Photo : Office de Tourisme Le Mans
Piscine des Ardriers
A smaller pool, especially suited to babies, offering a welcoming environment for young families.
Classes and workshops
Practical info
Hours
Hours vary by period (outside school holidays, school holidays, and summer holidays): closed Monday and Sunday during the school term; Tuesday and Friday 5–7:45 PM; Wednesday 4–6:45 PM; Thursday 5–6:45 PM; Saturday 2:30–5:45 PM. During school holidays: Tuesday and Friday 2:30–7:45 PM, Wednesday and Thursday 2:30–6:45 PM, Saturday 2:30–5:45 PM, Sunday closed. Closed on public holidays (Easter Monday, May 1, May 8, Ascension, Whit Monday, July 14, August 15, All Saints' Day, November 11, and Christmas).
Bus
Bus line 12 — Pipèche stop, 130 m · stop not wheelchair-accessible
Parking
Parking right in front
Data: SETRAM / Le Mans Métropole (GTFS, Open Licence), © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)
More about Piscine des Ardriers
The Ardriers pool is a municipal “Tournesol”-type facility on rue du Vieux Loup in Le Mans, recognizable by its retractable dome that opens wide in summer. It has an activity pool for swimming and fitness, plus a wading pool for toddlers, and the whole facility is accessible to people with reduced mobility.
The pool offers swimming lessons for children and adults, aqua-gym and aqua-pilates sessions, baby swimmer slots for ages 6 months to 4 years, and a “water garden” space for ages 4–5. It also hosts synchronized swimming, diving, and triathlon training, making it a neighborhood facility focused on both learning and club sports.
A bit of history
Built in 1981, the Ardriers pool belongs to the “Tournesol” family of pools, an industrialized design by architect Bernard Schoeller, starting in 1972: 183 of this type were built in France as part of the “Mille Piscines” competition launched in 1969 by the state to quickly equip the country with swimming pools. Their distinctive feature is a dome that can partly open outward, up to 120 degrees.
The Le Mans facility underwent a renovation and extension in 2007, including the renovation of the existing 25 x 10 m pool and wading pool, complete replacement of the roof, creation of a leisure pool and a reception hall, and bringing the changing rooms, restrooms, offices, and technical rooms up to code, notably for acoustic and thermal insulation.