Le Mans (; ) is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in Northwestern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, it is now the capital of the

Sarthe Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the '' Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It ha ...

department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Le Mans is a part of the

Pays de la Loire Pays de la Loire (; but can also mean 'Lower Loire') is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, located on the country's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital an ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

. Its inhabitants are called ''Manceaux'' (male) and ''Mancelles'' (female). Since 1923, the city has hosted the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...

, the world's oldest active endurance sports car race. The event is among the most attended and prestigious motor sports events in the world.

History

First mentioned by

Claudius Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine, Islamic, and ...

, the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

city ''Vindinium'' was the capital of the Aulerci, a sub tribe of the

Aedui The Aedui or Haedui (Gaulish language, Gaulish: *''Aiduoi'', 'the Ardent'; ) were a Gauls, Gallic tribe dwelling in what is now the region of Burgundy during the La Tène culture, Iron Age and the Roman Empire, Roman period. The Aedui had an ambi ...

. Le Mans is also known as ''Civitas Cenomanorum'' (City of the Cenomani), or ''Cenomanus''. Their city, seized by the Romans in 47 BC, was within the ancient

Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...

Gallia Lugdunensis () was a province of the Roman Empire in what is now the modern country of France, part of the Celtic territory of Gaul formerly known as Celtica. It is named after its capital Lugdunum (today's Lyon), possibly Roman Europe's major city west of ...

. A 3rd-century

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meani ...

is still visible. The ''

thermae In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large Roman Empire, imperial public bath, bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed i ...

'' were demolished during the

crisis of the third century The Crisis of the Third Century, also known as the Military Anarchy or the Imperial Crisis, was a period in History of Rome, Roman history during which the Roman Empire nearly collapsed under the combined pressure of repeated Barbarian invasions ...

when workers were mobilized to build the city's defensive walls. The ancient wall around Le Mans is one of the most complete circuits of

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...

city walls to survive. As the use of the French language replaced late

Vulgar Latin Vulgar Latin, also known as Colloquial, Popular, Spoken or Vernacular Latin, is the range of non-formal Register (sociolinguistics), registers of Latin spoken from the Crisis of the Roman Republic, Late Roman Republic onward. ''Vulgar Latin'' a ...

in the area, ''Cenomanus'', with

dissimilation In phonology, particularly within historical linguistics, dissimilation is a phenomenon whereby similar consonants or vowels in a word become less similar or elided. In English, dissimilation is particularly common with liquid consonants such ...

, became known as ''Celmins.'' ''Cel-'' was taken to be a form of the French word for "this" and "that", and was replaced by ''le'', which means "the". As the principal city of

, Le Mans was the stage for struggles in the eleventh century between the counts of Anjou and the dukes of

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

. When the Normans had control of Maine,

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

successfully invaded England and established an occupation. In 1069 the citizens of Maine revolted and expelled the Normans, resulting in Hugh V being proclaimed

count of Maine The capital of Maine was Le Mans. In the thirteenth century it was annexed by France to the royal domain. Dukes of Maine (''duces Cenomannici'') * Charivius (fl. 723) – appears as ''dux'' in a document of 723. Controlled twelve counties and ...

Geoffrey V of Anjou Geoffrey V (24 August 1113 – 7 September 1151), called the Fair (), Plantagenet, and of Anjou, was the count of Anjou and Count of Maine, Maine by inheritance from 1129, and also duke of Normandy by his marriage claim and Right of conquest, ...

married

Matilda of England Empress Matilda (10 September 1167), also known as Empress Maud, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter and heir of Henry I, king of England and ruler of Normandy, she went to ...

in the

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

. Their son Henry II Plantagenet, king of England, was born in the town. In the 13th century Le Mans came under the control of the French crown. It was subsequently invaded by England during the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...

. Industrialization took place in the 19th century which saw the development of railway and motor vehicle production as well as textiles and tobacco manufacture.

