Fantastic Cycle Museum at la Fresnaye-sur-Chédouet
All over France you find specialist museums, created by people with a burning passion for a particular subject. Once in a while you come across one that is worth going out of your way to visit – and the Musée du Vélo “La Belle Echappée” is a stunning example. It is a cycling museum unique in France, packed with fascinating exhibits.
One of the Static Displays
I’m only sorry that my little video slide-show can’t do the museum “la Belle Echappée” justice, especially as the videos and films that you find there bring the whole thing to life. Look further down for a couple of videos that give a flavour of the passion that cycling engenders in France, and which this fabulous gem of a museum encapsulates.
The Musée du Vélo cycling museum is only open for half of the year, April to September, but if you’re in the area around Alençon (Lower Normandy) in this summer season, and if you have any interest at all in the Tour de France or want to know why the Tour is the biggest spectator event in the world, then make sure you don’t miss the Musée du Vélo.
The Musée du Vélo “La Belle Echappée” displays over 60 bicycles; the story is divided into a series of tableaux, each with bikes, jerseys and videos which trace the development of cycling as a sport in France, with the focus of the exhibits centred on the amazing spectacle that is “le Boucle” – the annual Tour de France. This cycle race, the greatest in the world, has run every year since 1903, interrupted only by the World Wars.
The racing bikes and jerseys on display belonged to or are on loan from the most famous and greatest cyclists in history such as Anquetil, Armstrong, Bobet, Hinault, Indurain, Merckx – some of them still scarred and stained from the battle, and many of the jerseys signed by the riders themselves.
One of the personal highlights of our own visit was the Video Hall, where you can select a rider of your choice and see a cinema projection of a highlight from their career – here is one example, featuring Richard Virenque.
Or this one with Eddie Merckx.
But seriously, to get the full flavour you’re going to have to see this for yourself!
Practical Information
Open 1st April to 30th September
Wednesday to Sunday (closed Monday, Tuesday) from 10h to 13h and 14h to 18h
2010 entry fee: 5€ for adults, 7-12yo 3€, under 7′s free
During our “vacation” we made a day trip to Rouen last week, the capital of Normandy. The weather in late October was not at its kindest – trust us to chose the dampest day of the week – but we were still blown away by the beauty of the old town centre.
We parked in the car park of “le Vieux Tour” which is just a minute’s walk away from the Cathedral and the Rouen Tourist Office, which we caught before it closed for lunch. We hired a couple of audio-guide handsets and set off to explore the town – the video shows some of the sights we saw along the way. If this is your first visit to Rouen we recommend the audio tour as it is clear, concise and comes with one of the clearest route maps we’ve seen for visits of this type.
Video of Rouen Town Centre Walk
Route of the Audio Guide Visit to Rouen
Rouen’s Famous Sites
Rouen is justly famed for the magnificent Notre Dame Cathedral, which was the subject of over thirty paintings by Claude Monet – he secretly hid in lodgings above a ladies lingerie shop in the cathedral square in order to have the best view of the main façade of the Cathedral. The shop in question, formerly the House of the Exchequer, has an ornate facade and now houses the Rouen Tourist Office.
Rouen Cathedral
Outside, Rouen cathedral walls are smothered in fine stone sculptures, and the astonishing cathedral spire is the highest in France at over 150 metres tall. The interior of the cathedral is remarkably airy and light, the soaring spaces of the nave pierced by windows and arcades on four levels -the dimensions are truly stunning. The cathedral choir houses the tomb of Duke Rollon and another containing the heart of Richard the Lionheart, King of England and Duke of Normandy. The zig-zag stone staircase near the doorway to the library courtyard is wonderfully, ornately decorated.
Wandering medieval streets from the cathedral took us past tempting antique and art shops in the Rue Saint-Romain and into the Quartier Saint Maclou. Three-quarters of the population of the Saint Maclou quarter were wiped out by the Plague of 1348. Near the flamboyant Gothic church of Saint Maclou is the necropolis of the Aître Saint Maclou, a macabre courtyard, formerly an ossuary where the bones of plague victims were stacked. The black timberwork and gory carvings of skulls, bones and gravediggers tools are an unforgettable sight; a window at the entrance to the courtyard displays the mummified remains of a medieval cat that was found in the wall there – presumably as a charm against evil spirits.
Aître St Maclou Ossuary, Rouen
Passing more timber-framed medieval buildings, we came to the Abbey Church of Saint-Ouen. The exterior was undergoing some restoration work but inside, the stained glass windows were stunning, even in watery sunlight.
In the Rue des Juifs we saw the fabulous former Parliament of Normandy, now the Palais de Justice. Built mainly between 1300 and 1600, the buildings are adorned with superb stone carvings which have recently been restored to their former glory.
