Holiday Notebook. Destination : Limousin

Holidbaoyok Note Limousin This notebook N

DESTINATIO

belongs to

Nature The Millevaches Regional Park The Millevaches Regional Natural Park, a vast 314,000-hectare plateau, rising to an altitude of 1000 metres, takes the visitor to a world of forest, heath, peat bogs, ponds, lakes and rivers: a paradise with a wide variety of flora and fauna. From June to October, guided walks enable you to discover its varied terrain and its inhabitants.

Villages, streams, pathways, little winding roads stretch into the distance in this natural landscape, with its ever-changing colours – a joy for anglers, golfers and ramblers to discover.

Tel: 00 33 555 679 790

www.pnr-millevaches.com

-Périgord Park The Limousin etches over an

at str reasure Park” th the This is a real “T . Come and watch uare kilometres sq 00 1,8 of a me are d other birds. Co s, the dipper an ll short-toed eagle sti s im gr pil at th ins e magic founta th r ve co dis d an aling powers. visit for their he of to the bellowing track car. Listen als Take a trip on a tiv the special fes e part in one of the the stags or tak ut Tree Festival, tn es ght, the Ch of (European Bat Ni ir pa t your next al, etc.) Try ou or Mushroom Festiv d, oo de of boxw with a handle ma slippers, a knife en chair. a chestnut gard e specialities of th hes made up of lax Taste the local dis Re s. ur vo ent fla thousand differ st, region with a d and breakfa be a” nd Pa “WWF in a gîte or a to itted rs, who are comm where the owne ll wi , nt me on e envir safeguarding th , x” Bo da an th a “P provide you wi ensable tools for isp ind th wi filled out of the park. getting the most

Tel: 00 33 553 603 465

www.parc-naturel-perigord-limousin.fr

The Dordogne Valley From Bort les Orgues to Beaulieu this is a powerful, turbulent, fairytale valley, abundantly stocked with fish, with its riverside towns that still retain the memory of the hopes and dreams of those who have lived on its shores.

Bort les Orgues with its reservoir lake is a holiday centre where you can practise all kinds of water sports.

There’s Argentat, a former port for barge traffic, and its “bolet” houses, with their stone-tiled roofs and outside staircases, reflected in the deep, blue water of the river.

The Château de Val, a rocky islet whose six round towers proudly rise above the waves, is host every year to temporary exhibitions, the tannery museum, and the ‘Organ Cornice’, a phonolite cliff made up of a series of 80 to 100-metre columns that extend over 2 kilometres, created in the course of a spectacular volcanic eruption that occurred 15 million years ago. Together with the barrage itself, these are just some of the attractions that the upper valley of the Dordogne has to offer to the visitor.

Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne, deservedly called the “Limousin Riviera” has a Romanesque collegiate church with a magnificently sculpted tympanum and back streets with houses full of character that have palm trees and bananas growing in their gardens.

The barges are still to be found on the river, for the delight of all, and down the stream, whose turbulence has here been calmed, canoeing enthusiasts can paddle, each at their own speed, making the most of all that it has to offer.

oon An aftern be never to forgotten

Argentat Tourist Office

tel: 00 33 555 281 605

www.tourisme-argenta

t.com

Beaulieu Tourist Office

tel: 00 33 555 910 994

www.beaulieu-sur-dord

ogne.fr

Bort les Orgues Tourist

Office

tel: 00 33 555 960 249

www.bort-artense.com

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The valley of the impressionists

Armand

GUILLAUM

IN Le Ravi

n de la Fo

lie, à Croz

ant, 1894

In the middle of the 19th century, hundreds of Parisian painters, following the lead set by Claude Monet, left their Paris studios and came to set up their easels along the valley of the Creuse. This became a paradise for the Impressionist school, and the ruins of Crozant were to be a focal point for landscape artists. Still today, this site is ideal for painting, photography or just for a gentle stroll.

Western Creuse Tourist Office

Tel: 00 33 555 626 835

www.cc-benevent-gb.fr

The Vassivière Lake Of all the many lakes to be found in Limousin, Vassivière with its 1,000 hectares has a special kind of magic: a distillation of landscape, activities and contemporary art. Vassivière is a holiday centre, a place for meetings and exchanges, which brings together modern creative arts, the Arts and Landscape Centre designed by the architect, Aldo Rossi, the Storytelling Festival and many other cultural and leisure activities.

Tel. : 00 33 555 697 670

www.vassiviere.com

To

do

Addresse s to

!

rememb

er

To discover Limousin's answer to Saint Andrews, ask for a golf pass!

This gives you preferential rates and allows you to play on several eight- to eighteen-hole courses: you could hardly say no!

Tel: 00 33 555 110 602

www.golfenlimousin.fr

Where the Anglo-Arab breed of horses began

To see !