Wilbur Wright The Wright brothers, Orville Wright (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur Wright (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912), were American aviation List of aviation pioneers, pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flyin ...

began official public demonstrations of the airplane he had developed with his younger brother Orville on 8 August 1908, at the Hunaudières horse racing track near Le Mans.

World War II

Just outside Le Mans city centre there used to be an

airfield An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

, built to protect the

Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...

factory. Soon after Le Mans was liberated by the U.S. 79th and

90th 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Hindu–Arabic digit Circa 300 BC, as part of the Brahmi numerals, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bot ...

Infantry Divisions on 8 August 1944, engineers of the

Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint D ...

Engineering Command began construction of a combat Advanced Landing Ground on a location the Germans had used a simple airfield. The airfield was declared operational on 3 September and designated as " A-35". It was used by several American fighter and transport units in additional offensives across France; the airfield was closed in November 1944.

Main sights

* Le Mans has a well-preserved old town (''Cité Plantagenêt'', also called ''Vieux Mans'') and the Cathédrale St-Julien, dedicated to St Julian of Le Mans, who is honoured as the city's first bishop. * Remnants of a

wall are visible in the old town and Roman baths are located by the river. These walls are highlighted every summer (July and August) evening in a light show that tells the history of the town. * Arboretum de la Grand Prée * Notre-Dame de la Couture, medieval church * Notre Dame de Sainte Croix, neogothic church * Part of the former Cistercian abbey de l'Epau, founded by Queen Berengaria and currently maintained in extensive grounds by the Département de la Sarthe. * Jardin des Plantes du Mans * Musée de la reine Bérengère, a museum of Le Mans history located in a gothic manor house. * , the fine arts museum of the city, displaying painting (including artworks by

Philippe de Champaigne Philippe de Champaigne (; 26 May 1602 – 12 August 1674) was a Duchy of Brabant, Brabant-born French people, French Baroque era painter, a major exponent of the French art, French school. He was a founding member of the Académie royale de pein ...

Charles Le Brun Charles Le Brun (; baptised 24 February 1619 – 12 February 1690) was a French Painting, painter, Physiognomy, physiognomist, Aesthetics, art theorist, and a director of several art schools of his time. He served as a court painter to Louis XIV, ...

François Boucher François Boucher ( , ; ; 29 September 1703 – 30 May 1770) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style. Boucher is known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories ...

John Constable John Constable (; 11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837) was an English landscape painter in the Romanticism, Romantic tradition. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape painting with his pictures of Dedha ...

Ingres Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres ( ; ; 29 August 1780 – 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassicism, Neoclassical Painting, painter. Ingres was profoundly influenced by past artistic traditions and aspired to become the guardian of academic ...

Théodore Géricault Jean-Louis André Théodore Géricault (; 26 September 1791 – 26 January 1824) was a French painter and lithographer, whose best-known painting is '' The Raft of the Medusa''. Despite his short life, he was one of the pioneers of the Romanti ...

and

Camille Corot Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot ( , , ; 16 July 1796 – 22 February 1875), or simply Camille Corot, was a French landscape and portrait painter as well as a printmaker in etching. A pivotal figure in landscape painting, his vast output si ...

) and archaeological collections as well as decorative arts. * The Hôtel de Ville (City Hall)

Gallery

File:Palais des comtes du Maine - Le Mans.jpg, ''Le Palais des Comtes du Maine''birthplace of

Henry II of England Henry II () was King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with the ...

(now part of the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) and not open to the public) File:Le Mans muraille Gallo Romaine nord-est.JPG, Gallo-Roman walls File:Organ in the cathedral.JPG, Organ in the cathedral File:Street Le Mans 2009 SK.jpg, A street in the old town File:LeMansCoatArms.JPG, Manhole cover depicting the city's coat-of-arms File:Yvre - Abbaye Epau RB 01.jpg, Effigy of Berengaria of Navarre in the chapter house of Épau abbey. File:Place de la mairie Le Mans.JPG, The Hôtel de Ville (City Hall)

Climate

Le Mans has a temperate

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(''Cfb'') influenced by the mild Atlantic air travelling inland. Summers are warm and occasionally hot, whereas winters are mild and cloudy. Precipitation is relatively uniform and moderate year round.

