If you are looking for property for sale in Limousin, this page aims to describe the area, to help you decide if this is the best place for you to buy your French property.
The Limousin lies close to the geographical centre of France , northwest of the Massif Central . Larger than Yorkshire but with a quarter of its population, it comprises three administrative departments:
The north of the region has justifiably been likened to the English Lake District, but with less average rainfall. Winters are traditionally milder than in the UK here, but colder and with more snow in the south and east of the region. This
too is an unspoilt region of frequent blue skies and warm sunshine.
The people are welcoming country folk providing we ex-pats respect the rural French ways. More and more people in the towns, particularly in commerce, have a basic grasp of English, but are delighted if you make the effort, however ungrammatical, to communicate in French.
The rural tradition means that lunch is usually the main meal of the day, and the two hour lunch break is virtually compulsory, with a variety of restaurants providing extremely reasonably priced three or four course meals. The converse is that night life is virtually non-existent except in the larger towns. Most shops and banks close on Mondays but are open on Saturdays.
The green hills, hedgerows, ponds and shady meadows make this the quintessentially rural seat of France.This is a region of granite plateaux and the valleys of the rivers Creuse, Vienne, Corrèze, Gartempe and Vézère. Natural and man-made lakes abound, and the principal activity is agriculture. It is a relatively poor region, mainly due to the exodus of younger people to the big cities, but this does mean there is an abundance of quiet country roads, sleepy hamlets and tranquil market towns.
The region is not known for its wine production but Limousin cattle are world-renowned, as is the porcelain production based in the area of Limoges, the region’s liveliest city. The region is also famous for its sweet chestnuts, fruit production, fishing and water sports plus the cave paintings at Lascaux which date back over 15 000 years.
The region has one motorway running North-South, and Limoges airport has expanding services to and from the UK, but rail transport serves only a few main towns, and rural transport is almost non-existent, so a car is an essential requirement.
