Mortagne-au-Perche is a village of Orne department, in Normandy region, located in north-western France. Situated in the Perche and its regional natural park, the city has about 4 526 inhabitants.
From a property perspective, you will be enchanted by the medieval streets shaped with houses from the Middle Age. They present brown and red tiles, skylights, lovely rocaille style windows and wrought iron balconies.
Access
The city Mortagne-au-Perche is easy to access. It is located close to the national road N12 linking Paris (150km by car) to Rennes. The closest airports are the ones of Caen (80 minutes away driving), Paris-Orly airport (120 minutes) and Paris Charles de Gaulle (150 minutes). It is also possible to take the ferry at Ouistreham (110km away from Mortagne-au-Perche) which is accessible via the departmental road D8, the freeway A88 and the national N158.
Nearby you can visit the famous French cities such as Alençon (35km), Le Mans (70km) known for the 24 Hours of Le Mans automobile endurance event, and the Mont Saint-Michel (168km).
History
Mortagne-au-Perche used to be the capital of the Perche during the last centuries of the monarchy due to its economic situation. The present monuments shape the history of the city. Three countesses used to live in this commune. The first one, Mahaut de Bavière (1172-1210) founded the collegiate church. Marie d’Armagnac (1420-1473) and Marguerite de Lorraine (1463-1521) helped to build Notre-Dame church and the Saint François convent in the 16th century, known for its panelling sculpted and for the tombstone of Pierre de Catinat. In 1838, it is the town hall which has been built, also known as ‘the Crestien de Galais hotel’.
Activities
Mortagne-au-Perche offers different cultural, nature and sports activities. Concerning the cultural activities, you will find a cinema ‘Cinéma Étoile’ (http://www.cinemaetoile.fr/); a performance and concerts hall ‘Le Carré du Perche’ (http://www.lecarreduperche.com/), a library and some others such as the museum ‘Mémorial Alain’. For nature lovers, you will be pleased to discover many hiking paths such as the green lane which is a 65km waymarks route. To practise sports, you will find a heated and covered swimming pool with a Jacuzzi and a sauna, equestrian centres in the neighbouring communes, golfing in the city of Belleme and others.
We advise you to visit the public garden and its flower bed ‘à la française’ where you can have a panorama on the countryside; the 7 visible sundials (but in total 27 of them have been listed!); the Henri IV house; the ramparts; the ancient citadel; the national stud farm of the city of Le Pin-au-Haras; the Basilica of the Montligeon Chapel (http://en.normandie-tourisme.fr/normandy-tourism-109-2.html) and the Trappe Abbey.
Food & Drink
The black pudding is the main speciality of the commune. Every year in March the city organises a fair in order to celebrate the diversity of the home produces, the tradition and the know-how. This celebration also comes with competitions: some producers compete to create the best traditional black pudding, while some others compete to know who is going to eat the most black puddings! It is the international competition of black pudding.
Mortagne-au-Perche has some regional products like the cider (AOC cider ‘controlled designation of origin’), the Pommeau Calvados du Perche, typical biscuits like ‘le Croquelou’ and ‘Clairay Percheron’ and finally, the Perche baguette.
Restaurants
- Les pieds dans l’eau’, 28 chemin de la folle entreprise, Mortagne au Perche, tel : +33 2 33 25 31 44, offering culinary food with high quality wine. You might think of booking a couple of days in advance.
- ‘ Le café de France’, 19 Place de la République, 61400 Mortagne au Perche, tel : +33 2 33 85 58 03, offering meal of quality and a welcoming reception.
- ‘Restaurant du Palais’, also known as ‘Restaurant le Tribunal’, 4 Place du Palais, Hotel du Tribunal, 61400 Mortagne au Perche, tel : +33 2 33 25 04 77, offering fine dining, fresh and creative.
- Le Pigmalion’, 13 rue du Colonel Guerin, 61400 Mortagne au Perche, +33 2 33 25 49 33, offering a good quality-price ration / value for money and good pastries.
Our team of sale advisers at Sextant Properties will be happy to help you find a property in Orne. We have a large network of agents there. All of them are registered French estate agents and speak fluently English. Whatever the kind of property you are looking for, we will do our best to find a property matching your requirements. Do not hesitate to contact us to find out more about our selection of properties for sale in Mortagne-au-Perche.