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Towns

There are lots of towns and villages to explore - here are just a few!

La Souterraine. A pleasant market town with around 6000 inhabitants, it is dominated by the twelfth century church situated in the main square and underneath a crypt with Gallo-roman remains.
In addition there are a number of archaeological sites in the area and originally the town was a rest for
pilgrims and some parts of the old town remain including the massive portal of Saint-Jean.
Travel back in time as you discover the narrow streets and ancient houses with their tiny balconies and
stone steps all lovingly restored and cared for by their present owners
Whilst in the area visit Etang du Chiex and the restaurant telephone overlooking the lake.( 0555 635 971)

Bellac is a small town with a little over 5000 inhabitants and overlooks a valley through which the Vincou river flows. It has a number of well preserved buildings dating back centuries, which gives Bellac a very
unique character.
The church of Our Lady sits on the highest point in the town and can be seen from far around.
Below it, look out for the town hall, first built in the 16th Century, and the stone bridge from the 13th Century.
Bellac is also a popular place with theatre-goers. The theatre is most active during July when the annual
Bellac festival takes place in honour of its most famous inhabitant, Jean Giraudoux (novelist-poet)

St Leonard de Noblat is a beautiful little market town of narrow streets and medieval houses with jutting
eaves and corbelled turrets. There's a very lovely eleventh- and twelfth-century church, whose six-storey
tower looks out over the rising hills and woods where the River Vienne threads its course down from the
heights of the Massif Central. A couple of kilometres northwest of town on the banks of the Vienne,
demonstrations of papermaking are on offer at a recently restored 15th Century paper mill,The Moulin du Got.
Open on (Wed-Thurs & Sat 2–6pm; €4).
Stroll through the narrow streets of the historic centre and discover the gastronomic products at the local
market, the marzipan and rub prune confit cakes with chestnuts, trout, and galétous oxen.

Saint Junien is the capital of luxury leather gloves: an ancestral craft that has existed since the 11th century.
There are 3 glove factories who supply customers such as renowned couturiers:
Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, Lanvin, Castelbajac…
Saint Junien has also a rich heritage: the 12th and 13th century Collegiate church, the 15th century Chapel
Our Lady of the Bridge, the Gothic bridges and some magnificent old houses. The Corot Site, where the
painter Corot liked to set his easel, is now a comfortable place to walk Horse Riding is available locally, and if you like to sport your latest walking boots, there are hiking trails that cover the nearby Blond Mountains.You can hire mountain bikes and then ride the trails at closeby Vaulry.
Saint Junien has 11080 inhabitants

Limoges. The Cathédrale St-Étienne, a landmark for miles around, was begun in 1273 and planned on the model of the cathedral of Amiens, though only the choir, completed in the early thirteenth century, is pure Gothic.
The rest of the building was added piecemeal over the centuries, the western part of the nave not until 1876.
The most striking external feature is the sixteenth-century facade of the north transept, built in full
Flamboyant style with elongated arches, clusters of pinnacles and delicate tracery in window and gallery.
At the west end of the nave, the tower, erected on a Romanesque base that had to be massively reinforced
to bear the weight, has octagonal upper storeys, in common with most churches in the region.
The best of the city's museums – with its showpiece collections of enamelware dating back as far as the
twelfth century – is the Musée Municipal de l'Évêché in the old bishop's palace next to the cathedral.
There's an interesting progression to be observed in the museum, from the simple, sober, Byzantine-
influenced champlevé (copper filled with enamel), to the later, especially seventeenth- and eighteenth-
century work that used a far greater range of colours and indulged in elaborate virtuoso portraiture
Opening times June daily except Tues 10–11.45am & 2–6pm;
July–Sept daily 10–11.45am & 2–6pm; Oct–May daily except Tues 10–11.45am & 2–5pm; free)
Over to the west of the cathedral is the partly renovated old quarter of the town. Make your way through to
rue de la Boucherie, for a thousand years the domain of the butchers' guild, and today featuring several
good restaurants. The dark, cluttered chapel of St-Aurélien, with a delicate fourteenth-century cross
outside, belongs to them, while one of their former shophouses makes an interesting little museum,
The Maison de la Boucherie, at no. 36 (July to mid-Sept daily 10am–1pm & 3–7pm; free).
At the top of the street is the market in place de la Motte and, to the right, partly hidden by adjoining
houses, the fourteenth and fifteenth-century church of St-Michel-des-Lions, named after the two badly
weathered Celtic lions guarding the south door and topped by one of the best towers and spires in the region

There too many attractions to mention, but one we really enjoyed was the distillery of liquors.
There is a small museum showing how they made the liquors from chestnuts etc.
You can also taste them all and buy a bottle to bring home, next door is a fantastic wine shop where you
can part with 15 euros or 1500 euros for a bottle of wine !!