Denisot Mansion

The Hôtel Denisot, in Le Mans

The Hôtel Denisot is a fine private mansion of the fifteenth century on the rue de Vaux, in old Le Mans, with a discreet façade but a rich history. The Le Mans audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this dwelling mingling Gallo-Roman heritage and Renaissance elegance, that owes its name to the poet Nicolas Denisot, friend of Ronsard and member of the circle of the Pléiade.

The dwelling of the poet of the Pléiade

Here you are in front of the Hôtel Denisot, a fine private mansion of the fifteenth century located on the rue de Vaux. Its discreet façade hides a rich history, between Gallo-Roman heritage and Renaissance elegance. A part of the building indeed rests on the vestiges of a former Roman tower of the third century, still visible in the foundations, testimony of the historical depth of old Le Mans, where each stone tells more than two thousand years of history. This place owes its name to one of its most famous inhabitants, Nicolas Denisot, poet, painter and figure of the French Renaissance. Friend of the great poet Ronsard and member of the literary circle of the Pléiade, that gathered the most brilliant poetic minds of the sixteenth century, he lived here and composed several of his works there. The house, with its red portal and its thick walls, keeps the memory of this lettered and refined era, when the city welcomed artists and humanists. Around you, the cobbled alleys, the timber-framed houses and the private mansions form a unique setting, that plunges the visitor into the atmosphere of the Plantagenet City. The Hôtel Denisot illustrates marvellously the stratification of eras that makes the richness of the heritage of Le Mans, from the time of the Romans to that of the poets. A private mansion and a memory of the Pléiade, the Hôtel Denisot is a fine stop of the discovery of Le Mans.

What to see

Here you admire a fine private mansion of the fifteenth century on the rue de Vaux, a part of which rests on the vestiges of a Roman tower of the third century; it owes its name to the poet and painter Nicolas Denisot, friend of Ronsard and member of the Pléiade, who lived and composed there in the sixteenth century. With its red portal, the Hôtel Denisot illustrates the historical richness of old Le Mans. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Hôtel Denisot lies on the rue de Vaux, in old Le Mans, reachable on foot. You admire above all its façade and its portal from the street; it is a building that generally cannot be visited. You discover it during a walk in the Plantagenet City.

Who was Nicolas Denisot, whose mansion bears the name in Le Mans?

A poet, painter and figure of the French Renaissance, friend of the great poet Ronsard and member of the literary circle of the Pléiade, that gathered the most brilliant poetic minds of the sixteenth century; he lived in this private mansion of the fifteenth century, on the rue de Vaux, a part of which rests on the vestiges of a Roman tower, and composed several of his works there.

Where is the Hôtel Denisot in Le Mans?

On the rue de Vaux, in old Le Mans, in France.