6. Pré-en-Pail to Alençon

The Mount des Avaloirs, at 416 metres, is the highest point of the Armorican Massif and the Great West (Normandy, Brittany, Pays de la Loire). It is located in the department of Mayenne, on the border of the department of Orne, in Pré-en-Pail. It is the main summit of the long line of hills of Normandy and has the appearance of a plateau of moors and meadows. The site is very popular with hikers.
The building at the summit was installed in 1994, it replaced an older monument.
In 2019, the Franco-British artist Seb Toussaint created a fresco covering the surface of both sides of the belvedere.

At the foot of the forest of Multonne, the site of the chapel of Sainte-Anne de Champfrémont was a place of pilgrimage but also a famous place of famous cattle fairs. A delicate cohabitation with the prison.
The chapel dated 1630 is on the grounds of the powerful Benedictine abbey of Lonlay, a beautiful building with walls made of all the granite and sandstone of the area, with wooden vaults, four altars, a polychrome terracotta statue of Sainte-Anne, a hexagonal bell with cut-off sides, on flaked slates. With the miraculous spring that cures eye diseases, the site welcomes thousands of pilgrims.

The castle of the Dukes of Alençon currently designates the entrance pavilion of the former castle of Alençon which was destroyed over the centuries.
It cannot be visited, and for good reason: this beautiful 15th century building with two superimposed machicolated towers is a prison.
The castle of the Dukes is currently the subject of a redevelopment program. The creation of a contemporary urban park is under way in the courtyards and promenade of the former prison on different levels. The surrounding wall has been opened to provide access to the courtyard.

This historic district takes its name from the church dedicated to Saint-Léonard, built at the end of the 15th century by Duke René and his wife Marguerite de Lorraine. From the castle to the crossroads of Les Étaux, via the rue de la Juiverie, half-timbered houses, narrow courtyards and gables with granite ramparts evoke Alençon in the Middle Ages in a picturesque district.
The building is placed under the name of Saint-Léonard de Noblac.
It is of flamboyant Gothic style; it was built from 1489 by Duke René, second Duke of Alençon, then by his widow Marguerite de Lorraine at the beginning of the 16th century.
Its Martin tower dating from the 12th century is the base of the bell tower; it was profoundly altered following the collapse of the vaults of the nave in 1645. The church underwent several restorations in the 17th and 18th centuries before being refurbished in the 19th century by the architect Isidore Dédaux.

The Basilica of Notre-Dame d'Alençon is a church of Gothic architecture located in the centre of Alençon in the pedestrian zone.
A Romanesque church, already dedicated to Our Lady in her Assumption, existed on this site in the 12th century. It depended on a priory founded by the Abbey of Lonlay. It later became a parish church and was enlarged. Its construction was begun by Charles III, Duke of Alençon at the time of the Hundred Years' War in 1356 and completed in the 19th century.
This Gothic building has a five-bay nave dating from the 15th century in the flamboyant Gothic style, early 16th century. Following a fire, the choir, transepts and bell tower were rebuilt between 1745 and 1762.
Saint Therese of Lisieux received the sacrament of baptism in this church. A chapel in the basilica recalls this event.
It has been a basilica since August 10, 2009.
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The house, built entirely of granite, takes the form of a late 15th century rectangular dwelling on the square side, flanked on the right by a pavilion built at the beginning of the following century. On the rear facade, a cylindrical turret from the same period is attached to the pavilion. Inside, the dwelling has vast rooms with exposed beams that occupy the entire width of the building on each floor.

The family home of the Holy Martin Husbands, also the birthplace of Saint Thérèse, opens its doors to you to get closer to them and find the authenticity of the time they lived. The visit accompanied by the house allows you to discover the life of the Martin Family - of Saints Louis and Zélie, of Sainte Thérèse de Lisieux and her sisters.