Real estate trends

According to La Vie immobilière, apartments can be had for around 1,500 € per m² in the department as a whole. Expect to pay at least 150,000 € for a townhouse in Le Mans, but just 105,000 € in Sablé-sur-Sarthe or La Ferté-Bernard. A "handsome Le Mans home" in perfect condition or a new home with 130 m2 of living area in Le Mans will run around 250,000 €. Farms, windmills and renovated manors are available starting at 300,000 €.

Traditional housing

Crisscrossed by three streams (the Loir, the Sarthe and the Huisne), the department's population settled near its 4,000 km of waterways. Rural housing consists of L- or U-shaped, adjoining buildings, with their backs to inclement weather out of the north. The steeply pitched roofs are covered with flat tiles, reach very low, with high dormer windows called gerbières (loft doors) poking out. Construction material varies depending on the area: red sandstone, schist or tuffeau fieldstone, an easily shaped limestone.

Location

Located 200 km southwest of Paris, the city of Le Mans can be reached in 1 hour by TGV or 2 hours by car via autoroute A11.

Scenery and activities

A major contrast in Sarthe is the distribution of its population: half of its 530,000 inhabitants have taken up residence in Le Mans and its metropolitan area. For three weekends a year, they thrill to the frenetic pace of the famous 24 Hours, run on the Bugatti circuit.

Outside of its metropolis, the distinct identities of Sarthe's four rural areas come from the course of their streams.

• In the Northwestern Haute-Sarthe area, nature is king.
• In the Northeast, all the way to La Ferté-Bernard, the Perche Sarthois forms lush prairies between the many branches of the Huisne.
• To the Southwest, the Valley of the Sarthe is dotted with castles, manors, churches with fascinating mural paintings, and villages with character, such as Malicorne, famous for its earthenware, and Asnières-sur-Vègre.
• To the Southeast, the Valley of the Loir is home to vineyards, forests and castles, like Bazouges and Lude.

Weather

Sarthe boasts a temperate maritime climate, similar to Brittany's. Total annual rainfall, more frequent in fall and winter, is between 700 and 800 mm, spread over approximately 150 days. There are more than 1,800 hours sunny days per year.

In town

• Le Mans: due to its nearness to Paris, the Sarthes capital is home to many companies located in its three technopoles and 18 business parks. It is also an exceptional city for art and history.
• La Ferté-Bernard: To the Northeast of the department, the "Little Venice of the West" has a charm all its own, with its old houses lining a network of bucolic canals.