Transport Getting There Air: There is no airport with flights from within France or Europe. Getting Around Le Mans Le Mans has a pretty good public transportation system with buses and trams. Visiting the old city is done on foot, but anything outside, particularly the circuit, you will need transportation. Restaurants As you would expect […]

Le Mans is particularly known the world over for its 24 hour car endurance race. The first car race was held way back in 1923, and it is the oldest endurance race in the world.   The (permanent) Bugatti race circuit is added to the “Circuit de la Sarthe” for the 24 hours race, that […]

The name Le Mans is famous amongst motorheads, petrolheads and adrenaline junkies the world over: home of the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans cars (and motorcycles) race. But Le Mans is much more than a mythical car race. It’s a very old city with its history dating back to 50 BC when the Romans took over […]

In the city of Montlucon in Auvergne lies an imposing fortress with a beautiful chateau on top. The fortress and chateau belonged to the Dukes of Bourbon, a noble family that would later become King of France (and later on Spain).   Perched high on a big rocky hill, it is the central building of the city and […]

In the small village of Veigne, close to the city of Tours, you will find a magnificent estate that towards the middle of last century was turned into a luxury hotel castle; the Domaine de la Tortiniere.   Although the first towers/turrets were built in the 16th century, the castle was built in the mid-19th century. Each […]

Hidden away from most big roads in a little village in the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region, perched high up a rock is the Chateau de Peufeilhoux.   The construction of the Chateau de Peufeilhoux started towards the end of the 15th century with bits added over the centuries that followed. The Chateau de Peufeilhoux is now a hotel […]

This absolutely beautiful castle is located close to many of the other more famous castles in the Loire valley. It is now a luxury, but affordable, hotel often used for weddings a winery. One of its biggest claims to fame is that the castle once belonged to the Marquis la Fayette, the man who went […]

Once a year, around May, there is a big aeronautical meeting/exhibition at La Ferte-Alais, a small town located some 50 kilometres South of Paris.. Not as big and high tech as the Paris Air Show, the La Ferte-Alais specialises in vintage aircraft, and they do it very well. The show is all about the old […]

Montlucon is located almost at the exact centre of France. It has traditionally been associated to the royal Bourbon family. The city itself, dominated by the Bourbon family castle is very medieval looking & feeling with many narrow streets and old buildings. The core part of the city, the centre, is for pedestrians only; no […]