Suggested days out

The Limousin area is made up of just three departments, the Haute Vienne, the Creuse, and the Corrèze . Lying  between altitudes of 200 metres and 1000 metres, the Limousin is mostly a region of hills and valleys and low mountains. It is known as the French Lake district with over 1000 lakes. Many are for fishing, but many have safe, sandy beaches to enjoy swimming and water sports.

These days out are ones we enjoy when we visit the house, however, the tourist information office in Benevent has many others and is loaded with information. The guy there speaks excellent English and is happy to book things for you if your French is limited.

Driving in FranceThe French government has recently reduced the speed limit from 90 km per hour to 80km per hour. The Creuse area refused to change their signs so ensure your keep below 80km ph to save being caught by one of the speed cameras. Motorway speed limit is 130km ph or 110 km ph in wet weather.

Warning sign French speed camera

Take care when approaching Junctions in France, as it is not always obvious who has right of way. If the junction says STOP, then you must stop even if exit is clear, not doing this and getting seen by police results in 90 Euro fine. Eg, In Benevent, you have right of way entering and leaving Rue de Monthlery, also, when approaching from the town by the junction by the Pizza place and Abbaye, you have right of way if you are driving to the Abbaye, therefore be careful of cars approaching from the right. If in doubt, approach with care and our advice is to wait and see.

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La Souterraine

L’Aquarelle du Limousin

This is a great place to visit. Its predominantly a campsite but the facilities are open to all. There is a very good restaurant, with a balcony where this photo was taken. You can enjoy a reasonable Plat du Jour lunch or breakfast or dinner 7 days a week. There is a beautiful lake with sandy beach plus a walk around the whole lake. There are BBQ facilities in the wooded area, plus ample picnic benches, children’s play equipment and a safe and clean sandy beach.

Directions to the lake approximately 20 minutesHead towards Le Grand Bourg and follow the signs to La Souterraine. Use the D912A1 and when you reach the N145, exit for La Souterraine at junction 54 with the castle on the bridge (Avia hotel on left once you have turned right off the slip road, ), then straight over first roundabout, take the first exit at the second roundabout, ( signposted camping), then just past the petrol station, turn left and follow road straight to the lake. If you carry on past the petrol station, after a few hundred yards, there is also the remains of Castle Bridiers to walk around on the left hand side. This medieval tower/fort/castle is just superb, and its free to visit. (Small charge if you want to go up the tower, only opens at 1500 hrs). At the top of the tower there's great views for miles around.

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La Promenade restaurant, open 7/7

ruins of Castle Bridiers, La Souterraine

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I never tire of looking at this beautiful mural next to the entrance to this mediaeval town, through the13th Century Porte St Jean ( below)

To visit the town, just follow the signs for centre ville. We usually park behind the large church.

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On a Thursday and Saturday morning early, as the first heat of the sun is glinting onto the ancient church windows, you will find many locals purchasing their fresh fruit and vegetables for the day in a flurry of coloured baskets, nodding heads and the aroma that fills the air from the flower and plant stall. 

For a cup of the best coffee going visit Café Chaud just off the main town square on the high street, popular with visitors and locals alike.  The tables topple out on to the street under beer branded brollies where you know the gossip of the day is going to take place and it’s great just to just sit and watch the town go about its business.

A high street snakes through the town with its delightful choice of local shopping offering a great choice of every day essentials and gifts to take home for the family. 

You can’t help but be entranced by the beautiful town square filled in the summer with boxes of trailing geraniums whose colours light up the granite of the Notre Dame church dating from the 11th Century and it is a popular stopping off point for the pilgrims going to Santiago Di Compestello.

This square is the heart of this medieval town. Entering through the 13th Century Porte St Jean you can feel the history of this ancient square.

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Shopping

There are plenty of supermarkets close to the house. French supermarkets don’t always open Sundays, and some still close for lunch 12.30-14.30, so its worth checking prior to leaving home. You will also need to take your own bags as France is much greener than the UK. Most shops sell the large bags, but no carriers.

