Limoges

Introduction

Limoges is a city and the administrative capital of the central French region Limousin. It is also the préfecture of the Haute-Vienne departement. It's known for its medieval enamels on copper, porcelain (Limoges porcelain) and oak barrels (Limousin oak), which are used for the production of typical French Cognac. It's a fairly large city with about 150,000 inhabitants.

Limoges was founded in first century BC as a market town on the junction of two popular Roman trade routes. The city's golden age came with the Renaissance and the discovery of 'Kaolin' clay which is used to make porcelain. The porcelain industry transformed Limoges into a weathly town and led to the establishment of factories and 'Kaolin' mines. The 'World Fair' in Paris in 1855 showcased Limoges porcelain and it earned international recognition.

Limoges also serves as an excellant base for exploring the surrounding lakes, medieval towns, rivers and the national parks of Perigord Limousin and Millevaches en Limousin.

Neighbourhoods

Sights and Activities

• The Crypt of Saint Martial
• Remains of the Gallo-Roman amphitheater
• The Gothic cathedral of St-Etienne
• The Chapelle Saint-Aurélien
• The church of St-Pierre-du-Queyroix
• St-Michel-des-Lions
• The bridges of Saint Martial and of St-Etienne
• The Bishops' Palace
• The Gare de Limoges Bénédictins
• The Château de La Borie
• The remains of the 12th century Castle of Chalucet
• Botanical gardens: Jardin botanique de l'Evêché and Jardin botanique alpin "Daniella"

Events and Festivals

• The Contempory dance biennial festival
• Reading in Limoges: book markets, exhibitions etc.
• Limoges regional Fair: one of the bigger in France, with over 100,000 visitors
• Saint-Loup traditional fair: street vendors in city
• June Music Festival

Weather

Limoges is located in central France and therefore temperatures are a little lower compared to the more southern areas in the country. Temperatures during summer from June to September usually are between 24 and 28 degrees Celcius during the day and around 15 degrees at night. From November to March, daytime temperatures are between 8 and 12 degrees while night in December and January are just above zero. Occasional frost and snow are possible during this time. Summer is the driest and sunniest time of year, but precipitation is fairly low throughout the year anyway.

Getting There

By Plane

Limoges - Bellegarde Airport (international code: LIG) is located just outside the city. It has flights to Lyon and Paris (both Orly as Charles de Gaulle) with Air France, Southampton and (seasonal) to Newcastle with Flybe, and to Bournemouth, Bristol, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Liverpool, London-Luton, London-Stansted with Ryanair.
There is a bus service available from the airport to the city centre. The bus station is just behind the airport on the Avenue of Landouge. Bus number 16 normally goes to the city centre but keep in mind, there are no buses on Sundays.

By Train

Limoges has a beautiful railway station known as 'La gare des benedictins'. This architechtural masterpiece was constructed in early 20th century. SNCF has numerous trains to Paris, taking around 3 hours. Cahors is about 2 hours away.

By Car

Limoges is located along the A20 highway, roughly halfway between Orleans and Toulouse.

By Bus

Buses travel to regional towns including places like Oradour-sur-Glane, Solignac, Rochechouart, Tulle and St-Léonard de Noblat.

By Boat

Getting Around

By Car

By Public Transport

By Foot

By Bike

Eat

Eating out in Limoges is relatively inexpensive and local French cuisine dominated the menu of most of the restaurants. The old town offers a variety of dining options particularly on the Rue de la Boucherie.

Drink

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

Work

Learn

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Post

La Poste in France is also referred to as the PTT (short for postes, télégraphes et téléphones). The mailboxes are painted bright yellow and often there is a slot for local city mail and another slot for "outside mail". Normally there is a queue in the post office, but most of the post offices have the self service machine installed which is quite easy to operate. Nowadays many of the tabac and even some of the souvenir shops also sell postage stamps. Normally an overseas postcard costs almost as much as sending a letter.
Post offices are generally open from 8:00am to 7:00pm Monday through Friday, and 8:00am to noon on Saturdays. Apart from the basic job of mailing letters, most of the post offices do some banking activities also and some even have photocopy machines and cyber cafes for internet access.