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LE MANS
is 80km northwest of Tours in the
departement
of Sarthe, some way from the Loire valley but included here as a good, relatively untouristy base between Normandy and the Loire valley, with swift transport connections down to Angers and Tours. The city is taken over by car fanatics in the middle of June for the famous 24-hour race, but for the rest of the year it's still lively enough, with some interesting museums and one of the most beautiful old quarters of any city in France. It was here, in 1129, that Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Maine and Anjou, married Matilda, daughter of Henry I of England, and where their son, the future Henry II, was born.
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