Barely two and a half hours from Paris, Alençon is the sort of French city travellers tend to race past on the way somewhere else. That's a mistake. The former seat of the Dukes of Alençon, now officially listed as a Remarkable Heritage Site, packs in a basilica, castle remains, domed market hall and cobbled medieval courtyards — all without the crowds you'd find further north in Normandy.
Its signature craft is the Point d'Alençon, a needle lace so labour-intensive that a single square centimetre takes between seven and fifteen hours to make. The technique has been passed down by word of mouth since the 17th century and is recognised on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Summer demonstrations at the Museum of Fine Arts and Lace show the work in action, and that museum is currently the place to be for art lovers: until 3 January 2027 it hosts the largest Gustave Courbet exhibition ever staged in the Orne department, alongside paintings by Eugène Boudin and Bernard Buffet.
There's an unusual spiritual claim too — three saints in one family. Louis and Zélie Martin raised their children in Alençon, including Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, and you can visit the house where she was born.
The surrounding countryside is a genuine draw. Fifteen kilometres away, Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei sits among the Alpes Mancelles as one of France's official Plus Beaux Villages, its Romanesque church and stone houses once attracting 19th-century painters whose charcoal silhouettes still cover the walls of the Auberge des Sœurs Moisy. The Sarthe Valley carves through the hills, with greenways for hikers, mountain bikers and canoeists of all levels. Cyclists get two long-distance routes through the area, La Vélobuissonnière and La Véloscénie, while runners can pick from marked trails of 7 to 31 kilometres at the Radon trail station in the Massif d'Écouves, home to Normandy's highest point. Off the bike and off the trail, La Belle Échappée museum displays one of France's best collections of vintage bicycles and Tour de France posters.
Food follows the Normandy script: cider, perry, artisan chocolate and local breweries. The Thursday and Saturday morning markets under Notre-Dame Basilica are the easiest way to taste your way through the region.
Who's it for? Anyone after a low-key weekend with real substance — walkers and cyclists, lace and art enthusiasts, pilgrims following the Martin family trail, or Parisians wanting a countryside reset without a long drive. It works year-round, and its compact size means you can see the city in a day and spend the rest of your time outdoors.
