|
AlenA§on
|
|
|
ALENA?ON
, a fair-sized and busy town, is known for its traditional - and now pretty much defunct - lacemaking industry. The
MusA©e des Beaux-Arts et de la Dentelle
(mid-June to mid-Sept daily 10am-noon & 2-6pm; rest of year Tues-Sun 10am-noon & 2-6pm; 20F/a?¬3.05) is housed in a former Jesuit school and has all the best trappings of a modern museum. The highly informative history of lacemaking upstairs, with examples of numerous different techniques, can, however, be tedious for anyone not already riveted by the subject. It also contains an unexpected collection of gruesome Cambodian artefacts like spears and lances, tiger skulls and elephants' feet, gathered by a "militant socialist" French governor at the turn of the century. The paintings in the adjoining Beaux-Arts section are nondescript, except for a few works by Courbet and GA©ricault. The
ChA?teau des Ducs
, the old town castle close by the museum, looks impressive but doesn't encourage visitors: it is now a prison, and people in AlenA§on have nightmarish memories of its use by the Gestapo during the war. Wandering around the town might also take you to St ThA©rA?se's birthplace on rue St-Blaise, just in front of the
gare routiA?re
.
The tourist office is housed in the fifteenth-century Maison d'OzA© on place La Magdelaine (July & Aug Mon & Sat 9.30am-noon & 2-6.30pm, Tues-Fri 9.30am-6.30pm, Sun 10.30am-12.30pm & 2.30-5.30pm; rest of year Mon-Sat 9.30am-noon & 2-6.30pm; tel 02.33.80.66.33, www.ville-alencon.fr ). The gare routiA?re and the gare SNCF are both northeast of the centre, in an area that holds AlenA§on's prime concentration of hotels . The two logis, l'Industrie , 20 place GA©nA©ral-de-Gaulle (tel 02.33.27.19.30; 220-300F/a?¬34-46; closed Sun evening & Mon), and the Grand HA?tel de la Gare , 50 av Wilson (tel 02.33.29.03.93; 160-220F/a?¬24-34), are decent and have fixed-price menus for around 70F/a?¬10.67. Back in the town centre, the Jardin Gourmand , 14 rue de Sarthe (tel 02.33.32.22.56; closed Sun & Mon), is a romantic little restaurant with menus from 98F/a?¬14.94. AlenA§on has good shops and cafA©s in a few well-pedestrianized streets at the heart of its abysmal one-way traffic system. Good places to sample the thriving local bar scene include La Caves Aux Boeufs , spreading across the pedestrian rue de la Caves aux Boeufs, and the half-timbered CafA© des Sept Colonnes at 2 rue du ChA?teau.
The
ForA?t d'A?couves
, north of AlenA§on and inaccessible by public transport, is a dense mixture of spruce, pine, oak and beech, unfortunately a favoured spot of the military - and, in autumn, deer hunters, too. You can usually ramble along the cool paths, happening on wild mushrooms and even the odd wild boar. The
Camping d'Ecouves
on the edge of the forest in
RADON
, 6km north of AlenA§on, is an ideal spot from which to explore the woodlands and has its own inexpensive restaurant (tel 02.33.28.10.64; 160-220F/a?¬24-34; closed Oct-April). Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
|
France,
|