VERSION GB 07 09 2024 EVASIONS
ESCAPES
HERITAGE PASSION IN THE CREUSE
When we visit France, particularly our regions and territories, we are always delighted to meet the men and women who live there against a backdrop of landscapes where
magical colors often appear at sunrise and magical surrondings that accompany the
flora and fauna and nothing beats a getaway to the department of CREUSE to also
discover its great culture and beautifully preserved heritage sites that bear witness to
our history, incorporating well-preserved ancestral traditions.
Covering an area of 5,565 km2 for a population of 117,340 inhabitants and also nicknamed the Green and Blue Country, the Department of Creuse is a territory located in the center of France in the Nouvelle Aquitaine region located at
controlled distances from other French departments in parallel with neighboring European countries with a varied and multiple configuration integrating welcoming and easy natural places and spaces access for getaways and stays
practiced individually or with family and this shimmering territory that we cannot never tires of discovering also has a
magnificently preserved architectural and cultural heritage, witness to our history that we encounter in authentic villages and cities such as Bénévent-L'Abbaye and La Souterraine located on the road to Saint Jacques De Compostelle,
Chambon Sur Voueize, Masgot, Moutier-Ahun or Bourganeuf, which we visit with pleasure while strolling through their
small streets dotted with bright colours flowers complemented by typical shops decorated with local traditions before
crossing the Valley Of The Creuse called “Valley of Painters”where painters Claude Monet and George Sand stayed in
particular renowned impressionists in parallel with the exhibitions that we visit each year in designated spaces, often
from July to November, such as in the Pays Dunois, and which are interesting stops before reaching AUBUSSON, a
beautiful and rebellious city which notably houses the Cité Internationale De La Tapisserie in parallel with its
referencing and its know-how in the intangible cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO. Staying in Creuse also means getting off the beaten track to also discover the diversity of its heritage in relation to the data historical aspects of these
unique places and which is a great success with the public, particularly every year in September during the European
Heritage Days, which can be found in the village of Chéniers at the Pouligny Tile Factory Ecomuseum and which traces
an entire era in the production of tiles and bricks, as well as exploring the terraced gardens of Bénévent-L'Abbaye which
are delightful as the variety of its flora is beautiful and impressive in parallel with a guided tour of the Saint Barthelemy
Abbey church, imposing by its size and the quality of its architecture in complement to the medieval fortress of Crozant
or to travel through the Valley Of The Creuse aboard a legendary Picasso railcar uring the months of July and August
during the summer season.
Majestic Natural Spaces Full of Emotions
Curiosity mixed with traditions,know how and delicacies also allows you to discover the gastronomic heritage of The Creuse and thus enjoy the pleasures of the table in addition to the fact that we are in a region renowned for its gastronomy which can be enjoyed in good restaurants as well as at local producers good local products that we come
across in their shops or at markets like the one in Felletin and which are pleased to present and let you taste Creuse
specialities,including fondue creusois, potato pie, creusois clafoutis, meatball pie without forgetting the famous creusois
cake delicious hazelnut cake inherited from an ancestral recipe and for fans of unusual stays in spaces natural areas
enhanced with landscapes and typical and local architecture in places far from any excessive human presence,nothing
beats staying in rural lodgings or guest rooms
to taste the charms of farm tourism also very popular in this radiant
department and which allows, in addition to tasting local products, to practice holidays or weekends enhanced by
authenticity and conviviality that we practice in season and in particular in autumn as part, for example, of stays and
and chestnut and mushroom packages that delight young and old alike, while also meeting local heritage stakeholders
in the radiant cities of character such as in the towns of GUERET, AUBUSSON or LA SOUTERRAINE and who ensure the
conservation of this rich heritage, as are, for example, the volunteers who run medieval festivals or the craftsmen who
are also,yo a certain extent, the guardians of the memory of well-preserved traditions with the time. This territory is fascinating and surprising because it delights both fans of nature, sports and wide open spaces, history enthusiasts as well as heritage and its past are rich and diverse and artists in love with colors and their varieties expressed as much
in broad daylight as at sunrise or at sunset over its towns,villages and cities of character,its valleys, its rich architectural
heritage and its majestic and marked natural spaces emotions that make the department of Creuse an ideal and
unforgettable holiday and weekend destination.
Report : GABRIEL PAGE
Photos Credit : GABRIEL PAGE / TOURISME CREUSE / Getty Images / LA MONTAGNE
THE CREUSE DEPARTMENT IT IS ALSO:
• 15 developed bodies of water / 1 Nature Sports Station
• 2764 km of registered hiking routes / 8 GR (524 km) and 4 GRP (205 km)
• 15 classified sites and 26 registered sites – 13 NATURA 2000 sites
• 4 certified mountain bike bases (FFC/FFCT) / 14 “Accueil Vélo” structures
• 1 pilgrim route from Benevento to Rocamadour / Base 66 km in Creuse
• 4 cycle routes (more than 460 km marked / 327 km for the tour of Creuse
registered in the national plan for cycle routes and greenways.
400 km of local loops (52 circuits including 26 marked)
• 1 European Ecolabel accommodation / 31 “Fishing” qualified accommodations
• 1 nature reserve “L'Etang des Landes” / 1 Small Town of Character
• 1 Regional Natural Park: Millevaches in Limousin
• 153,300 hectares of forests and 3,800 kilometers of rivers
Discover the program of the European Heritage Days 2024 on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 September 2024 in the Monts De Guéret which I invite you to consult by clicking on the corresponding URL link and we look forward to welcoming you very soon in The Creuse.
