Les Rives de Bel Air

Walking shoes at the ready – there are lots of lovely places for a hike nearby. You may like to centre your outings around natural sights like La Fosse Arthour (20 minutes’ drive) and the craggy trails around the Rock of Oëtre (55 minutes), or make a beeline for man-made highlights like the Eiffel-designed Souleuvre Viaduct (an hour) – you may also be able to try thrill activities like ziplining and bungee jumping here. For those with an eye for heritage, places like the 15th-century ruins of Tour de Bonvouloir (half an hour) should be on the schedule. Mont Saint-Michel too, if you’ve never been – the country’s most-visited attractions outside of Paris is a little over an hour’s drive away. Fancy a bit of town wandering too? Gorron (10 minutes) has a lovely Wednesday market, plus a pool and a popular Boulodrome for the pétanque fans, and pretty Mayenne (25 minutes) is nice for a riverside stroll. A local highlight is Domfront en Poiraie (20 minutes), with cobbled streets, the ruins of Château de Domfront and city walls with remnants of 14 towers.