Benevent – There is a Carrefour Contact that opens 7 days a week. They bake fresh bread 3 times daily. 8am, 11am and 5pm. They open from 08:00 – 20:00 Monday to Saturday and 09:00 – 13:00 Sundays There is also a 24/7 self serve petrol station next door, plus a launderette and Pizza oven behind the supermarket that is also 24/7

Marsac – 5 mins There is a small supermarket here in the main high street open 6 days a week. Plus a good bakers.

La Souterraine -20 mins – There are lots of supermarkets here, including Carrefour Market, Lidl, Aldi and a huge LeCerc. This is where we usually do our shopping as it’s so easy to find as most supermarkets and other large shops are off the large ring road (D912) around La Souterraine.If you take the last exit (55) from the N145 to La Souterraine, then follow the signs for centre ville. Turn right at the second roundabout, you will see a Brico Marche, if you drive past this and follow ring road, you will see Lidl and Carrefour , then keep on the ring road, after a few blocks of flats on the right you will see Le Clerc, after this, keep heading towards green signs for N145, and lastly you will see a large Aldi, also on the right. A great Saturday market behind the church. Plenty of bars and cafes in the main town Bourganeuf - nice selection of shops in the town including Aldi and Carrefour market. Plus a great market on Wednesday mornings. Nice selection of bars and cafes also .

Gueret – Similar to La Souterraine, with a huge selection of shops and large supermarkets.Head towards the N145 and head towards Gueret. There is a huge Carrefour that is off junction 48 towards Aubusson. Also a large LeClerc, Lidl and Aldi . All the large supermarkets are open Sunday mornings plus stay open all day. Very nice new shopping area off Jardiland which is off at junction 48 also.

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Limoges

Cathedral St Etienne with the city wall

The railway station is a stunning building and well worth visiting, with a park opposite that has beautiful gardens and water features

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The Gothic Cathedral St-Étienne is also well worth a visit. It has a walled walk around the mediaeval part of the town where there are great views of this lovely city.

Quartier de la Boucherie, very quaint Tudor style buildings and cobbled streets Famous for its porcelain, Limoges also offers much more in this quaint town. This attractive historic quarter (the Boucherie village) as part of a historical walk including cathedrals, bridges, the second 'underground' town and 'Art nouveau' railway station. 

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A must-visit is the butchers quarter surrounding the Rue de la Boucherie, with its well preserved medieval wood-framed houses, butchers house and very peculiar chapel of Saint Aurélien, guardian saint to the butchers. The chapel dates back to the 14th century and still supports a wood clad roof and tower. Shopping - apart from the huge outlet Family Village shopping, which is open 7 full days a week, Limoges has the largest selection of supermarkets in the region, which is no surprise as it’s the capital town. Well worth spending a day here as there is so much to see and do.You can take a trip down the river, visit the indoor fish market or fruit, vegetable and flower market. As well as fast food outlets and lovely gift and clothes shops, the Family Village has a large Grand Frais, which is a great indoor market selling fresh produce, bakery etc. Well worth visiting, especially if you arrive on a Sunday as its open all day.

Daily Markets in Limoges (07:00 to 13:00 from Tuesday to Saturday inclusive):

– Place Haute Vienne; all food products, as well as fresh flowers– Place des Carmes; food products and fresh flowers– Place des Bancs; food and fresh flowers

Weekly Markets (07:00 to 13:00)– Tuesday; Vigenal (all products), La Bastide (food only)

– Wednesday; Pont Saint-Martial (all products), Rue des Portes Ferrées (all products), Val de l’Aurence Avenue du Président Vincent Auriol (all products except food)

– Thursday; La Bastide (all produce), Corgnac (all products), Les Longes (market gardening)

– Friday; Beaubreuil (all products, with an emphasis on exotic produce)

– Saturday; Place Marceau (all produce)

– Sunday; Landouge (all produce)

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Lake Lauriere

This is a lovely clean swimming lake with a sandy beach and only 20 minutes drive from our house.It has a café, which serves light snacks, ice creams and drinks.There is also a campsite here with canoes/kayak and pedalos to hire plus play equipment for children.

