Le Mans

Pork products, insurance and motor racing could be cited to give a summary of Le Mans, but that would be an inaccurate picture. One of France’s four “red cities” (on account of the hue of its houses) it encompasses within its Gallo-Roman walls a rich history: a fine Gothic cathedral, and a warren of cobbled narrow streets bordered by half-timbered houses. The old town is known as Cité Plantagenêt, a reference to the dynasty which originated in these parts and long controlled the county of Maine.
More info