Paris1972-Versailles2003

Moving along in my belle France, and another of my road warrior hangouts with many times passing by especially on my way to Paris.  I like to take you to the quant city of Alençon in the Orne dept 61 of the region of Normandy.

I have several posts in my blog on Alençon but have not done justice to the two halls or markets or halles that are architecturally stunning and of local historical value. I will try to tell you a bit more on the Halle au Blé and the Halle Aux Toiles of Alençon.

The Halle au Blé or wheat hall is a building located at Place Halle-au-Blé in Alençon.

The first stone was laid in 1806 and opened in 1812. The building suffered a fire and was rebuilt in 1836. A metal dome was installed in 1865, imitating the one from the Halle au Blé in Paris.  In the 20C, it knows multiple assignments such as a hospital during WWI, it later becomes a place of many events like fairs, markets, exhibitions etc. The building hosts the fair-exhibition from 1923 to 1970.

It was in 1992 that a restoration operation began. The restoration of the canopy was completed in 1994; the internal plasterwork of the central courtyard was completed in January 1996 and the rehabilitation of the first floor in June 1998. Finally, the last phase of this rehabilitation is the restoration of the ground floor in September 2000. The exterior walls, including the original plaster was replaced in the middle of the 20C by a repointing gray cement, coated with a traditional coating identical to that which existed under the First Empire. As far as the interior is concerned, comfort and acoustics are improved and a multipurpose space for new information and communication technologies were developed.

The Halle au Blé is today a building dedicated to welcoming multimedia, notably the InterChange of Normandy, a center for monitoring new technologies. It also hosts the Cité des Métiers (city of crafts).

City of Alencon heritage info in French

The Halle aux Toiles with  its elegant facade with large windows dates from 1827 . By 1826 the city council decided the construction of the Halle aux toiles (canvas hall). The adjudication of the works is made the following year and it is in 1827 that Marie-Thérèse (Duchess of Angoulême)  of France, daughter of Louis XVI, lays the first stone

By the time the hall was finished, the trade in hemp cloth, for which it was destined, was falling sharply. In 1828, the plan of the hall is modified to provide a floor intended for justices of peace. Commissioned in 1832, its surroundings turn into a quagmire on rainy days. A retaining wall surrounding the quay is then built on which are fixed twenty-two stone posts topped with iron apples crossed bars also of iron. This entourage is still visible today except two terminals that have disappeared.

From 1850 the trade of the canvas declines and the hall is decommissioned in 1880. In 1899, the city council decided to built in the building a village hall. Restored in 1938, it serves a little to everything: balls, municipal canteen, cinema, concerts, conferences, exhibitions, theater, etc. Returning to its original name in 1991, it was restored in 1993-94 and equipped with audiovisual equipment for use as a convention hall.

City of Alencon culture and events page

There you go two alternating nice monuments to see in nice Alençon , do stop by the Halle au Blé and the Halle aux Toiles. The tourist office for a general reference as not much info here unless you go and get a brochure there

Tourist office of Alençon on things to see and do in French

Voilà the off the beaten path dept 61 of the Orne will surprise you after all you are still in Normandy! Hope you enjoy these nice architecture buildings.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!

So let me bring you to more familiar territory in terms of region and things to see.  I have written before on Le Mans a wonderful old town with many things to see and do and not far from Paris. However, today , I will concentrate on something I have followed since my University days, auto racing ,and Le Mans is one of the best in the world.

This old fortified city of Le Mans, in the Sarthe dept 72 in Pays de la Loire region has a lot more than just historical monuments. For all as well as the one presented here you can look up the tourist office of Le Mans here: https://www.lemans-tourisme.com/en/

However, let me get into the meat of the matter of this post, long overdue by yours truly!

