AroundLe Dorat

The birthplace of the famous writer Jean Giraudoux, who considered it to be the most beautiful town in the world, Bellac is a town of true character.
The history of Bellac is told through its monuments. The church “Notre Dame”, its 12th century enameled relic chest, is medieval houses, its picturesque alleys, etc.
Along the stagecoach footpath, you will encounter the memory of Jean de la Fontaine on the very spot where he was inspired to write his fable “The Coach and the Fly”. Bellac also offers a multitude of cultural activities and such leisure and relaxation options a theater, mediatheque, cinema, water-sports center, etc.

The house in which the famous writer Jean Giraudoux was born. On display, furniture belonging to
the writer, together with his impressive library. The visitor can admire his poetry collections, photographs, letters, theatre posters, and rough drafts. Each summer, the house hosts a different
exhibition organised by « l’Association les Amis de Jean Giraudoux».

The Fraisse château of the C13th was a nobleman’sdwelling, and little of it remains today. It was burnt downin 1356 by the notorious Black Prince. After the HundredYears War, it was rebuilt by Sieur Jacques des Monstiers.Known as the Old Château, this edifice occupies the rightside of the complex of buildings that can be seen today.The main body of the complex, built in Renaissance style boasts a beautiful Henri II staircase. The great hall features a Serlio fireplace, on the lintel of which is a design of the château as it was in the C16th.

Châteauponsac is a typical Limousin town of character.
It is located in a naturally-preserved site which overlooks the Gartempe valley as well as the Semme
valley. Locations of particular interest to the visitor include the church of St. Thyrse, the medieval quarter of les Moustiers with its ancient houses, and the Roman Way. In the heart of the old parts of the town, the former Benedictine priory houses a museum, the René Beaubérot ethnographic and archeologic museum, which has many exhibits depicting rural life in the Limousin in the 1900s,
together with archeological and GalloRoman artefacts in the upper rooms. Numerous hiking paths will lead you to such unexpected oddities as a sacrificial stone, the « trou des fées » (the fairies’
hole), a trifoliate stone trough used as a font, the fortified camp at Chégurat, a washhouse, and a bridge known locally as the «Roman» bridge.


The museum, which is set up in a former Benedictine priory, is the 1st ethnographical and archeologic
al museum in the Limousin region to present rich and varied displays of daily rural life in the 19th and 20th centuries :kitchen, young girls’ bedroom, joiner’s and basketmaker’sworkshops. The lifelike and neatly reconstituted scenes will show you life as it really was. Each summer,a new exhibition is put
on in the museum’s annexe, the Maison du Terroir.

Vestiges of a residential tower in a C12th château. It belonged firstly to the lords of Du Breuil, later becoming the property of the Lezay family of Lusignan. It was demolished during the course of the 18th and 19th centuries. Access via the left bank of the Brame, close to the hamlet known as « La Chaume ». Classified as a national monument.

Ancient barony and dukedom, Magnac Laval has kept part of its walls, the base of a C14th tower (r
emains of the old castle), the Old College (bulbous spire covered with chestnut shingles), church dating from the era of Charlemagne, a lapidary museum, and many antique doors in the town’s numerous alleyways.

It is the only village in the department to be listed as « One of the most beautiful villages
in France ». It is famous for the remains of its glorious past. It offers an architecturally-imposing
group of buildings remarkable for the purity of its lines. Information boards will lead you to the
town’s various monuments: the château of the Dukes of Mortemart, the covered market (C18th), the convent of the Carmelite order with its monumental staircase (C17th), the convent of the Augustinian order whose chapel has become the parish church, and the former offices of the old tribunal.

The village” Rancon “overlooks the Gartempe valley. It was the cradle of the lords of Rancon,( great family of the history of France). To discover: a stunning and various heritage as the Buddhist retreat and study centre of Tung Lam LinhSonha, art galleries and the stone tower dedicated to the
souls of the dead.