It was, of course, at Pompadour, where the Château of Madame de Pompadour overlooks the hippodrome, the venue for many national and international events between March and October. But it is also the National Stud and the site of the Jumenterie de la Rivière, the home of the brood mares, a source unmatched anywhere in France for the breeding of colts and fillies.

Tel: 00 33 555 985 547 www.pompadour.net 1076 breeders, 1000 jobs, 14370 horses (including 9220 thoroughbreds, 5150 carthorses), 50 approved equestrian centres; Limousin really is the land of the horse!!! Riding lessons, hacking… whether you’re a beginner or already an enthusiast, you’ll be spoilt for choice.

Tel: 00 33 555 736 099 www.limousinacheval.com

A d goo ! a e id

For mou

ntain-biking there are 7 FFC (Frenc h Cycling Federation) centres with circuits signpost ed according to level of difficulty. Equipment can be hired and, in some cases, guided circuits are available.

Tel: 00 33 555 110 609

www.tourismelimou

sin.com

Limousin, a region where nature is very much to the fore, is ideal for engaging in outdoor activities such as fishing, rambling, horseriding, cycling, mountain-biking, golf, and canoeing on the Creuse, the Vézère, the Dordogne, the Vienne, the Gartempe and more.

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Knowhow Prestige and

quality

me across in w that you will co ho ow kn e th in factors food and drink. are the common of the arts or in ld fie e th in is it er Limousin, wheth arts the home of the l reputation as na io at rn te in ed its on arded recogniti Limoges has retain has just been aw It . el am en d porcelain an d with presentof the furnace: the past are linke of s ie or em M . for t and History” ée de l’Evêché as a “Town of Ar eums: the Mus us m o tw e ar mel), ents. There de l’Email (ena day developm n, the Maison ai el rc po r fo s Dubouché specialised shop enamel, Adrien …), workshops, at bl No de d ar is rdaud, Méd , your visit to th factories (Berna y need to do so an re we e er th enrich, if areas of the town all competing to n’t miss the old do , nd ou ar lk d the l. As you wa la Boucherie an regional capita ral, the Rue de ed th ca e th nd district arou ncs). (the Abessaille the Place des Ba daily market in e th n tio en m to t 4 687 market-halls, no Tel: 00 33 555 34

limoges.com

www.tourisme

Amazing !

The worl d’s large st miniatu Circus ha re circus, s been se the Valdi t up in La Souterrain e.

Maurice Masvign ier, a n is its cre ative of ator. It to the area ok 50,00 2,000 sc , 0 hours ulpted o of work, b je cts, and tailored from Dio 300 cost umes r offcuts that is p to create erfect do a circus wn to th e tiniest detail.

Avenue

de la Lib

Cirque

ération LA

Valdi

SOUTERR

Tel: 00 3

AINE (23

3 555 63

Send Mum a postcard of Limoges

)

1 006

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Tulle is still, indisputably, France’s accordion capital. The Cloister Museum, with its exceptional collection of 19th-century instr uments, the Maugein company, the oldest in France and the only one to produce diatonic accordions, not forgetting the “Nuits de Nacr e Festival” in mid-September: these are all evidence of the continuing lively interest in this “portable piano”, a symbol of the Massif Cent ral.

Tel: 00 33 555 265 961

www.pays-de-tulle.fr

When it comes to low-warp tapestry, Aubusson still has an international reputation. A visit to the departmental tapestry museum, to the Maison du Tapissier, to workshops and factories or to the Château de Boussac will enable you to become better acquainted with this skill and with all the artists who have played a part in its renewal.

Tel : 00 33 555 663 212

www.ot-aubusson.fr

But the creative talents of the people of Limousin don’t stop there.

The tile factories of Pouligny and Puycheny, leather working in the famous glove factories of Saint Junien, paper manufacturing at the Moulin du Got in Saint Léonard de Noblat, the use of the chestnut-tree for purposes ranging from traditional basket making to designer furniture, the slate works of Travassac… these are all skills in which past and present combine to stimulate creativity and customer attraction!