The beach also has a large grass picnic area with plenty of room for games and running around and dogs are also welcome on this area.

Journey time 20 minutes and Directions from house Head towards the large Carrefour supermarket on the edge of town and drive in direction of Marsac. Continue through Marsac towards Lauriere. When you arrive in Lauriere, turn to the right and take the first right which is signposted ‘Lac du Pont a L’Age’. There is a one way system to drive into the lake area. Any of the right turnings will get you to the lake.

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Velo Rail at Bosmorrow Des Mines

The French made good use out of their old rail tracks by using them for Velo Rails. This can be an original outing, amusing and a (really tiny) bit athletic… The velo-rail uses the old railway track on which coal was transported, A 10 km round-trip between Bosmoreau and Bourganeuf. An unusual way of discovering the countryside and unique points of view: Thaurion Valley, a passage through the forest, the crossing of a viaduct, Zizim Tower and Bourganeuf.These are basically converted bicycles that seat 4-5 people with 2 cycling at any one time. You can change drivers when you want ideally when you stop to operate the points. The cost in 2018 was 25 euro for the cycle cart. In the high season, its best to book. There is a leaflet in the folder giving times etc. there is also a small café there. Remember to take some water as its quite physical. You can cycle along 6 km disused rail track where at the end, you pause to get your breath back before returning to grab a well earned ice cream! More information http://www.veloraildelamine.fr/joomla/fr/

Journey time from house approx. 25 mins and directions

Turn right outside the house and head for Bourganeuf, it is signposted. Just before this town, there is a sign on left for Bosmoreau des Mines and Velo Rail. If you miss it, there is another turning a mile or so further on.

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Oradour sur Glane

This trip is a must see, south of Limoges, the village of Oradour sur Glane has been left untouched by order of the French president at the time of 1944. It is free to walk around. Oradour-sur-Glane village was massacred by the Nazis in 1944, is not an easy experience for a tourist but necessary if you want to understand recent history. Whenever we visit, we leave here feeling numb with realisation that humans could inflict such misery on fellow humans. Despite the chilling atmosphere it is worth a visit. There is a good indoor exhibition that ideally, although not essential, should be visited first to gain a better contextual understanding of why and how this massacre happened. (There is a small charge for this.) Inside the village itself, the buildings were destroyed after the mass slaughter, otherwise, everything else has remained untouched to this day - all rusting away. To this day, there is no explanation as to why the German SS acted as they did or why they chose Oradour sur Glane for their awful attack. Don’t forget to walk through the cemetery and view the memorial, there is also a small free museum Visitors may not leave this site in a happy frame of mind but I'm sure they won't regret the trip. For more information , visit http://www.oradour.info/

There is a good bar/cafe just in the new village of Oradour that offers great food and speaks great English.

Journey time from house – 1 hour and directions

Head to Limoges airport and Ordour is clearly signposted. There is a guide book in the blue information folder that you can take with you, this helps explain more if you don’t wish to view the museum first

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Lac St Pardoux

This is our favourite lake for swimming, although their website states swimming is only permitted in July and August!

The water is lovely and clear for swimming on all 3 beaches.Santrop Plage, Chabannes Plage and Freaudour Plage are all signposted. There is a huge swimming pool with slides etc at Santrop beach which is open all year round. The lake has some beautiful walks, as well as water sports. You can hire pedaloes, canoes etc from all beaches, but Freaudour specializes in water sports. There are also bars/cafes that will provide a great plat du jour.

More information available from http://www.lacsaintpardoux.fr/

Journey time from house – 45 minutes and directions Go through Marsac and when you get to Laurier, turn right at the square towards Limoges A20. Once you reach A20, drive across to the other side towards Razes, where Lac St Pardoux is signposted

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Loup de Chabrieres – Wolf park in Gueret

This is a great day out for all ages. You can walk around the park and see the wolves in their natural habitat. Feeding time I believe is 1.30pm, and this is brilliant to watch. You can see many varieties of wolves and their cubs.