Demographics

, there were 367,082 inhabitants in the metropolitan area ('' aire d'attraction'') of Le Mans, with 143,252 of these living in the city proper ( commune). In 1855 Le Mans absorbed four neighbouring communes. The population data for 1851 and earlier in the table and graph below refer to the pre-1855 borders.

Transportation

The Gare du Mans is the main railway station of Le Mans. It takes 1 hour to reach Paris from Le Mans by

TGV The TGV (; , , 'high-speed train') is France's intercity high-speed rail service. With commercial operating speeds of up to on the newer lines, the TGV was conceived at the same period as other technological projects such as the Ariane 1 rocke ...

high speed train. There are also TGV connections to Lille, Marseille, Nantes, Rennes and Brest. Gare du Mans is also a hub for regional trains. Le Mans inaugurated a new light rail system on 17 November 2007.

Sport

Motorsport

The first

French Grand Prix The French Grand Prix (), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championship. It is one of the oldest ...

took place on a 64-mile (103 km) circuit based at Le Mans in 1906. Since the 1920s, the city has been best known for its connection with motorsports. There are two official and separate racing tracks at Le Mans, though they share certain portions. The smaller is the

Bugatti Circuit The Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, also known as Circuit de la Sarthe (after the 1906 French Grand Prix triangle circuit) located in Le Mans, Sarthe, France, is a semi-permanent motorsport Race track, race course, chiefly known as the venue fo ...

(named after Ettore Bugatti, founder of the car company bearing his name), a relatively short permanent circuit, which is used for racing throughout the year and regularly hosts the

French motorcycle Grand Prix The French motorcycle Grand Prix is a motorcycling event that is part of the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. The Grand Prix was held on different circuits in its history: on the Charade Circuit (Puy-de-Dôme) between 1959 and 1967, L ...

. The longer and more famous

Circuit de la Sarthe The Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, also known as Circuit de la Sarthe (after the 1906 French Grand Prix triangle circuit) located in Le Mans, Sarthe, France, is a semi-permanent motorsport race course, chiefly known as the venue for the 24 H ...

is composed partly of public roads. These are closed to the public when the track is in use for racing. Since 1923, this route has been used for the famous

sports car endurance race. Boutiques and shops are set up during the race, selling merchandise and promoting products for cars. The " Le Mans start" was formerly used in the 24-hour race: drivers lined up across the track from their cars, ran across the track, jumped into their cars and started them to begin the race. The

1955 Le Mans disaster The 1955 Le Mans disaster was a major crash that occurred on 11 June 1955 during the 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race at Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, Sarthe, France. Large pieces of debris flew into the crowd, killing spectators and French dr ...

was a large accident during the race that killed eighty-four spectators.

Basketball

The city is home to

Le Mans Sarthe Basket Le Mans Sarthe Basket, commonly known as MSB or Le Mans, is a professional basketball club that is from the city of Le Mans, France. The team plays in the French League and internationally in the Basketball Champions League. Established in 19 ...

, 2006 Champion of the

LNB Pro A LNB may refer to: Sport * Liga Nacional de Baloncesto, a professional basketball league in the Dominican Republic * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol, an Argentine basketball league * Liga Nacional de Básquetbol (Paraguay), Liga Nacional de Básquetb ...

, France's top professional basketball division. The team plays its home games at the Antarès, which served as one of the host arenas of the FIBA

EuroBasket 1999 The 1999 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 1999, was the 31st FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the 2000 Olympic Tournament, giving a berth ...

Football

* Le Mans FC

Cycling

Circuit de la Sarthe (cycling) The Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, also known as Circuit de la Sarthe (after the 1906 French Grand Prix triangle circuit) located in Le Mans, Sarthe, France, is a semi-permanent motorsport Race track, race course, chiefly known as the venue fo ...

