Limoges
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General Information
Other Name: -, District: NA, State: Limousin, France
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Languages Spoken: French
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Best Time to Visit: - to - and -
International Access: -Description
Limoges is a city and commune in France and the administrative capital of the Limousin region.The city of Limoges is renowned for its production of enamelware and fine porcelain, and if you`re looking to pick up some French crockery, then this is certainly the place to do it.But these days Limoges is better known as a buzzy university town, home to around 17,000 students and plenty of bars, clubs and drinking holes.Location
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Looming over the city centre and surrounded by a dry moat, Château de Caen was founded by William the Conqueror in 1060 and extended by his son Henry I. Wander around the ramparts and historic buildings, and visit the Jardin des Simples , a garden of medicinal herbs cultivated during the Middle Ages.
Looming above the centre of the city from a domed hilltop, and surrounded by a dry moat, the Château de Caen was founded by William the Conqueror in 1060 and extended by his son Henry I. It has been used over the centuries by royals, revolutionaries, townsfolk and the military.
In the southeast of the town of Limoges is its most important monument and Gothic building, the Cathedral of St-Etienne, begun in 1273, continued in various later periods but not finally completed until the second half of the 19th C.The tower is 62 m/205ft high, the three lower storys being Romanesque and the four upper ones Gothic. Notable features of the interior are the monuments of three church dignitaries of the 14th and 16th centuries round the choir, the richly decorated rood screen in Italian Renaissance style and some old stained glass.
Église St-Michel des Lions, named for the two granite lions on either side of the tower door, has a huge copper ball perched atop its 65m-high spire. Built between the 14th and 16th centuries, it contains St-Martial''s relics (including his head) and a number of beautiful 15th-century stained-glass windows.
The Cathédrale St-Étienne is surrounded by the Limoges'' botanical garden, where you''ll find both medicinal and toxic herbs, and plenty of colourful blooms in summer.
In Caen, to the east of Place St-Pierre, at the end of Rue des Chanoines, is the Place de la Reine-Mathilde, in which is the magnificent Romanesque abbey church of La Trinité or of the Abbaye-aux-Dames, built by William the Conqueror''s wife Matilda.In the impressive interior is the queen''s tomb, and beneath this is a crypt.
Adjoining the cathedral is the former Bishop''s Palace, now the Municipal Museum contains Limoges enamels, Egyptian antiquities, local history, pictures.
The Musée National Adrien Dubouché, established in 1867, has an important ceramic collection, including items from the Limousin, China, Japan and Persia. Visitors interested in Limoges enamel will want to see the Enamel Workshop at 31 rue des Tanneries, where the techniques of enamel-working are explained.
Just off place St-Aurélien, the pedestrianised rue de la Boucherie - so named because of the butcher''s shops that lined the street in the Middle Ages - contains many of the city''s most attractive medieval half-timbered houses.
In Caen, from Place Malherbe Rue Ecuyère runs west to Place Fontette, with the 18th century Palais de Justice (Law Courts). From here Rue Guillaume-le-Conquérant continues west to the imposing abbey church of St- Etienne or of the Abbaye-aux-Hommes, built by William the Conqueror in 1066 in Romanesque (Norman) style.The choir and towers, in Early Gothic style, were added in the 13th century The facade of St-Etienne is particularly fine.
There are beautiful views of the mountains on this scenic rail trip.