Touriste: Creuse

I’d like to introduce you to the département which became home for me ten years ago. I’d lived in London for the first of my 29 years, spent two and a half years in New York, four and a half years in Paris and then went to convalesce in with my parents after being ill. They’d retired to France in 1993 and like them, I fell in love with the region.  Instead of returning to Paris, I got a flat and then found work.  I now work for the Creuse Tourist Board and look forward to sharing my passion with you. Creuse is one of the three departments that make up the Limousin Region in the centre of France. It is often called “France’s green heart” because of its scenic green hills, acres of forests and patchwork fields.  It’s a highly agricultural area with one of the lowest population densities in France  – 130,000 inhabitants versus 400,000 cows.  And not just any old cow either!  The internationally renowned Limousin race come from this area. Set in the foothills of the Massif Central, the Creuse is hilly without being mountainous and is full of the wide-open spaces that one sees in a David Lean film. This countryside makes it ideal for walkers, horse-riders and off-and-on-road cyclists.  Lakes and rivers abound, which makes it an angler’s paradise, and the wildlife is never far from view.  In the south of the area is Lake Vassivière, one of Europe’s biggest man-made water sports complexes, complete with 1,100 hectares of swimming, snorkelling, windsurfing, sailing, speed boating, water skiing and fishing.  As a place for chilling out and forgetting life’s daily stresses, it’s incomparable. There are few large towns and the capital, Guéret, has a population of only 14,000, making it one of the smallest departmental capitals in France.  In fact, Creuse has only two towns, La Souterraine and Aubusson (a sub-prefecture), boasting more than 5,000 inhabitants.  Farming is the main economic activity and the area is covered with small stone-walled fields and dotted with old granite built farms. You won’t see enormous factories pumping out clouds of pollution or lines of cars stuck in rush hour traffic, simply a horizon that goes on forever and air so pure, the night sky resembles diamonds thrown onto a cloth of black velvet. Don’t think that it’s just grass and trees.  Creuse is also proud (and justly so) of its architectural, cultural and artistic heritage.  A common saying in France is that Paris was built by Creuse stonemasons.  Although there is a slight exaggeration, a large dose of it is true. The Panthenon, the Tuileries and the Louvre all owe their construction in the 19th century to these roving stoneworkers. Did you know that they also built the magnificent Pope’s Palace in Avignon? Traces of their expertise can be found all round Creuse from majestic châteaux to sculpted stone lintels on humble barns. In the south, perched on the banks of the river Creuse, Aubusson and its sister town of Felletin became capital of tapestry-making in the Middle Ages. The river’s pure water and the region’s natural elements made it ideal for cleaning the wool and making the dyes needed for this industry.  600 years of tapestry-making can be traced through the town’s buildings, galleries, museums and workshops. In the opposite direction lie Cozant and Fresselines.  Strongly linked to Claude Monet and Impressionism, this was the area that Monet painted his first series in 1989.  Riverbanks covered with wild flowers are still there, untouched and instantly recognizable in his paintings. Voila!  A short introduction to Creuse.  Each month I’ll be telling you about what to see, hear, do, taste and experience.  Of course, if you would like more information then you can always contact the Creuse Tourist Board via e-mail at [email protected] or access our web page at www.cg23.fr.