Normandy Parliament Building, Rouen - Detail
In the Place du Vieux Marché we saw the spot where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake following her trial and imprisonment in Rouen. Nearby a museum beneath the Church of Joan of Arc houses a museum with over 50 waxworks tracing the story of the Maid of Orléans. The Church is a large, modern structure which dominates the square, its unusual angular form representing the pyre on which Joan of Arc was burnt. Every year a weekend festival commemorates the trial and execution of Saint Joan at Rouen.
Joan of Arc - Burnt at the Stake in Place du Vieux Marché, Rouen
Not included in the audio-guide itinerary, but a short way off in the direction of the railway station, in the rue du Donjon, is the Tour Jeanne d’Arc, where Joan of Arc was brought in 1431 to be threatened with torture. Contrary to popular belief, she was imprisoned not in the tower but in a different part of the castle, of which this tower used to be a part.
The Museum of Fine Arts and Ceramics in the adjoining rue Morand contains a splendid collection of faïence and decorative porcelain, for which Rouen was renowned during the 16th to 18th centuries. There are many shops in the old town selling decorative Rouen faïence to this day.
In the same quarter is the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen, an art museum with pictures of famous artists including Claude Monet, Sisley, Velazquez and Géricault. It includes examples of the Monet cathedral series.
Another museum in the Tour Jeanne d’Arc sector of the town, which unfortunately we did not visit (we hope to do so soon) is Le Secq des Tournelles, or Wrought Ironwork Museum. We’ve got a thing about decorative ironwork (yes, weird) but only found out about this place when we got home and read some of the brochures from the Rouen Tourist Office.
Continuing our audio-guide walk from the Place du Vieux Marché we passed by the Hôtel de Bourgtheroulde; according to the guide this is a “magnificent town house” (now a luxury hotel) whose courtyard contains “two sculptures of inestimable artisitc and historic value, the Triumphs of Petrarch and the Field of the Cloth of Gold”. We could not see these as the building is shrouded in scaffolding and does not reopen until spring 2010.
Rouen Gros Horloge
Heading back towards the Tourist Office we passed beneath the Gros Horloge, an astronomical clock whose present day features date back to the16th century but whose movement is even older (1389). We plan to return to see the interior, a guided tour of which takes 40 minutes and is said to take in superb views over the old town from the top of the adjoining bell tower.
About 40 miles from us is the recently restored “Musée Château de Mayenne”, in the centre of the town of Mayenne, the chief town of the department of the same name in Pays de la Loire.
The Mayenne Castle Museum tells the story of the castle and town of Mayenne since Carolingian times, when a fortress was built overlooking the river to defend the region from Breton invaders. It was only during excavations in 1993 that it was discovered that the origins of the building dated back so far, to the 9th and 10th centuries.
Carolingian Origins
Following that initial discovery there followed 15 years of archaeological digs, during which many rare treasures were unearthed including tens of thousands of ancient coins and some unique backgammon and chess pieces.
Over the past few years a small fortune (over 4.5 million euro) has been spent on stabilising and restoring the fortress and ramparts, and equipping it as a state-of the art museum. The Mayenne castle and museum were opened to the public in summer 2008.
Chess Piece
Backgammon Piece
The museum uses sound and light to illustrate the genesis and development of the castle through the centuries. Particularly inventive, we thought, were the outlines cast by projectors on the walls to show successive changes to the window and door architecture.
The lights are accompanied in the main rooms by audio commentaries in English and in French – look for the buttons to press as you go into each room. There are also interactive computer screens which children find particularly appealing, and information panels in both English and French.
You can hire an audio guide from the ticket desk – we did this, but with virtually all of the same information available free, we thought this was actually a waste of money.
Opening Hours
October to March : 9h –12h30 / 14h –17h
April, May, June, September : 9h –18h
July – August : 10h – 19h
Closed Mondays except July and August
Closed 25 – 26 December, 1 – 2 January, 1 May
Other information
Parking in the square near the entrance to the Château de Mayenne, next to the Tour des Anglais.
Fully wheelchair accessible thanks to lifts between floors.
During the winter the Motor Museum at the racing circuit of Le Mans has been refurbished – it reopens on the 29th April 2009 under its new guise as the”Musée des 24 Heures”, having previously been called the “Musée Automobile de la Sarthe”.
New cars, an extended section devoted to former Le Mans 24 Hours racers, state of the art race simulators and a complete makeover of the main halls have transformed the museum, which is located next to the main entrance to the Bugatti race circuit.
The exhibits include previous Le Mans winners such as the 3-litre Bentley from 1930s, the Ferrari 166 from 1949 which made Ferrari’s name, the Ford GT40 which won 4 consecutive years from 1966, the Porsche 917 “long tail” from 1971 and many more, including every winner since 1998.
26 Museums take part to this visitor pass scheme. By paying 1€ for the Normandie Pass at any of the participating museums (mainly connected with the D-Day Normandy Landings) visitors get reductions on entry to all museums on the circuit. For further information www.normandiepass.com
