Alençon (pronounced " Alensson") - A little less than 200 km from Paris, Alençon is on the river Sarthe.
It only came to the Kingdom of France during the Renaissance, as Marguerite d'Angoulème gave it to her brother, François Ier, on her death bed in 1549.
It boasts the late-period Gothic churches of Notre Dame and Saint Léonard, as well as a number of ancient houses.
It is also very famous for its lace fabrics and gave "Le point d'Alençon" to the world of frills..
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