Taking its name from the river which flows on its way to join the Loire at Angers, Sarthe’s rural attractions and historical gems are often overshadowed by the association of its capital, Le Mans, with motor sports.

In fact, the north of the département shares the Parc Naturel Régionale de Normandie et Maine, with its ancient forests and the range of hills rather grandly called the Alpes Mancelles. South of Le Mans, the Sarthe river flows through some very picturesque villages.

If your only view of Le Mans has been TV shots of cars hurtling round the course of the 24-hour endurance race, you’ll be surprised to learn that it contains the best-preserved Gallo-Roman city walls outside Rome. There are also medieval streets and buildings to admire and the St Julien cathedral, which dates from the 11th century. Worth seeing, too, is the extensively restored Abbaye de Notre Dame de l’Epau. Petrolheads can, of course, visit the 24-hour circuit itself and the motor museum there.

The pretty village of Asnières-sur-Vègre, to the southwest of Le Mans, has a working watermill and an 11th century church with gothic murals. East of Le Mans, the village of La Ferté Bernard is built on marshes, with many of the buildings raised on piles. In the north, St Léonard-des-Bois is a small resort and a good base to explore the Alpes Mancelles and the regional park.

	La Flèche

Many signposts pick out La Flèche which is famous in France as the site of the Prytanée military academy – whose 17th buildings can be visited.

Mamers, which has some fine early 19th architecture, prospered from its hemp industry. The cellars where the workers made the rope open out on to the main streets. South west is Sillé le Guillaume with its 15th century feudal château which is only open in July and August. The town buzzes on the market days of Wednesday and Saturday and the nearby lake has a whole host of water sports.

In the south east Château du Loir lies on the edge of the massive oak forest of Bercé. Only the keep remains of the château but the church of St Guingalos has a 13th century nave and choir. Little remains of St Calais’s 11th century abbey and basilica, in the east of the département, but the renaissance church of Notre Dame and the medieval library with over 30,000 volumes are worth a look.