The Sarthe is the department of historic Maine, a region situated at the crossroads of Normandy, Brittany and Anjou. Le Mans, its capital, is world-famous for its 24 Hours of Le Mans car race, but the city is also home to one of the finest Plantagenet towns in France, with its perfectly preserved Gallo-Roman and medieval ramparts and Saint-Julien Cathedral, a jewel of Gothic art.
Montmirail Castle, perched on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Perche plain in the Sarthe, Le Lude Castle with its Renaissance, Classical and Gothic façades lining the main courtyard, L’Islette, whose romantic gardens on the banks of the Indre were the setting for the romance between Camille Claudel and Rodin… The Sarthe boasts a heritage of castles of great stylistic diversity.
The Forest of Bercé, one of the most beautiful beech and oak forests in France, and the valleys of the Huisne, Loir and Sarthe offer exceptional natural settings, dotted with numerous rural manor houses and country estates that make up the department’s bucolic and authentic landscape.