This is the second part of our trip to Vallée du Loir and Le Mans. We had such a great first day! Make sure to catch my first post Our Weekend In Vallée du Loir & Le Mans – Part 1. Our schedule for days two and three was just as full and we were excited to explore some more.
Ad-Presstrip: I was invited by the Vallée du Loir & Le Mans Tourist Boards to a press trip to visit the area. Everything was complimentary for the purpose of this blog post.
Our trip was to take us to explore to Vallée du Loir & Le Mans. The Loir Valley is charm itself located on the Sarthe River. A favourite with hikers and nature lovers alike, the hillsides of the Sarthe River are decorated with troglodyte wine cellars, traditional villages, splendid chateaux and luxurious gardens. if you are looking for a picturesque holiday off the beaten track, The Loir Valley won’t disappoint.
Visiting Le Mans
In the morning we went to Le Mans market. We met Patricia our guide tour and she showed us around the market. It is one of the most famous markets in the area. Apparently, their chicken is some of the best to try. The typical food to try at Le Mans was Rillette. (Rillettes are a preparation of meat similar to pâté. Commonly made from pork, the meat is cubed or chopped, salted heavily and cooked slowly in fat, shredded, and then cooled with enough of the fat to form a paste. They are normally used as a spread on bread or toast and served at room temperature.)
The market is set up in the town square, just below the amazing cathedral and lovely fountain. It was full of fresh fruit and vegetables, cheeses, wines, some second-hand clothes stalls and of course fresh flowers.
We also walked around the Cathedral too and took lots of photos from the outside only as the following day we were going to visit inside. It is absolutely gorgeous from the outside. It has a Roman look from one side and a Gotic look from the front which is the part you can see from the market. Then we went to have a quick walk around the Old Town.
After this, we went to The Royal Abbey of Epau. The decor is very simple, but lovely at the same time. We thought the stories of how the monks used to live were very interesting. There are so many links to English royalty which was even more interesting. Nowadays, the abbey is for meetings, conferences and events. During our visit, there was a photography exhibition. They also have a little shop there too.
Before our tour around the Abbey, we went to have lunch at the cafe. We ate the plate of the day which was L’Assiete Des Mones. The girls ate sandwiches. Bella with ham, cheese and salad, and Sienna with rillette which is pork pate.
For dessert, the girls had ice creams and Nick and I had a delicious Gourmet coffee with homemade cakes. It was amazing. Very tasty.
After this, we went to Papea Parc which was perfect for the girls. It is a theme park with rides for kids so the girls were super excited. I thought it was nice to do a little bit of both types of activities for the girls so some cultural activities in the morning so the girls can learn more about where we were and in the afternoons more fun activities for them.
The girls had a blast here, especially Sienna. She was so hyper! She wanted to do everything. Lol
La Ciboulette
Afterwards, we headed back to the campsite to have a quick swim and then change before going to have dinner back in Le Mans. We went to La Ciboulette. This restaurant was in the middle of the Le Mans Old Town. So beautiful located and very popular too. We ordered the menu at 23.90 euros with starter, main and dessert and a bottle of wine and drinks for the girls.
We had the following dishes:
Starters
- Melon Soup with mint
- Shortbread with goat cheese and tomatoes
Mains
- Red Seabream fillet roasted in the oven, mashed potatoes and lemon verbena emulsion
- Chicken supreme, raspberry sauce
- Chicken with roasted potatoes
Desserts
- Assortment of sorbets
- Creme brulee, raspberries and hot chocolate
- Ice cream
All our food was delicious. We all liked everything. I was impressed by how nice the food is in Le Mans.
Day Three
Back to Le Mans Old Town. We met Nathalie our guide tour for the morning. She was lovely and showed us around the Old Town. We wandered around the back streets taking many photos of the gorgeous old wooden houses.
This time, we went inside the cathedral which was so impressive. We then walked back within the old houses. There is so much history there. I loved the look of the town. It was gorgeous and definitely deserves a visit. The girls loved walking around the narrow streets.
It was an early lunch at The Explorateur Creperie before we headed back to the port. This creperie was very close to the restaurant we ate the previous night. It is also a very popular place to eat. Every time that we passed through it was very busy which of course shows you how good is it.
The owner was very nice and he spoke English which was nice as we were able to order our food quicker. We all had pizzas and then Nutella crepes to take away as we were running out of time. The food here was so good. We all ate everything which shows you how much we liked it. And the crepe was out of this world. I loved the packaging too.
This was the last activity from our long weekend in Loir and Le Mans. It was amazing! We loved it and we had the best time ever. We never thought that you could do so many fun things around the area. I will be publishing more specific posts about what to eat and what to do in each area as I think this is very useful when you are travelling with kids.
This is the end of PART 2 of our trip to Vallée du Loir & Le Mans. Also, make sure to read Our Weekend In Vallée du Loir & Le Mans – Part 1
I would love to know if you have visited Loir and Le Mans before? Did you enjoy it as much as we did?
*Disclosure: I was invited by the Vallée du Loir & Le Mans Tourist Boards to a press trip to visit the area. Everything was complimentary for the purpose of this blog post.
Thanks for stopping by,
Love you all ❤️
Franca 💋
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My dad goes to Le Man every June for a week for the 24 hour car racing event, I had no idea it was such a beautiful place! It looks so charming and so much more than just the racing event that it is famous for x
That is absolutely true. It is much more than the 24hr car racing event. Beautiful green area and lovely activities for kids too. We were very impressed 🙂 x
And I’d be happy just to see the car race! So much more! #KCACOLS
It looks like a gorgeous place to visit I didn’t realise there was so much to see and do there #kcacols
I love the French food, I’ve only ever driven through Le Mans, it looks a great destination in its own right. #KCACOLS
What a beautiful town, sounds like such a nice trip. I like the way you’ve done photo collages for this so we can see even more. #kcacols
Wow, Le Mans really looks so gorgeous, and looks like the food you all had was fab! Agreat holiday. #KCACOLS
Wow! Le Mans looks like something out of a fairytale. Absolutely beautiful!! #KCACOLS
What a gorgeous old town! So much history there, and so pretty! #KCACOLS
Sounds like you had an amazing time, I can’t believe how much you managed to pack into your visit! I’m hungry now though, reading about all the gorgeous food you ate! x #KCACOLS
Stunning pictures, the old town looks like a fantastic place to explore. I love the balance of adult and kids activities. I really would love to explore the area so will have to have a word with my husband!!
I had no idea that Le Mans looked like that! When I hear ‘Le Mans’ I just think of racing cars. It looks like such a beautiful place to visit and there seems to be so much to do. And it’s always good to mix up cultural trips with theme park visits to keep children happy! #kcacols
Oh it really is such a lovely place and I can’t believe there is so much to do!
Oh my gosh, all those different foods, so delicious! I haven’t been to France since I was at school, would love to go with my boys at some point. #KCACOLS