La Flèche: Zoo, Nature and Cultural Heritage

La Flèche brings together very different themes for planning a trip: the zoo, designated natural areas and historic places to visit. If you’re looking for a hotel in La Flèche, you can tailor your trip to the interests that matter for your stay. Wildlife watching, time outdoors, and historical or technical insights each offer a different focus. The following places and ways to visit provide practical ideas for planning your trip.

Zoo and Nature in La Flèche

Zoo de La Flèche was founded in 1946 by Jacques Bouillault and was France’s first private zoo. In addition to its history, the zoo offers a specific visitor experience: narrated feedings of California sea lions. This offers a different way to connect with nature than exploring the biodiversity of designated protected areas or watching birds outdoors.

Marais de Cré-sur-Loir/La Flèche has been designated a regional nature reserve since March 31, 2008. It is home to 150 bird species, around 15 fish species and numerous insects. These figures give an idea of the range of animal species found in this wetland. If you’d like to include natural areas in your trip as well as a visit to the zoo, this offers another focus with a very different character.

La Monnerie and Lac des Oiseaux

The La Monnerie leisure area can be explored year-round on foot, by bicycle, on roller skates or by scooter. You can swim, play with your family, have a picnic, relax in the shade of the trees and watch birds. The options range from exercise and family activities to quieter moments under the trees. Which ones you choose depends on what you have planned for your stay.

Lac des Oiseaux at La Monnerie offers another place to explore. This protected natural area has been open to walkers since 2017 and is accessible only on foot or by bicycle. This restriction distinguishes access to Lac des Oiseaux from the ways of exploring the La Monnerie leisure area, which also include roller skates and scooters. If you plan to visit both, keep their respective access options in mind.

Guided Tours and Historic Places

Tours of the Prytanée National Militaire include the French garden, the zoological collections hall, the halls of honour and the generals’ halls, the historic courtyards, Saint-Louis Church and the Pierre Guillaumat area. The tour takes you through different parts of the Prytanée. Dates may vary by season; check the schedule if you’d like to include the tour in your plans.

At the Moulin de la Bruère, the technology is as much a focus as the mill itself. Since 1999, it has been the last mill in France to produce blocks of ice. A waterwheel driven by the river powers an ingenious system that can produce electricity and cooling ice. Individual tours last one hour and are available on request; arrangements may change. Request a tour for your preferred date.

The Chapelle Notre Dame des Vertus is La Flèche’s oldest sanctuary. Its rich furnishings date from the Renaissance to the 19th century. The chapel is open for individual visits without a guide. This is different from the guided tours at the Prytanée and Moulin de la Bruère: here, you can visit without a guided program.

Discover more destinations: Saint-Mars-Sous-Ballon, Sargé-lès-le-Mans, Bourg-le-Roi, Pruillé-l'Éguillé, Sainte-Osmane, Le Tronchet, Saint-Aubin-Des-Coudrais, Rouez.

For an overview of the wider region: Sarthe.