Ballon St Mars is a small rural town with a population of about 1400 in the Sarthe province of France. It lies 14 miles north of Le Mans, beautifully situated on an escarpment thus having panoramic views to the west over the L’Orne valley. Ballon has all the facilities of a market town serving a wide hinterland; with shops, banks, primary school, church, administrative buildings, a large town hall, a sports hall and games field. There are bars and restaurants in many of the nearby villages. Many residents commute to work in Le Mans, especially to the “Renault” factory (now owned by a consortium of motor manufacturers and producing camshafts, rear axles and brake assemblies for many brands of car). There is a local building firm, employing twenty tradesmen. Others work in agriculture and local government.
Ballon has a small but attractive Chateau which is privately owned and lived in. The gardens are open to the public. On the scarp slope beneath the town is a nature reserve. In spring its delightful flora includes many orchids – especially bee orchids.
The recently completed motorway (A26) now provides what was a quite isolated community with easy access to Caen and the channel ports to the north and Tours and the whole of south- west France to the south.
Ballon has a small but attractive Chateau which is privately owned and lived in. The gardens are open to the public. On the scarp slope beneath the town is a nature reserve. In spring its delightful flora includes many orchids – especially bee orchids.
The recently completed motorway (A26) now provides what was a quite isolated community with easy access to Caen and the channel ports to the north and Tours and the whole of south- west France to the south.
Nearby attractions include Le Mans with its cathedral, Roman walls, markets and motor museum (not forgetting a certain motor race); Alençon with cathedral and lacemaking museum and the whole of the western Loire valley, with some of the biggest and best chateaux, including Le Lude with its incredible son et lumière.