Links, activities and events in Limousin
Here you will find website links to events in Limousin, tourist information in Limousin, local lakes to visit, local produce markets, antique markets, car boot sales (or ‘Vides Greniers’), fishing, canoeing… Just about anything that will help you to make the most of your perfect holiday in Limousin!
A lot of the websites are in French, although some have an English language option. Additionally, you can get a pretty good translation of the text by copying and pasting into http://translate.google.com/#en|fr|. Google also has an automatic website translation tool (you should see a ‘translate it using Google toolbar?’ message at the top of each French language web page).
Getting to our Limousin Holiday Cottage
“Eurostar” High-speed train service from London / Ashford to Paris.
“SNCF” French National Railways website for connections to Limoges from London / Paris.
“Limoges Airport” The website of our nearest airport, just 40 minutes from Saint Germain les Belles.
“Ryanair” Cheap flights to Limoges, Bergerac and Bordeaux (our nearest airports in that order!)
“Flybe” Another budget airline that flies to and from Limoges airport.
General Websites about Tourism in Limousin
“The Limousin” Really useful English language site full of places to visit and things to do in Limousin.
“Haute-Vienne Tourism” The Official site of tourism in Haute-Vienne. Packed with places to visit and also has an English language option.
Lake Vassivière
“Le Lac de Vassivière” Official tourist site for Lake Vassivière, just 40 minutes away from Saint Germain les Belles. Lots of useful information on local events, where to swim, watersports, towns to visit and where to eat.
Day Trips and Attractions
“Oradour-sur-Glane” in English and Oradour-Sur-Glane” in French. The moving war memorial to the horrific WW2 massacre in 1944.
“Feeriland” Located between Limoges and Saint Junien, this model world is full of exhibitions 7 times smaller than real life!
Animal parks and Aquariums in Limousin
“Wolf park” Just south of Gueret in Creuse. This amazing park allows European and Canadian Wolves to live in a semi-wild environment, in a beautiful forest setting.
“Limoges Aquarium” Small but perfectly formed! Really good for younger children.
“Animal Park Reynou near Limoges” A really great, ‘close-by’ day out.
Birdwatching
“Société pour l’Etude et la Protection des Oiseaux en Limousin” local birding organisation that promotes the study and protection of birds in Limousin; includes bird reports.
Active days out!
“Off-road motorcycle tours” This fantastic local business is just 10 minutes away from Saint Germain les Belles.
“Go Karting” near Lubersac.
“Velo rail” at Bussiere Galant. A cross between a bike and a train! You can pedal along 6 km of train tracks, soaking up the beautiful sites of the Parc Natural Regional Perigord-Limousin. Click on the menu “Nature et Decouverte et Evasion”.
“Where to hire boats in Limousin”
“Canoeing locations in Limousin”. You can also hire canoes at the base in “Uzerche”
“Where to hire bikes” in Haute-Vienne. You can also hire them from our village of Saint Germain les Belles, at the “Tourist Information Centre”
“Local Golf Courses” Click on the links to find out about our nearest Golf Courses.
Adventure Playgrounds and Water Parks
“Parc Bellevue”, just north of Limoges. There are lots of activities and rides for children, plus swimming pool and water slide!
“Arbre en Arbre Adventure Park” Tree top adventure playground by Lake Vassiviere.
Hot Air ballooning and Flying
“Hot Air Ballooning in Correze Limousin”, with 2 sites in Correze, “Montgolfière Evasion” organises flights above the beautiful countryside and ‘red town’ of Collonges-la-Rouge.
“Flying lessons with Nearly Heaven” English language flying lessons in Limousin.
Events – markets, Antique markets, music festivals, car boot sales (‘Vides greniers’)
“Info Limousin” A useful site that really does list most of what is happening in the area. You can also search by town. For “Local Produce Markets” search using the map.
You can search for dates of car boot sales or antique markets on this site for “Vides Greniers”
Interesting towns, villages and Chateaux to visit in Limousin
“Limoges” This site is the official tourist information site for Limoges.
“Pompadour” and “Pompadour in English” The National horse stud of France.
“Eymoutiers” A lovely local town on the way to Lake Vassivere. The website is also in English and they often have an extensive programme of events and markets.
Swimming Pools
“St-Yrieix-la-Perche swimming pool” A fantastic pool, just 20 minutes away. There are also lovely pools for toddlers and babies. There is also an outdoor heated pool, with water slide in the summer!
“Eymoutiers heated summer pool” Open from June until September and there is a water slide!
“Indoor Swimming pool at St Leonard de Noblat” Our absolute favourite indoor pool, with really good facilities / pools for babies and toddlers.
“Centre Aqua Creatif at Tulle” Well worth the 45 minute drive through some beautiful countryside. The outdoor pool is really brilliant in summer, with a slide and smaller pools for young children. You could combine it with a day-trip to Tulle itself and discover the lovely old town and museums.
