Creuse Vacation Rentals

Creuse, department number 23, is in the Limousin region of France. It is a rural county, with few large towns and much wooded, rolling scenery. It has breathtaking gorges, and wide, flowing rivers and many magnificent old castles and buildings.

It has only recently become a tourist destination which gives it the beauty of offering plenty for the holidaymaker to do, but without the swarming crowds that occur elsewhere in France in the summer. Creuse is still experiencing depopulation although a growing number of British and Dutch people are moving into the area and starting tourism-related businesses. This, in conjunction with a very active Comité Departmental de Tourisme, means that every year Creuse has more to offer its visitors in terms of accommodation, tourist information and things to do. For example, there are swimming lakes, rivers and pools, walking routes and cycle tracks galore, llama trekking, carp and trout fishing, buffalo farms, a wolf park, museums, historic buildings and a giant maze, to give but a very few examples.

Two of the most splendid castles in Creuse are Boussac and Villemonteix. Jean de Brosse built Boussac Castle in the 15th century. It became famous again in the 19th century when local and infamous write George Sand (real name Aurore Dupin) discovered some tapestries there. These were the series of 'La Dame et la Licorne' millefleur tapestries, both rare and beautiful. There is dramatic drop from the castle to the Petite Creuse river below. Villemonteix is another 15th century castle, crammed full of ancient tapestries, and one of the most elegant castles of its time.

Tapestries are also to be found in Aubusson, which is world famous for them. There is a tapestry museum to visit, as well as working tapestry manufacturers and the fascinating old tapestry workshop in the centre of this historic and picturesque town.

Gueret is the principal town in Creuse, but retains a quiet, charming atmosphere. Also worth visiting are La Souterraine and Bourgauneuf, both of which have huge churches in their very centre.

France’s only side-by-side menhir and dolmen are to be found at Vigeville, there’s a restored, working brick and tile works is at Pouligny, Masgot is a village full of stone carvings, Fresselines is a mecca for all artists and Toulx St Croix has the oldest Christian statues in the country. Close to this last village are the incredible Pierres Jaumâtres, huge, strangely shaped boulders perched on the hillside. The list of things to see and do in Creuse goes on and on and on.

There are other places in the Limousin region that are well worth considering. Why not try a privately owned Gite in Pompadour? Or a self catering house in Bellac.

Creuse is just about in the middle of France, a six-hour drive along excellent roads from the ferry ports of Brittany and Normandy. Limoges airport (Bellegarde) serves this area with an increasingly busy schedule. At present there are flights to Limoges from Stansted, Edinburgh, Bournemouth, Liverpool, Luton, Lyon, Bristol, Nice, Nottingham and Southampton. Throughout Creuse there are good roads, but only a limited rail service. However, but this does include the TGV to Paris.