Château de Sainte-Suzanne — Attraction in Mayenne

FREE! Free parking and entry. Good toilets where we parked. My wife now carries around some soap in a little bottle. Get a map from the tourist office, not obvious but the best thing to do, so many tourist wandering around not sure where to go and missing some places. No information in English that we could find. We spent an hour and a half wandering around. Too hot to do the long river walk but did drive five minutes to the viewing point, which has a big free car park. Sat in the shade undisturbed looking across the valley back to the castle. I can't say this pace blew me away with its authenticity or made my spine tingle because it put me in touch with history. But if you are within a 45 minute drive it's probably...

I just love to visit this place. The chateau is cool but the history is fascinating. The museum is also interesting with a good explanation on the geology and geography of the Mayenne region (interactive). The village and its narrow streets are beautiful with some great little boutiques (arty, brocante, crafty etc perfect if looking for some original gifts). And during the summer there is also a selection of places to eat. Also worth seeing within a short drive is the very pretty village of Saint Pierre sur Erve - its tiny but...

Beautiful place, BUT, I visited on a freezing cold day in April, nothing open, not able to linger over coffee or lunch, no shops to take brief respite from wind. I found a sheltered spot from wind by chateau and got asked move as they were about to close for 3 hrs. Such a shame. There were walkers, a few other tourists, school group and I'm sure it could be a destination if people knew there was a warm welcome. But the view point to see it was a bluebell wood and...