The prefecture of the Orne, Alençon is the most populated municipality in the department with 25,870 inhabitants. Over the centuries, the city has been an administrative (capital of the Generality of Alençon) and economic (Alençon lace, printing, Moulinex) place as well as a crossroads on the Paris-Brest and Rouen-Tours axes. Relatively sidelined by the establishment of the rail networks through Le Mans and Laval in the 19th century and then by the route of the A11 motorway via Le Mans in 1970, Alençon stands out today in cultural and green tourism thanks to its location between the Normandie-Maine Regional Nature Park and the Perche Regional Nature Park.