Discover Moulins-La-Marche: Pottery, History and Horse Racing

Moulins-La-Marche offers a variety of reasons to visit: the Fête des Potiers and horse races at the Hippodrome Jean Gabin bring events into the picture; the motte, Les Fossés le Roi and a memorial stele represent different chapters in the town’s history. Add to these the local brioche tradition and a cycling practice track. Depending on your interests, you can explore the town through the lenses of crafts, history, food or sport.

Pottery Festival and Horse Racing

The annual Fête des Potiers brings potters and local craftspeople together to showcase their ceramic creations and demonstrations. The focus is not only on finished pieces, but also on the craft of pottery. The event also includes children’s workshops, where participants make their own creations and can take them home. The 2026 edition was the 35th Fête des Potiers. If you would like to plan your trip around the event, check the dates for the relevant edition.

The Hippodrome Jean Gabin offers a different focus. Horse races are held there for three days each in June, July and September. As dates may change, check the current race days if you plan your stay around them. The stands and natural rises at the Hippodrome offer views of the River Perche. The two event themes therefore offer different highlights: pottery and demonstrations at one, horse racing at the other.

Medieval Fortifications and Local History

The medieval motte at Moulins-La-Marche was probably built in the mid-11th century. Its layout included several rings of fortifications and a summit platform for a wooden keep, a few buildings and a chapel. The combination of several rings and the designated space at the summit gives the site a different form from a single line of fortification.

Les Fossés le Roi is associated with the Norman border region as a linear fortification. Henry II Plantagenet, Duke of Normandy and King of England, ordered its construction. It supplemented an existing line of castles, which had already been strengthened under Henry I Beauclerc.

The stele at Clos Mottet commemorates a different era: it was erected in 1949 in memory of resistance fighters killed in battle. Alongside the medieval sites, it is a specific place of remembrance from the town’s more recent history.

Brioche Tradition and Cycling

The brioche of Moulins-La-Marche also has a traceable origin story. Raymond Fanouillet invented the recipe in 1973. The original shape was chosen by vote between the two bakers and the pastry chef working in the town at the time. The recipe and choice of shape mark two distinct steps: developing the brioche and jointly deciding on its original form.

Moulins-La-Marche also has an innovative practice track for learning and practising cycling. If you would like to include the track in your plans, check its current availability before your trip. Unlike the race days at the Hippodrome, the focus here is on practising cycling.

Discover more destinations: Sainte-Gauburge-Sainte-Colombe, Brieux, Cahan, Briouze, Camembert, Aubry-En-Exmes, Domfront, Saint-Hilaire-de-Briouze.

For the broader travel overview: Orne.