Great ideasâ&#x20AC;&#x2030;! le There are lots of sites availab Âť thanks to the ÂŤ Visiter Malin re (Smart Visitor) scheme. The , are 24 sites, including museums all activities, wildlife parks, p waiting to welcome you and hel at you to discover their skills special prices.

www.visitermalin.fr

Holiday

Take advantage of the scheme (smart visit)

A lovely memory

Aubusson T

apestry

Chestnut d

esign

Notebook <9>

! n i s u o s of Lim

Taste

A gastronomic quest,

a bewitching trip

ks of an area that never through the magical recipe boo n it comes to pleasing accepts less than the best whe ts: Limousin is a land of the most discerning of gourme ts (beef, veal, lamb and gastronomic splendours: mea from Limousin are the the Cul-noir pig) and apples taste and quality. region’s flagship products for , chestnuts, Beaulieu But you must taste the walnuts truffles as well. strawberries and the ceps and Those

with a sweet tooth will p ines refer from Massep S a in ains (tr t-Yrieix adition , al, sma made ll o val cak from a es lmonds , suga of egg r and ), Creu w h ite sois (a moist c butter, ake ma ground d e of hazeln uts, su of egg gar an ), and d w hite there is also th Trépais e Burg , the ce o u or lebrate d cherr y clafo utis... madele

In Limousin, it’s all about ta ste

ies brewer s and ie r le il t e dis ousin ven th n (Lim And e : kaoli if it r e t, p a a swee ! As an aillé” p join in in v “ èze, beers, m Corr , local ine fro pastis) w d e stif: -craft a dige locally fruity, or, as ., .. s aisin m red with r de fro made urs ma e u q a li ur, isits to t lique ies of v r o walnu m e ured m ion! . Treas oderat fruits.. me in m u s n o ry! ...c distille

www.tour

Tel: 00 33 5

ismelimo

Remember to buy es 1 kilo of appl pastis n si ou im L 1 bottle of “kaolin”!)

(It’s called n meat si ou Lim

of

a bottle Take back for Dad ur walnut lique

meat

!

apple

55 110 609

usin.com

cep

But this is a region of know-how as we ll, and the cooks in Limou sin have a reputation that goes way back! They delig ht in using their skills to combine regional produc e that is full of taste and flavour.

They invite you to bewitch your senses and will probably remin d you of the way your gr andmother used to cook. Th e authentic flavours will make you want to spend the whole day at table, lis tening to the old folks re miniscing and just lettin g time go by.

You’ll find all this in the restaurants an d inns in the region, at the local farmers’ mar kets and along the appl e trail and the walnut rout e…

Event !

Holiday

Lanaud Centre,

built by the Mecca for architect, Jean Nouvel, is the year, at the Limousin cattle breed. Each e for venu the is it , the beginning of July y-go Merr ef’s “La Ronde des Chefs” (“Ch g alon e com round”). Chefs from Limousin perform ers, dinn y inar aord extr to cook Sunday, the cookery demonstrations and, on picnic that ntic giga a event concludes with ments. If rtain ente includes a wide variety of not to it’s you’re a lover of fine foods, then be missed!

The

Notebook <11> A special event, not to be missed

www.poled

elanaud.c om

walnut

truffle

erry

strawb

chestnuts

Moutiers d'Ahun

The life of all humanity, no matter

in what country no

matter on which of the continents

is marked by it own

history. This is true of Limousin just

like anywhere else.

History

The Museum of Neanderth al Man at La-Chapelle -aux-Saints www.neande rtal-musee.or g

ches Romanesque chur postelle pilgrims’

es de Com along the Saint-Jacqu Saintof Le Dorat, Abbey of rch route (collegiate chu -suron mb Cha of abbey church Leonard-de-Noblat, rrePie ntSai n, hu d’A er at Mouti Voueize, the church d’Uzerche…),

y Centre Medieval Discovermost famous of the

The President an Jacques Chirac Museum in Sarr www.museepresidentjchirac.fr.

Argenta

t

to the at Egletons, dedicated Ventadour. de rt na Ber rs, ou troubad

6

Tel: 00 33 555 932 96

autiful villages”

France's most be

teau,

Châ Mortemart, Ségur-leCollonges-la-Rouge, …

Treignac, Saint-Robert

Chateaux

te,

eart rou the Richard the Lionh Coussac-Bonneval on Merles…

Villemonteix, Tours de

There is no shortage of evidence whether this appears in the form

from every era,

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Notebook <13>

of skills, in the built e of

ther it is evidenc environment, sites, museums, whe Remem

far-off times or of recent events.

brance

A moving story s, market a quiet, prosperou . On 10th June 1944 of a unique tragedy town, was the scene r since the massacre still in Oradour. Eve time came to a stand ” s of the “Das Reich by the 200 SS troop of 642 inhabitants ved as a sanctuary e has been preser division, the villag . You approach the e and to recollection dedicated to silenc ire (Remembrance Centre de la Mémo village through the text of World War II s Oradour in the con Centre) which locate g the event for the y historically situatin and Nazism, thereb s of remembrance a guide to the proces visitor and providing subject of peace. and reflexions on the

e,

Oradour-sur-Glan

30

Tel: 00 33 555 430 4

www.oradour.org

Centre

- Orado

ur

Ideas for days out The people of Limousin know how to enjoy themselves: you can see that from the calendar of festivals, feast days, magical spectacles, sporting events, markets that run right through the year.

