Orne is a department in Normandy. It is the least populated department of 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 castles, fortresses and manor houses. The area is particularly interesting for horse lovers, as it is the origin of the Percheron breed and the location of the largest French national stud farm. Camembert, the village where Camembert cheese is made, is located in Orne.
Cities
[edit]
- 1 Alençon — travel through time by visiting its centuries-old buildings and streets
- 2 Argentan — the gateway to the Normandie-Maine regional natural park
Other destinations
[edit]- 1 Camembert
— the birthplace of the cheese of which it is the eponym: Normandy Camembert
Two regional natural parks contribute significantly to the enhancement of the natural heritage and the tourist activity of the department:
- 2 Normandie-Maine regional natural park in the south and south-west of the department, also extends over the departments of Manche, Mayenne and Sarthe;
- 3 Perche regional natural park in the south-east of the department, extends into Eure-et-Loir.
Understand
[edit]Tourist information
[edit]- Orne Tourism website
Get in
[edit]By train
[edit]The Intercité line between Paris -Montparnasse and Granville runs through the department, with stops in L'Aigle, Argentan and Flers (five times a day in each direction). From Paris, it takes about 1 hour 15 minutes to get to L'Aigle and 2 hours 20 minutes to get to Flers. Regional express trains (TER) on the Le Mans - Caen route stop in Alençon, Sees and Argentan. They run approximately every hour (more frequently during rush hour, less frequently at lunchtime); there is also a slightly faster IC on the same route twice a day.
The journey from Le Mans to Alençon takes 30-50 minutes, and from Caen it takes just over an hour. To travel to the extreme southeast of the department (Perche Nature Park), you can use the Nogent-le-Rotrou station in the neighbouring department of Eure-et-Loir: TER trains from Chartres and Le Mans stop there approximately every hour, and there are also direct trains from Paris-Montparnasse every two hours (journey time 1 hour 40 minutes).
By car
[edit]The A 28 motorway ( Rouen -Le Mans) runs through the Orne department, from which the A 88 branches off, which connects to Caen. The N 12 national road (Paris -Rennes ) runs past Alençon, which is in parts motorway-like.
By bicycle
[edit]The French cycle route V40 leads to Orne, which runs from Paris via Chartres through the Perche, Alençon and Domfront to Mont-Saint-Michel , 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.
Get around
[edit]See
[edit]Do
[edit]Orne is an important centre for horse breeding and equestrian sport. There are opportunities for both riding and artistic riding demonstrations.
The varied landscapes also invite you to go hiking. There are opportunities for fishing, golfing, etc.
Eat
[edit]The most famous product of the area is probably the soft cheese Camembert, which has its origins in the town 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.