Saint-Julien Washhouse Boat

The Saint-Julien wash-house boat, in Laval

The Saint-Julien wash-house boat is one of the two last authentic municipal wash-house boats of France, moored on the Mayenne in Laval. The Laval audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this astonishing floating house, rare witness of the time when the washerwomen came to wash the laundry on the river.

The floating house of the washerwomen

Looking on the other side of the river, you glimpse an odd floating house: it is a wash-house boat. Laval keeps the two last authentic municipal wash-house boats of France. You can see some elsewhere, but these are the most precious and the only ones to have kept their authenticity. These curious vessels, moored at the edge of the Mayenne, were floating wash-houses where the washerwomen came to wash the laundry of the town, kneeling at the water's edge, in the lively and laborious atmosphere that formerly reigned on the rivers. Before the arrival of running water and washing machines, the washing of the laundry was an essential and physical task, accomplished at the edge of the watercourses, and the wash-house boats offered a covered shelter and a convenient access to the river, sheltered from the bad weather. Places of work but also of meetings and chatting, they were part of the daily and social life of the town. Today, these wash-house boats, carefully preserved, testify to a disappeared way of life and constitute a rare and moving heritage, inseparable from the memory of Laval and its river. A rare heritage and a witness of the past, the Saint-Julien wash-house boat is a fine stop of the discovery of Laval.

What to see

Here you discover the astonishing floating house moored on the Mayenne, one of the two last authentic municipal wash-house boats of France; these floating wash-houses hosted the washerwomen who came to wash the laundry of the town before running water, places of work and meetings, and they constitute today a rare and moving heritage, witness of a disappeared way of life. The Saint-Julien wash-house boat is a rare heritage of Laval. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Saint-Julien wash-house boat lies on the Mayenne, in the heart of Laval, reachable on foot. You admire it from the quays and the banks of the river; certain visits may be offered according to their own hours and conditions, which vary. It is best to inquire before coming.

What is the Saint-Julien wash-house boat in Laval?

A floating house moored on the Mayenne, one of the two last authentic municipal wash-house boats of France; these floating wash-houses hosted the washerwomen who came to wash the laundry of the town before the arrival of running water, places of work and meetings, and they constitute today a rare and moving heritage, witness of a disappeared way of life.

Where is the Saint-Julien wash-house boat in Laval?

On the Mayenne, in the heart of Laval, in France.