‘Why?’: I stayed in the city that France forgot and loved it

The French waiter at my local cafe was interested when I said I’d just returned from his home country. Less interested when I told him I’d spent most of my time there in Limoges, an industrial city in the south-east.

He looked at me in that supercilious way the French start learning to master in primary school. He curled his lip. And then he asked the question: “But why?″

Limoges and its gothic cathedral.Credit: iStock

Limoges, 400 kilometres south of Paris and three and a half hours from the capital on a slow but surprisingly comfortable train, is the city that France forgot, and one outsiders rarely even consider. Yet it offers so much for visitors, including a glimpse of the country as the locals actually live.

I went there purely to visit an English university friend who’d settled there, and then I stayed and stayed, and vowed to return. Because it’s actually a quite delightful city, with cobbled streets lined with half-timbered houses steeped in history, a fabulous cathedral, a vast and beautiful ancient food market, great restaurants and cafes, a heap of scenic attractions on the doorstep … and – unlike Paris, Lyon, Nice and Bordeaux – few other tourists.

Yet, it’s a place traditionally that has been very hard done by. During the Napoleonic Wars at the start of the 19th century, officers who had fallen from favour or who were considered incompetent were often sent to Limoges, which gave birth to the word limoge meaning to be put out to pasture.

The city of the “fire arts”.Credit: Limoges-A.Lacotte

More recently, in the early 2000s, it was meant to get a high-speed rail line from Paris but, at the last minute, Tours, on the banks of the Loire, was chosen as the recipient instead.

But, c’est la vie, and Limoges has instead been busy forging its own path as a worthwhile travel destination. And you have to say, it’s doing very well.

It’s often today known as “the city of the fire arts” because of its long history of metalwork, enamel work and porcelain. One of the city’s biggest attractions is its fabulous Adrien Dubouche National Museum, with a world-class collection of porcelain from around the world, dating back to antiquity, including a vast assortment of locally made treasures.

After even a half-day spent there, no one can wonder why Limoges is a UNESCO Creative City that has been designated the City of Art and History by the French Ministry of Culture.

It’s been careful to preserve its heritage, too. While it dates to the 10th century BC, parts of the medieval area are beautifully intact. One cobbled street in the old butchery district, which was once lined by butchers’ shops, has all the old buildings, often with their wooden butcher’s blocks still in place, but now converted into colourful restaurants, artisan shops and bohemian cafes.

The “quartier boucherie” or butchers’ quarter in the old town.Credit: A Lacotte

In the central square is the Medieval Saint-Aurelien chapel, its high steeple covered with chestnut shingles, where generations of butchers’ families offered their prayers. Some of them were answered, too. In pride of place is a sculpture depicting the Virgin Mary, Saint Anne and the infant Jesus, holding a kidney to his lips – the traditional iron-rich gift to local babies.

The massive Gothic Cathedrale Saint-Etienne de Limoges close by is a fabulous sight as well, although it wasn’t built in a hurry. A national monument, its construction began in 1273 and it wasn’t finished until 1888.

Even that, however, pales in contrast with one of the most beautiful buildings in France, the 1887 Halles Centrales de Limoges. That’s the great Burgundy brick marketplace filled with gourmet food from growers and makers, and decorated with 368 porcelain tiles of animals and fruits and vegetables.

The vast market hall.Credit: A Lacotte

The displays of produce are amazing, as is their taste. It’s here that I have my first experience of the uniquely French blue Roquefort cheese, made from sheep’s milk … it is gorgeously buttery, tangy and salty. I hadn’t appreciated how dangerous it could be; it’s ruined me for blue cheese forever more.

There’s also plenty to see just outside Limoges. A particular favourite day out is spent on the picturesque Vassiviere Lake, one of France’s largest human-made reservoirs, at about 10 square kilometres inside a national park.

It mightn’t have been pleasant earning Napoleon’s displeasure, but there were compensations.

THE DETAILS

FLY + TRAIN
Ryanair flies direct to Limoges from London’s Stansted Airport from £31 ($63). See ryanair.com
From Paris, there are seven direct trains a day to Limoges, from €54 ($90). See sncf-connect.com

STAY
The hotel Gogaille-Prefecture has rooms from €65 ($105) a night in Limoges, including breakfast. See gogaille.fr/en

The writer travelled at her own expense.