Notable people

Le Mans was the birthplace of: Basile Moreau CSC

* Elijah ben Menahem Ha-Zaken, born 980 *

, born 1133 * Geoffroy V d'Anjou, born 1113 * Geoffrey de Goreham or Gorron, became

Abbot of St Albans {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 This is a list of abbots of St Albans Abbey up to its Dissolution in 1539. # Willegod (793–796) # Eadric # Wulsig # Wulnoth (Walworth) (c. 930) # Eadfrith # Wulsin (d. c. 968) # Aelfric # Ealdred # Eadmer # Le ...

, Hertfordshire, UK in 1119 *

John II of France John II (; 26 April 1319 – 8 April 1364), called John the Good (French: ''Jean le Bon''), was King of France from 1350 until his death in 1364. When he came to power, France faced several disasters: the Black Death, which killed between a thir ...

, born 1319 * Dom Louis Le Pelletier, born 1663, linguist of the

Breton language Breton (, , ; or in Morbihan) is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic languages, Celtic language group spoken in Brittany, part of modern-day France. It is the only Celtic language still widely in use on the European mainland, albei ...

* Gilles-François de Beauvais, born 7 July 1693, Jesuit writer and preacher * Jean-Marie-Joseph Coutelle (1748–1835), engineer, scientist and pioneer of ballooning *

Basil Moreau Basil Moreau, C.S.C. (February 11, 1799 – January 20, 1873) was the French priest who founded the Congregation of Holy Cross from which two additional congregations were founded, namely the Marianites of Holy Cross and the Sisters of t ...

, born 1799, priest of Le Mans, founded the

Congregation of Holy Cross The Congregation of Holy Cross (), abbreviated CSC, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men founded in 1837 by Basil Moreau, in Le Mans, France. Moreau also founded the Marianites of Holy Cross for women, n ...

, beatified in Le Mans in 2007 * Léon Bollée, born 1870, car manufacturer and inventor * Henri Fournier, born 1871, racing driver * Christine and Lea Papin, whose murder (1933) of their employers inspired Jean Genêt's ''

The Maids ''The Maids'' ( ) is a 1947 play by the French dramatist Jean Genet. It was first performed at the Théâtre de l'Athénée in Paris in a production that opened on 17 April 1947, which Louis Jouvet directed. The play has been revived in Fr ...

'' *

Jean Françaix Jean René Désiré Françaix (pronunciation Fran-say or Fran-seks) was born on 23 May 1912, in Le Mans and died in 25 September 1997, in Paris). Françaix was a French neoclassical composer, pianist, and orchestrator known for his prolific outp ...

, born in 1912, composer * Jean Lucas, born 1917, racing driver * Anny-Charlotte Verney, born 1943, racing driver * François Migault, born 1944, racing driver * Jean Rondeau, born in 1946, racing driver and constructor * Gérard Tremblay, born 1950, racing driver *

Jean-Yves Empereur Jean-Yves Empereur (; born 1952) is a French archeologist. He studied classic literature in the University Paris IV Sorbonne ( DEA, CAPES, Agrégation de lettres in 1975, Doctorat in archeology in 1977). He is a former member (since 1978) ...

born 1952, archeologist * Bertrand Lançon, born 1952, Roman history scholar *

François Fillon François Charles Amand Fillon (; born 4 March 1954) is a French retired politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 2007 to 2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. He was the nominee of The Republicans (previously known as the Union ...

, born in 1954, former Prime Minister of France * Yves Jumeau, born in 1955, visual artist * François Vallejo, born 1960, novelist *

Sylvie Tolmont Sylvie Tolmont (; born 9 October 1962) is a French politician from the Socialist Party, who has been the member of the National Assembly for Sarthe's 4th constituency from 2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Coopera ...

, born 1962, politician * Lionel Robert, born 1962, racing driver * Sabine Toutain, born in 1966, violist * Doan Bui, born in the 1970s, journalist * Amaelle Landais-Israël, born 1977, climatologist * Emmanuel Moire, born 1979, French singer *

Sébastien Bourdais Sébastien Olivier Bourdais (; born 28 February 1979) is a French professional racing driver who currently races in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Cadillac Hertz Team Jota in the Hypercar category. He is one of the most successful dr ...