More info in the information folder or visit http://www.loups-chabrieres.com

Journey time from the house approx. 25 minutes and directions You can go via the N145 to Gueret and leave at junction 49 and head towards Benevent and Lake Courtille. It is signposted from here. Or head to Le Grand Bourg, and by the cemetery, go straight across the crossroads and drive on D4, once you join D914, it is signposted from here. This is the shortest route.

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GueretLake Courtille and Geant Labyrinth (maze)

Lake CourtilleWhat a gem of a lake this is – there is a lovely walk around the perimeter and is perfect for a post lunch walk with family and friends, the beach offers great space in the summer for families with young children, a huge variety of activities are available all around the edges of the lake complex; Playground with slide, climbing frame, wooden huts, bouncy rockers, seesaw.Picnic benches and barbeque areas are all around the lake as are outdoor gym apparatus, plus there is boating, kayaking a bar/café and toilets.

Labyrinth .This giant maze is a great way to spend a morning before heading to the wolf park after lunch. The maze itself is a series of quite high hedges covering a large distance. The maze itself is impressive and once you have paid the fee, you get a clue sheet to help you navigate through (although some of the clues are pretty cryptic). From memory there were 7 alternative paths to take from the centre but only 2 actually take you out. In summer it can get pretty hot out there, so remember a bottle of water and sun cream! Outside the maze, there is a small shop where you can buy drinks, ice creams and waffles! More information http://www.labyrinthe-gueret.fr/

Journey time from house, approx. 25 minutes. Directions as wolf park. It is signposted ‘Geant Labyrinth’ Map on leaflet in information folder

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Lac Vassiviere

Lac Vassiviere is an artificial, incredible, breath-taking lake of over 1,000 hectares of glistening water and has a 45 km perimeter. It is the largest lake in the Limousin area with 5 sandy safe beaches and footpaths for keen walkers. There are plenty of bars and restaurants or places to enjoy a picnic.

We have tried L’Escale restaurant, on Auphelle beach which has a lovely sun terrace where you can eat or drink; their Plat du Jour is great value. You can also rent pedaloes from here. Their English is not bad either. There is a great boat trip also from the L’Escale restaurant that you can enjoy a buffet meal on board. This takes 2.5 hours and well worth it. There is usually entertainment on board too.

There is a free water taxi from the Auphelle beach to the little island in the middle of the lake, or you can drive clockwise nearer to the Ille de Vassaviere and get the free train that goes across the bridge. The island has lots of areas to walk, a chateau, a little café and a few gift shops, and a viewpoint tower where you can climb to the top to catch the breath taking views.

Journey time approx. 45 mins from house. Directions –Head right outside the house to Bourganeuf, At the roundabout in Bourganeuf, turn right. Follow road for about 500 metres and as road bears to the right, look for turning on left sign posted to Peyrat le Chateau. Once you have found Peyrat, turn left in the town and Lac de Vassiviere is signposted. The first beach you reach is Auphelle. There are many others, all with bars/cafes.

Lac Eguzon and Crozant

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Éguzon (or Chambon) lake lies in the heart of the Creuse valley near Éguzon-Chantôme and covers 312 hectares. At this vast stretch of water surrounded by pleasant, unspoiled scenery, you can either unwind on one of the equipped beaches or get active with one of the many activities on offer: windsailing, canoeing, boating, waterskiing, pedalos, swimming, rowing and fishing.

A viewpoint on the hillside above the lake offers a beautiful view of the impressive Éguzon dam.(Barrage) This dam was one of the largest in Europe when it was built between 1917 and 1926. You can also see the dam via the boat trip, which leaves from Hotel du Lac in Crozant, at around 1.30pm and travels down the river, onto the lake and across the dam and then return. It’s a good value trip and great to have lunch first as its great value.

Crozant castle ruins lies on this meandering river in the village of Crozant. These ruins are open between 14:00 – 18:00 hours daand cost 4 Euros per adult.

Journey time from house - 40 minutes and directions

Head towards Le Grand Bourg and follow signs for la SouterraineDrive over the N145 and drive through Dun le Palestel. Crozant is signposted from here. Stay on D913.

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