Tel: 00 33 555 110 609

www.tourismelimousin.com

From chic to shock Relais & châteaux and Logis de France hotels, rural inns, Charmance or Clévacances bed and breakfasts, holiday rentals (Gîtes de France, Clévacances), campsites, camping cars, yurts or cabins: the choice of accommodation is up to you.

If you’re not sure what to choose or you need advice, then just ring Agnès and Sarah on 00 33 555 110 609 (what’s more, they speak English – not bad, eh?)

Agnès and Sarah Tel: 00 33 555 110 609 tourisme@crt-limousin.fr

Time to go!

By car: A20 free, from Vierzon onwards, going south from Paris By rail: From London St Pancras to Paris Nord : Eurostar From Paris Austerlitz: direct trains to La Souterraine-Limoges and Brive From Lille Europe: direct TGV to La Souterraine-Limoges and Brive www.sncf.com - www.tgv.com

By air:

Direct flights to Limoges from London Stansted, Nottingham East Midlands , Southampton, Newcastle, Liverpool www.aeroportlimoges.com

Useful addresses ousin Useful addresses in Limin

mittee for Limous Regional Tourist Com ES Cedex 1 CS 50095 - 87003 LIMOG 30 cours Gay Lussac / in.fr ous -lim crt e@ rism tou Tel: 00 33 555 110 609 usin.com www.tourismelimo Welcome en Limousin a reception bureau s Bellegarde Airport, On arrival at Limoge posal to provide dis r you Limousin” is at called “Welcome en those intending er about tourism or for helpful information, eith . to move into the region imousin.com www.welcome-en-l rèze ttee for Tourism for Cor Departmental Commi n-correze.net s-e ce www.vacan use ttee for Tourism for Cre Departmental Commi use.com www.tourisme-cre ute-Vienne ttee for Tourism for Ha Departmental Commi tevienne.com www.tourisme-hau Limoges Tourist Office

In Great Britain Maison de la France

Tel: 09 068 244 123 info.uk@franceguide.com

ges.com

www.tourismelimo

www.franc

eguide.com

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The Limousin according to My name is Roger LINES, I am English and Editor in Chief of the English periodical Etcetera, a monthly publication with some 7,000 copies per month distributed in Limousin, and other local areas nearby. Etcetera is free to the reader and funded by publicity.

I chose to settle in Javerdat in May 2003 for several reasons : Limousin is mid way to the south coast and offers good links with UK through the lowcost airline RYANAIR : London, Liverpool, NottinghamEast Midlands, Southampton.

St Junien and Limoges also suggest a superb health service which is a real asset.

What is important if you want to settle in Limousin is immediately integrate with the French community avoiding the cliques often formed by the non French residents.

Try learning the French language, which is made easier when involved in French life.

Leave England, English life and products behind. Live French and discover the spell of Limoges, a city which is warm and friendly and comforting when spirits are low â&#x20AC;&#x201C; almost cosmopolitan in its attitude thanks to the considerable number of young people ready to help immigrants. Montrol Senard is also very amazing as a walk back in time...

Roger and Sharon I am Sharon GREEN and I come from England. My husband and I bought a house in Jouillat in October 2002 after visiting friends who already settled in Limousin.

We definitely left England in May 2005. We currently run 2 businesses : a bed & breakfast called “La Maison Verte” and a plumbing / heating company.

We chose Limousin because it is a safe place to live.

People are really friendly and what is interesting is to visit the following places : Oradour-Sur-Glane and its Remembrance center, Crozant and its wonderful Painters’ Valley wellknown for the birth of impressionism , Vassivière Lake and all its water activities and finally Arboretum de la Sédelle.

Our 19th century farmhouse has been totally renovated, keeping all of its charm but adapted for 21st century living. Set in five acres of stunning scenery this is an ideal base for exploring the area, searching for that second home, or just relaxing by our 10m x 5m swimming pool.

We really like to give advice to our guests and for example we often suggest them to visit the Château de Boussac or the Animal Park of the Gueret Area where they can discover the life of wolfs. A good idea is also to visit Lucien Cassat at Lou Fagotin. He can explain the way he creates outdoor furniture made of local chestnut tree.

Notepad

m

Photo Albu

Photo’s: CR T Limousin : J.L Kokel, J.Gratien,P. Marco Polo Fabre, J. Da mase, MM, CDT19 : Sully pommes AO , CDT23, Ro C, ger LINES, Sh Mélanie MON aron GREEN, S. Conception: L- gence. net l 07/08 Printed on recycled pa per environmen in complianc tal standard e with s by an Impr printer im’Vert labe l .

T a so swe urenne ! et villag e!

Š carte Michelin / Aut. n°0712856