Where to Stay in Laval, Pays de la Loire

What is Laval known for?

Château de Laval stands at the heart of a town of sixteenth-century houses along the Grande-Rue, and the Basilica of Our Lady of Avesnières adds a basilica to the several churches the Mayenne capital keeps. Indoor collections take it from there. The Musée des Sciences de Laval, the musée d'Art naïf et d'Arts singuliers and the Lactopôle give three quite different reasons to stop.

What are the main landmarks in Laval?

Laval keeps an unusually full list. The Château de Laval anchors it, the tour Rennaise survives from the same defensive ring, and the Basilica of Our Lady of Avesnières leads the churches alongside Église Saint-Vénérand and Église Notre-Dame des Cordeliers. A trio of museums comes next.

The Musée des Sciences de Laval, the musée d'Art naïf et d'Arts singuliers and the Lactopôle divide the indoor half of a visit three ways.

What is the history of Laval?

Stone marks the oldest layer. Château de Laval, the tour Rennaise and the tour Belot-Oissel are the defensive fabric the town kept, and the sixteenth-century houses of the Grande-Rue represent the domestic building that followed. Churches multiplied alongside. Église Saint-Martin de Laval, Église Saint-Vénérand, Église Notre-Dame des Cordeliers and Église Saint-Pierre de Laval each hold a share of that record, and the Basilica of Our Lady of Avesnières ranks above them all.

The monastère des Ursulines de Laval belongs to the same religious build-out. Names attach to the streets. Maison du Grand-Veneur, Maison de Clermont, the Maison des Maires and the maison de la Bazoche are individually recorded houses, and the addresses along the Grande-Rue and the rue des Serruriers show how tightly that old core is documented.

One monument names a person. A monument to Ambroise Paré stands in the town, while the Monument commémoratif du combat de Saint-Melaine records an engagement rather than an individual. Later layers are civic.

The Musée des Sciences de Laval, the musée d'Art naïf et d'Arts singuliers, the Lactopôle and the Stade Francis Le Basser all belong to the modern town, which serves as capital of the Mayenne department. Laval carries no recorded year of founding.

Where is Laval?

Western France is the setting. Laval lies about 300 km west-southwest of Paris, capital of the Mayenne department and one of the towns of Pays de la Loire, on ground that carries a compact commune rather than a sprawling one. Distances here are modest.

The old streets, the Grande-Rue among them, sit close enough together that the Château de Laval and the churches read as one continuous quarter.

What is the climate of Laval?

Western France sets the terms. Laval belongs to the temperate band, and the Mayenne country around it greens under the same conditions that shape the rest of Pays de la Loire. The seasons stay moderate.

The stone of the Château de Laval and the sixteenth-century houses of the Grande-Rue has weathered a long run of ordinary seasons in this part of the country.

How do you get to Laval?

Paris is the reference. Laval lies about 300 km west-southwest of it, far enough that the trip is a proper journey west rather than a suburban run out of the capital. The Mayenne department centres on the town.

Laval serves as its capital, which puts the rest of the Mayenne, and the wider Pays de la Loire, within reach of the same base.