paris.

The Cathedral of St. Julien du Mans (11th13th cent.), which contains the tomb of Berengaria, queen of Richard Cur de Lion (Richard I of England), is partly Romanesque; its Gothic part has perhaps the most daring system of flying buttresses of any Gothic cathedral.

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 future Henry II, was born.

Rearing up the hill from the east, at the crowning point of the old town, is the immense Cathédrale St-Julien, on cobbled place du Grente, with its Romanesque nave awkwardly abutting the High Gothic choir.

According to Rodin, the now badly worn sculpted figures of the south porch were rivalled only in Chartres and Athens. Some of the stained-glass windows here were added in the thirteenth century, some time after the first Plantagenet was buried in the church in 1151, but the brightest colours in the otherwise austere interior come from the chapelle de Nôtre-Dame, at the easternmost end of the choir, where the stunning vault is painted with angels singing, dancing and playing medieval musical instruments, set against a lustrous red background.

It is famous for its annual (since 1906) car races called the Le Mans Grand Prix or the 24 Hours of Le Mans, held each year in June on the road, and all the events of the week preceding it (weighing, tests, drivers' parade, etc.) one can participate in the festive atmosphere which takes over the heart of the town.

Thermes Romains

Presentation of part of an ancient spa in Le Mans which was open from 50 to 275 A.D. Discover a pool, the hypocausts and the sewerage system for waste water from the thermal baths.