, born 1979, race car driver * Julien Canal, born 1982, race car driver *

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (; born 17 April 1985) is a French former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 5 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in February 2012. Tsonga won 18 singles titles on th ...

, born 1985, professional tennis player * Guillaume Loriot, footballer * Leslie, born 4 February 1985, French singer * Louis Rossi born 1989, Grand Prix motorcycle racer * Emma Mackey, born 1996, French-British actress Notable residents include: * Gilles Villeneuve, lived temporarily in Le Mans in 1973. *

Gérard Genette Gérard Genette (; 7 June 1930 – 11 May 2018) was a French literary theorist, associated in particular with the structuralist movement and with figures such as Roland Barthes and Claude Lévi-Strauss, from whom he adapted the concept of ''b ...

, literary theorist, lived and taught in Le Mans from 1956 to 1963. *

Jacques Derrida Jacques Derrida (; ; born Jackie Élie Derrida;Peeters (2013), pp. 12–13. See also 15 July 1930 – 9 October 2004) was a French Algerian philosopher. He developed the philosophy of deconstruction, which he utilized in a number of his texts, ...

, philosopher, lived and taught in Le Mans in 1959–1960. *

David Jason Sir David John White (born 2 February 1940), known professionally as David Jason, is an English actor. He has played Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in the sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'', Detective Inspector Jack Frost in the drama series '' A Touch ...

, English actor, lived in Le Mans between 1965–1968 and 1999–2001. * Andy Wallace, born 1961, racecar driver. Died in Le Mans: *

Liborius of Le Mans Liborius of Le Mans (c. 348–397) was the second Bishop of Le Mans. He is the patron saint of the cathedral and archdiocese of Paderborn in Germany. The year of his birth is unknown; he died in 397, reputedly on 23 July. Le Mans and Paderborn ...

(c. 348–397),

bishop of Le Mans The Diocese of Le Mans (Latin: ''Dioecesis Cenomanensis''; French: ''Diocèse du Mans'') is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese is now a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Rennes, Dol, and Saint-Malo, but had previ ...

* André d'Arbelles (1767–1825), journalist and historiographer * Lawrence Aubrey Wallace (1857–1942) British Colonial Administrator

International relations

Le Mans is twinned with: *

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

, England, United Kingdom * Haouza, Morocco *

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn (district), Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pade ...

, Germany *

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

, Russia * Suzuka, Japan *

Volos Volos (; ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the capital of the Magnesia (regional unit), Magnesia regional unit of the Thessaly Region. Volos ...

, Greece *

Xianyang Xianyang ( zh, s=咸阳 , p=Xiányáng) is a prefecture-level city in central Shaanxi province, situated on the Wei River a few kilometers upstream (west) from the provincial capital of Xi'an. Once the capital of the Qin dynasty, it is now int ...

, China *

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, Indiana, United States

Gastronomy

The culinary specialty of Le Mans is ''

rillettes Rillettes (, also , ) is a preservation method similar to confit where meat is seasoned then submerged in fat and cooked slowly over the course of several hours (4 to 10 hours). The meat is shredded and packed into sterile containers covered in ...

'', a shredded pork

pâté Pâté ( , , ) is a forcemeat. Originally, the dish was cooked in a pastry case; in more recent times it is more usually cooked without pastry in a terrine. Various ingredients are used, which may include meat from pork, poultry, fish or bee ...

Landmarks

Located at Mayet near Le Mans, the Le Mans-Mayet transmitter has a height of 342 m and is one of the tallest radio masts in France.

Representation in popular culture

*Le Mans has been a setting for numerous feature films that feature its famous race. *Le Mans is a setting for sections of the 2020 novel, ''The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue'', by V.E. Schwab.

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links

Official website

Le Mans d'Antan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mans Communes of Sarthe Prefectures in France Cenomani Gallia Lugdunensis Cities in France