Limoges

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I chose to make trip to Limoges almost at random, and "random" decided to bite back at me in the form of a rail strike. My train was cancelled and on top of that, I was travelling on one of the lines the most affected by the strike, so even though Gare d'Austerlitz is one of the six main line train stations in Paris, it did not have a single train leaving that day before 13:39 but luckily it was indeed going to Limoges and the non-striking personnel just said to get on. It did not manage to leave before almost 14:30 and I ended up having to stand for the entire trip, along with quite a few other people. Therefore it was already 18:20 before I finally arrived (check the clock in the photo).

One thing about Limoges is that even though it is not really considered one of the major cities in France, it has one of the top five train stations in terms of imposing architecture.











It is so huge that at first it seems like you will see it from anywhere else in the city as you walk away from it.







It slowly gets smaller before finally disappearing.

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My main plan at the beginning had been to finally visit the Limoges porcelain museum but my late train cancelled that, so it will have to be done at some future date. So this left me with a sunny Sunday evening to explore the city a bit even though everything was closed.

As I reached the old part of town, I saw that beamed architecture was a local speciality.





I thought this was a cute idea for a cat café.

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Oh my, that half-timber architecture is impressive. Sorry you had such an abortive trip.

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As I had already seen in Compiègne a few years ago, sometimes the beams are respected even when bigger windows are created.



Modern architecture sometimes even slips into areas like this.







I wish I wouldn't miss the market days every single time.

[anshjain97]

Is this kind of architecture uncommon in other parts of France? What's the reason of it being common in Limoges?

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France really has a wide variety of architecture, and there are other regions where the beams are visible, notably in Alsace, Burgundy and some other places. But there are also regions where everything is built out of stones or bricks, and also places where the beams are inside the walls but completely covered with stucco.

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This little covered passageway led to a surprising courtyard.







The paving stones have probably seen a lot of things in their day.







The next morning I was out and about early to see things like the city hall and the cathedral.







I had never read anything about the cathedral of Limoges. From a distance it looked like a chimney.





It was too early for it to be open, so I just walked around it and through the botanical gardens at its base.















All of the plants in the garden are diligently labelled.

[bjd]

We have only stopped once in Limoges and that was after a car accident, so my thoughts about the place are not very positive. So thanks for this report -- it's not a place I have ever thought of visiting and my first impressions from the pictures at the beginning of your report are that some of those buildings could use a coat of paint or some cleaning. But it does get better.

It still doesn't look like a very welcoming place, but perhaps that's due to the massive train station and the coulour of the place? Why did you choose Limoges? Is Poitiers next?

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The cathedral started looking like a chimney again as I walked away from it. It was built from 1273 to .... 1888! They were not in a hurry.







I didn't really pay much attention, but porcelain and enamel shops were everywhere.



Some were a bit more inventive than others.



I had to return to the train station to pick up my rental car. All that giant mess of rails goes back to just two rails only a few hundred metres from the station.



I walked past my hotel one last time. I had a very unusual complaint about the room -- it was too big. The TV on one wall was much too far from the bed against the other wall

Oh well, I'll have to get back to that porcelain museum one of these days...

[anshjain97]

Thanks for this Kerouac. Good to know- I hadn't even heard of Limoges before seeing this!

[mossie]

You certainly suffer for your art, and our entertainment. That train ride sounded horrendous.

Love the timber framed houses, particularly where the new windows had been let in with the old timbers exposed. Saves worrying about the building falling down if one cuts through the wrong beam.

[lagatta]

I'm still shaken by the Oradour report, though I had already read long accounts of it. The photos are very affecting, and I'll get back to it.

When you go on these excursions, where do you have supper? Do you go to a random restaurant, pick up a casse-croûte, or what?

[fumobici]

You certainly found some pretty things to aim your camera at. That passage into the beautiful timbered courtyard is traboulesque. Looks like I could happily spend a couple of days bouncing around there. Well chronicled. How's the food?

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I had a Thai dinner. Unauthentic, but I was hungry and liked it.

[bixaorellana]

Great report, Kerouac, despite the fact that you were stymied at every turn. This kind of heavily architectural report is extremely enjoyable. I like the way it makes me really look at and think about how building styles evolved and to make guesses on how much the style reflects the local character. (<-- These words aren't meant to let you permanently off the hook on the porcelain museum, though!)

Limoge seems to love domes and turrets. I love that bit of modern architecture with its horizontal "domes" and the borrowed turrets behind it. How odd that the cathedral is so much less soaring and fanciful than many other buildings. But who needs a fancy cathedral with that magnificent train station? Any idea of the history of the stained glass in it, which is of a style suggesting it might have weathered both world wars?

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Jun 19, 2014 14:02:13 GMT lagatta said:

I'm still shaken by the Oradour report, though I had already read long accounts of it. The photos are very affecting, and I'll get back to it.

When you go on these excursions, where do you have supper? Do you go to a random restaurant, pick up a casse-croûte, or what?

In many cases I don't even go to a restaurant. I buy picnic supplies and eat in my room after an exhausting day of wandering around. However, in this case, I ate at the Chinese restaurant next door to the hotel. It wasn't what I was looking for, but I discovered that in a provincial city like Limoges, 80% of the restaurants are closed on Sunday evening. (It wasn't actually a discovery, but it is the sort of thing that I tend to forget since the percentage is reversed in Paris, not that I would ever go to a restaurant in Paris on a Sunday evening.)

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I so enjoyed this report K2. It is such a departure from the tourist type pics we see on here, which are welcome, but, not always show what the place is really about.
Merci.