From the city center we went out into the D357 road and hook up with the D338 (Blvd Gen Patton) to rue de laigné turn right  the panels leading you to the museum. Of course from Paris you will take direction Angers get on the d323 road and follow signs to tracks and museum.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is a 24-hour car race, taking place in June (usually the twenty-fourth week of the year) on a road circuit, south of the city of Le Mans. This event takes place since 1923. The race has, over the years, inspired similar races all over the world and popularized the 24-hour format especially at Daytona Beach Fl USA (where I used to lived nearby and went several times). The American Le Mans Series and Le Mans Series championships have been spun off from the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The race came about when in 1920, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest or Western Automobile Club, worked on the realization of a competition whose character was to contribute to the evolution of the technical progress and to favor the development of the automobile.  In 1922, the club announced the creation of a new type of competition in the Sarthe, an endurance race, while the Bol d’Or Automobile was just created. During the race, crews of two drivers per car would take turns day and night.  The track, measuring almost 14 km takes part of the Bugatti circuit and includes a large part of the roads D323 and D338. The most famous passages are the bends of Tertre Rouge, Mulsanne, Arnage and the straight Hunaudières, almost 6 km long where the prototypes previously maintained a speed of nearly 400 km / h for one minute. This portion of the circuit was divided into three straight lines by the installation of two baffles in 1990. These baffles are intended to limit the search for the maximum speed by too great reductions in aerodynamic support and therefore to limit the differences speed between competitors.  The cars categories participating in this event are divided into several categories such as “LM” means Le Mans, “LM P” Le Mans Prototype, “GTE” Grand Touring Endurance, “Pro” Professional and ” Am ” Amateur.

The 24 heures du Mans race course official webpage in English is here :  https://www.lemans.org/en/24-hours-of-le-mans

There is a super museum which is a must to see while visiting Le Mans and especially a must for all cars/motos aficionados.  The Musée des 24 Heures du Mans is a bit outside the city center. It is located right next to the circuit of races for the famous car race the 24 hours of Le Mans. From the city center we went out into the D357 road and hook up with the D338 (Blvd Gen Patton) to rue de Laigné turn right  the panels leading you to the museum. Of course from Paris you will take direction Angers get on the D323 road and follow signs to museum.

The museum was initially name the  Sarthe Automobile Museum, renamed the 24 Hours Museum – Circuit de la Sarthe in 2009, then Museum of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2017, and is located near the main entrance of the Circuit des 24 Heures, Le Mans. The museum is set up along a path consisting of the heroes, great car racing folks, then the Legend on the history of the race, then the genious of the car developements, the side pit stops story , the history in technical terms and the actors or the cars themselves.  It is open April to mid  October from 10h to 19h and cost 8,50€ admission; from January to March opens 11h to 18h, as well as Oct to Dec. check for the holidays the museum is closed.

Built on 6,500 m2 (including 5,000 m2 of exhibition), the building includes a collection of vehicles including fifteen winners of the legendary race of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The specificity of the museum is to focus its collection on competition vehicles, with about forty racing cars, some of which sometimes come directly from the nearby track. Composed of six sections, the museum exhibits one hundred and twenty vehicles , and a few motorcycles. It presents, besides the history of the automobile in general, the circuit and the race, its heroes, its actors, its growths and its widening wings.

It is open to private collector cars as well. A collection of 4236 1/43 scale model cars representing all the cars that have participated in the race since 1923 and several historical dioramas are presented. In addition to racing cars, there are the original models of several Bollée cars and the 1885 De Dion Bouton Dog Cart, a unique steam model owned by a private museum. Some vehicles are loaned by their owners as well as by manufacturers. Cultural and educational activities complement, with guided tours, the boutique, and temporary exhibitions, are offers. The museum is set up along a path consisting of the heroes, great car racing folks, then the Legend on the history of the race, then the genius of the car developments, the side pit stops story, the history in technical terms and the actors or the cars themselves.

The museum was created in 1961 at the initiative of the Western Automobile Club and the General Council of Sarthe. Initially, it was located in the heart of the circuit in the village where are found, during races, the shops of manufacturers, suppliers and equipment manufacturers. The current buildings of the Museum were inaugurated in 1991. The main structure is inflected, spaced and tense. The aluminum wing-shaped cover is underpinned by twenty-eight tubular steel beams. In 2016, the ACO (Automobile Club de l’Ouest) buys the museum from the department to make it the starting point of a car park project after its redevelopment. In all , a wonderful place for the whole family.

Check for the times and dates as on holidays the museum is closed. The official museum webpage is here: https://www.lemans-musee24h.com/en

There you go something modern in a very old city of Le Mans for all tastes to enjoy the wonderful Sarthe dept 72 of the lovely region of Pays de la Loire ,and my belle France. Hope you enjoy the post.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!