The Mayenne : a county, a river

Thanks to its numerous tourist information centres together with its efficient hosting structure, France is the more touristic country in the world.

But who knows that because of natural, historical and cultural resources every single region, cities but also every county are potential touristic sites?

Famous worldwide for its vast touristic areas such as the Cote d’Azur, Languedoc-Roussillon, Brittany, Aquitaine, Normandy, Alsace, Loire’s castles, Alps, Pyrenees with cities like Paris, Lyon, Lille, Nantes, Bordeaux, Marseille, France offers a large range of touristic destinations.

The Mayenne’s county (Pays de la Loire, France) is one of those unfortunately undervalued destinations, which are far from the bustle in the city and others seaside resorts, where this green tourism trend is booming.

We, local people, are often surprised to notice that most of tourists and even French people cannot locate the Mayenne on a map! At the meeting point of the Normandie, Brittany and the Loire valley's castles, 1 hour from Angers, Le Mans, Rennes, and the St Michael's Mount, it is easily accessible from Paris (2 hours and a half by the A81 motorway and 1 hour and a half by TGV).

Need to rest, to breathe or craving for green spaces, we invite you the time of a stay in Mayenne in order to evacuate the daily life stress. The Mayenne is the name given to a French county (départment) located in the Pays de la Loire’s region. This name comes from the river that flows through it (Mayenne river). The Mayenne is surrounded by five other counties which are the Manche, the Orne, the Maine et Loire et the Ille-et-Vilaine.

It has a pretty flat relief as the highest point towers at 417 metres which is the Mont des Avaloirs. The county is mainly made of hills with many winding rivers. After the French Revolution and following the 22nd of December 1789 law , the Mayenne county was created in putting together a part of the old Maine province and the northern part of the Anjou (called Haut-Anjou). As a result this latter region is called Mayenne Angevine. Seventy five villages of the former Anjou province were at the time added to the Mayenne County.

A preserved nature, wonderful natural sites, and a very rich and diverse historical and cultural patrimony make the Mayenne a nice place to live in. The Mayenne’s multiples facets can be found in the variety of its hilly landscapes, of its river, of its farmland and of its many villages full of flowers among which seven small cities with character. This sensation of calm, well-being and serenity is also to be found in the kindness of local men and women.

The Mayenne has all the ingredients to make your stay enjoyable whether you want it relaxing, sportive or cultural.

The Mayenne river which flows from North to South of the county was the main shipping route for men and goods in the Bas Maine until the 19th century second half. The towpath which allowed bargees to pull their barges by horses is now a natural park and an area for hikes and explorations. The local government under its sustainable development policy has undertaken many improvements and implemented many changes to make the best out of this region.

The Mayenne was naturally navigable between Angers and Chateau-Gontier. Unfortunately, the speedy water flow jeopardized the boat shipping in the North of Laval. River doors between Chateau-Gontier and Laval were created in the 16th century first half in order to improve the traffic. Those developments contributed to the trade boom at a time where road carriage was slow and risky. Local products’ exportations by boat (iron, marble, linen) explain the Bas Maine prosperity during 17th and 18th centuries.

The Mayenne economic growth being inevitable, navigation conditions had to be further improved. On the section between Laval and Mayenne twenty barrages equipped with locks and a diversion canal parallel to the Mayenne (in Montgiroux) were built. Between Laval and Chateau-Gontier twelve new lock barrages replaced the twenty one water doors from 1853 and 1878. At the same time in the South of Chateau-Gontier stretching to the Maine and Loire border three locks and a canal (near the village of Ménil) replaced the six old water doors between 1860 et 1864. Those constructions were part of a bigger project aiming at connecting the Loire to the Manche through the valleys of Mayenne, Orne or the Vilaine. But the water trade decreased pretty fast in the competition against railway and road trades. Since 1970’s Mayenne opened up to pleasure boating.

For the past few years the Mayenne River and the towpath have become major elements of the Mayenne touristic development. Whether you search for the quietness of a bucolic stroll, the thrill of a more sportive hike (walking, horse riding or cycling) or just the pleasure of exploring a natural park, the towpath is there to ravish you all along the Mayenne River (85 km).