The commune of Laval proper, without the metropolitan area, is the 7th most populous in the Pays de la Loire region and the 132nd in France.

[3] A part of the traditional province of Maine before the French Revolution, which now split between two departments, Mayenne and Sarthe, Laval also lies on the threshold of Brittany and is not far from Normandy and Anjou.

The Laval metropolitan area is a small economic centre in western France, particularly active in the industrial sector, dairy production, electronics and chemicals.

[4] The Laval Agglomération intercommunality is made up of 34 communes covering 686 square kilometres (265 sq mi) with 113,000 inhabitants.

Laval also enjoys a significant architectural heritage, with its castle, portions of city walls, medieval houses, old bridges and churches.

Laval is located at the geographical centre of the Mayenne department, on the road which connects Paris to Brittany, between Rennes and Le Mans.

[8] Laval is, in fact, a hilly town, marked by a rocky promontory dominating the valley of the Mayenne river.

The promontory and the slightly hilly landscape around Laval are traces of the Armorican Massif, an old range of mountains that forms the Breton peninsula.

Saint-Berthevin forms part of the agglomeration, and Changé and Bonchamp-lès-Laval are well integrated, but the other communes remain rural areas with villages and hamlets.

The urban structure there dates back from the Middle Ages and is limited to the western bank of the Mayenne river.

The eastern bank of the Mayenne was also settled in the Middle Ages, along the street that leads to the bridge crossing the river, but it was mostly developed during the second half of the 19th century when the train station was built there.

[12] The largest park is the Jardin de la Perrine, located in the centre, at the top of a rocky promontory.

The commune of Laval owns the Bois Gamats, a 25 hectares wood located on the southern hedge of the town.

This logotype is made of "Laval" written in capital letters, with the final "L" held by the lion and reversed to suggest the palindrome.

However, the site of the town was already a thoroughfare because it was located on the Roman road that connected Le Mans to Corseul, a provincial capital in present-day Brittany.

[20] The site of Laval had a strategic importance because the travelers taking the Roman road had to cross there the Mayenne river on a ford.

Guy I of Laval built a new castle and the town slowly appeared around the Roman road and on the river banks.

[21] Beatrix of Gavere, the wife of Guy IX de Laval, who lived in the 13th century, is believed to be at the origin of the textile tradition of the town.

[21] During that period, the town's walls were completed by the addition of a powerful artillery fort in an innovative design, known as the Tour Renaise.

Jean of Laval-Châteaubriant built for instance a large palace at the château de Châteaubriant, located in Brittany.

New faubourgs appeared, and the local aristocracy built there many elegant hôtels particuliers, particularly around the place de Hercé, which became the most fashionable area of Laval.

It enjoyed several institutions, such as a présidial, an office of the ferme générale, a local jurisdiction, a hospital, a gendarmery and a city hall.

The town had the right to produce eight sorts of cloth, including the royales and demi-Hollande, which were among the finest linen weaved in France.

The other sorts of linen made in Laval were also cheap and of a low quality, but they represented the largest share of the total production.

The rustic non-battues were only made for the Spanish market, some of the best linen were sold in Portugal and the stronger clothes were exported to the French colonies in America.

[24] In the 18th century, the old medieval centre was still encircled by city walls, and its narrow plots and streets forbade any large urban transformation.

[21] This decline was due to both socio-economical and geopolitical factors: At the beginning of the 20th century, Laval had several institutions, such as courts of justice, a chamber of commerce, a board of trade-arbitrators, a seminary and a secondary school for boys.

Some institutions also provide higher education in Laval like : The town is historically a manufacturer of fine linens, but there are also foundries.

It is made of 17 urban lines for the city of Laval and its close suburb, including 4 which work from Monday to Sunday.

Lavallois plays its home matches at the Stade Francis Le Basser located in the city of Laval, and is managed by Olivier Frapolli.