Bed and breakfast accommodation in Laval Monasteries

The town of Laval has kept some remarkable heritage features from its rich past. The oldest streets and buildings can be found around the promontory where the castle stands. They date back from the Middle Ages. This old core is today the main shopping area, with several pedestrian streets and little shops. 

The Old Castle is the town's flagship monument, and was the residence of the Counts of Laval until 1794. It was built in the 11th-16th centuries and is flanked by an imposing circular keep. Nowadays it is home to a museum of Naive Art, which exhibits the finest collections of Naive Art in Europe. 

The Mayenne is the centre of France’s dairy industry, as you’ll realise while driving through the countryside and seeing the many herds of dairy cows grazing in lush fields. Laval is housing the dairy museum of Lactopole, where you can discover everything about the milk production.

How to get around? 

Getting around the town centre of Laval is very easy as everything is within walking distance. When you get to the town centre and after parking your car (if driving) you can easily wander around.

Gare de Laval is a railway station serving the town Laval, it is situated on the Paris–Brest railway. 

Gare Massy TGV commutes to Laval every day taking only an hour and half. 

The closest airport is in Rennes, and from Rennes town centre to Laval it only takes half an hour to travel. 

On the banks of the river Mayenne, Laval is a town located in the north west of France.

The religious history of Laval covers a period from the end of Antiquity to the present day, with many ups and downs throughout history. And today, there remain a big number of churches which are part of the important religious heritage of the city. 

The Saint Martin Church is a Romanesque church which can only be visited from the outside for safety reasons. The church was founded in the 11th century, with ferruginous sandstone, the building shows a traditional romanesque drawing. It is composed of a unique nave, a little prominent transept and a chevet with west-facing chapels.

Also, the Notre Dame de Pritz Chapel has masonry remains dating back to the Carolingian period. It houses a remarkable collection of wall paintings from the 11th to 15th centuries.

At the end of the Middle Ages, as the city was developing with trade. The rich cloth merchants decided to build a new church closer to their houses. This is how Saint Venerand church came about. The lower parts of the main doorway still embodies the flamboyant gothic tradition of the late 15th century.

The basilica was and is still important for the religious community, built between the 12th and 14th centuries, Notre-Dame d'Avesnières was a great place of pilgrimage in the middle ages. The cathedral brings a perfect harmony between the medieval era and the contemporary era.