Avrillé

Avrillé is a town in the Maine-et-Loire department, in Pays de la Loire, some 5 kilometres north-west of Angers and part of the Angers Loire Métropole urban community. With a long tradition of slate quarrying, its 20th-century history was shaped by military aviation facilities, including a school and an airfield that operated until 1998, and by strong urban growth in the 1950s and 1960s. Its heritage includes the 17th-century Château de la Perrière and the former 12th-century priory of the Haie-aux-Bonshommes. In sport, a federation of local associations brings together disciplines such as martial arts, football, handball, tennis and swimming, and the grounds of the Château de la Perrière host an 18-hole golf course. Avrillé has been designated European Town of Sport 2027, a title reserved for municipalities of fewer than 25,000 inhabitants, which will add it to the French representation of the ACES network.