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| Orne department | |
| Capital | Alencon |
|---|---|
| Residents | 281.593 (2018) |
| surface | 6,103 km² |
no tourist info on Wikidata:  | |
| location | |
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Orne is a department in the French region Normandy and has the serial number 61. It is the most sparsely populated department in Normandy, characterized by forests and extensive pastureland. Apart from the main town of Alençon, there are no major cities, but there are a number of palaces, castles and mansions. The area should be particularly interesting for horse lovers, as it is the origin of the Percheron breed and the location of the largest French national stud.
Orne borders the department in the north Calvados and then clockwise Your and Eure-et-Loir in the northeast / east Sarthe and Mayenne in the south as well Some in the West.
Regions
Administratively, the department is divided into the following three arrondissements:
- Arrondissement of Alençon
- Argentan arrondissement
- Arrondissement of Mortagne-au-Perche
From a tourist perspective, the division into five traditional landscape regions is more interesting:
- Bocage ornais and southern part of the Norman Switzerland in the west, hilly to mountainous. Characterized by the bocage, a cultural landscape that is typical of north-west France and was created by the Celts 2000 years ago, in which the individual small fields are separated from one another by hedges, which form particularly species-rich habitats. Main town: Flers
- Pays d'Argentan and southern part of the Pays d'Auge in the northern center. Cattle breeding and apple growing with the corresponding products camembert and cider; Land of castles and stud farms. Main town: Argentan
- Pays d'Alençon in the southern center. Main town: Alençon
- Pays d'Ouche in the Northeast. Angler's paradise. Main town: L'Aigle
- Pays du Perche in the southeast, characterized by forests, rolling hills and bocage as well as typical country estates and old farms. Historically a province of its own and not part of actual Normandy. Main town: Mortagne-au-Perche
places
- Alencon is the prefecture (administrative seat) of the department. National center of lace making. The lace technique “Point d'Alençon” is considered to be the highlight of the handicraft lace production in France and is part of the intangible world heritage. There is a medieval quarter, town houses from the 18th century, a corn house that is well worth seeing. The writers Balzac and Baudelaire worked here.
- Argentan
- Bagnoles de l’Orne, Health resort and tourist center with spa, hippodrome, casino
- Bellême
- Flers
- L'Aigle
- La Ferté-Macé
- Mortagne-au-Perche
- Le Pin-la-Garenne
Other goals
- Perche Regional Natural Park. Slightly hilly pastureland, known for the Percheron horse breed.
- Normandy-Maine Regional Nature Park. Consists of the large state forests Forêt d'Andaine, Forêt d'Écouves and Forêt de Perseigne.
- Fôret Domaniale de Bellême
- Fôret Domaniale de Moulins-Bonsmoulins
- Fôret Domaniale du Perche et de la Trappe
- Fôret Domaniale de Réno Valdieu
background
In the north, the département borders on the département Calvados, in the east to the departments Your and Eure-et-Loir, in the south to the departments Sarthe and Mayenne and to the west to the department Some.
language
getting there
By train
The IntercitéLine between Paris-Montparnasse and Granville, with stops in L'Aigle, Argentan and Flers (five times a day in each direction). From Paris you drive about 1:15 hours to L'Aigle, 2:20 hours to Flers. The regional express trains (TER) on the route stop in Alençon, Sees and Argentan Le Mans–Caen, they drive approximately every hour (more frequently in rush hour traffic, less often in lunchtime); twice a day there is also a slightly faster IC on the same route. It takes 30–50 minutes to drive from Le Mans to Alençon, and a good hour from Caen. For the journey to the extreme south-east of the department (Perche Nature Park), the train station Nogent-le-Rotrou in the neighboring department Eure-et-Loir can be used: TER can be used there approximately every hour Chartres and Le Mans, there are also continuous trains every two hours from Paris-Montparnasse (journey time 1:40 hours)
In the street
The A 28 motorway (Rouen–Le Mans), from which the A 88 branches off, which connects to Caen. The national road N 12 (Paris–Rennes), which in parts is expanded like a motorway.
By bicycle
The French cycle route V40 leads to Orne, which runs from Paris via Chartres through the Perche, Alençon and Domfront to the Mont-Saint-Michel leads, the V43 from Angers on the Loire or Caen and Ouistreham on the English Channel to Flers and Domfront and the V44 from Saumur on the Loire via Le Mans to Alençon.
mobility
Tourist Attractions
- Château de Carrouges. Well-fortified moated castle from the 14th to 16th centuries.
- Château d'Ô. Romantic moated castle in renaissance style.
- Château de Sassy
- Château de Rabodanges
- National stud Haras du Pin. The largest of France's national studs, also known as the “Versailles of Horses”.
- Manoir de Courboyer. 16th century estate, administrative center and information center of the Perche Natural Park.
- Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei. Idyllic village, named one of the most beautiful in France, which has attracted numerous artists.
- Saint-Evroult-Notre-Dame-du-Bois. Romantic ruins of an abandoned abbey.
- La Roche d'Oëtre. Extraordinary rock formation and gorge with a magnificent view in Norman Switzerland.
activities
Orne is an important center for horse breeding and equestrian sports. There are offers for self-riding as well as art riding demonstrations.
The varied landscapes also invite you to go hiking. There are opportunities for fishing, golfing, etc.
kitchen
The most famous product in the area is probably the soft cheese Camembert which has its origin in the place of the same name. Other local specialties are boudin noir (a type of black pudding) and boudin blanc (a poultry sausage) as well as tripe (tripes).
