Sarthe: The 24 Hours of Le Mans and Plantagenet Heritage
Sarthe is known globally for one thing: the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world's oldest and most famous endurance motor race, held annually since 1923 on a circuit that uses both permanent track and closed public roads south of the city. Le Mans, the prefecture, has a remarkable old town (cite Plantagenet) with Roman walls and half-timbered houses that was used as a filming location for Cyrano de Bergerac.
The department sits in the western Loire valley with a population of about 566,000. Agriculture, food processing (rillettes du Mans are a protected regional product), and insurance (several mutual companies are headquartered here) form the economic base. The TGV connects Le Mans to Paris in fifty-four minutes, and the city has attracted commuters priced out of the capital region.
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Sarthe is known globally for one thing: the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world's oldest and most famous endurance motor race, held annually since 1923 on a circuit that uses both permanent track and closed public roads south of the city. Le Mans, the prefecture, has a remarkable old town (cite Plantagenet) with Roman walls and half-timbered houses that was used as a filming location for Cyrano de Bergerac.
The department sits in the western Loire valley with a population of about 566,000. Agriculture, food processing (rillettes du Mans are a protected regional product), and insurance (several mutual companies are headquartered here) form the economic base. The TGV connects Le Mans to Paris in fifty-four minutes, and the city has attracted commuters priced out of the capital region.
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