Limoges is a city along the Vienne River in central France. The area was settled by Celts, and the Romans later expanded the city, which they called Augustorium. Several important roads crossed here, and in Roman times they built a forum, a theater and an amphitheater and other structures in the city. Limoges became an episcopal seat, and in the Merovingian era the city was home to a mint. Later, many centuries followed under alternating dominions, with the Cité being the episcopal city and Château Saint-Martial being the count’s city.

Limoges had become French, and the two cities grew continuously. Franciscans, Carmelites and Dominicans settled in Limoges. At the end of the 18th century, the city became known for porcelain production, which was due to the area’s rich kaolin deposits, and Limoges supplied e.g. the French court. In 1792, Cité and Château Saint-Martial were merged into one city, and thus Limoges was formally formed.

In today’s street network in Limoges, you can still see both cities, which were merged in 1792. Close to Vienne, the old Cité was located in the streets around the city’s cathedral. Cathédrale Saint-Étienne was built from 1273, and the large church was not completed until 1888. You can see the church’s beautiful renaissance lectorium in the interior, and on the outside, you can notice the characteristic church tower, which is a distinctive part of the city’s skyline.

Just south of the cathedral is the Musée des Beaux-Arts, which is the city’s leading art and cultural history museum. The museum is housed in the classicist bishop’s palace, which was built 1766-1774, and in the collections, you can enjoy paintings, sculptures and archaeological finds. You can also see the beautiful gardens of the bishop’s palace, and north of the cathedral you can explore the old streets of Cité with the city’s famous and beautiful half-timbered houses in, for example, Rue Haute Cité.

Northwest of the Cité is the old castle quarter, Le Château, which arose around Château Saint-Martial. Today, Le Château forms the city’s modern center with business streets and many buildings from the 20th century, which were built after various renovations. On the Place de la Motte you can see the Halles Centrales, the city’s atmospheric market hall from 1889. The hall was built of brick, metal, glass and a porcelain frieze according to local tradition that adorns the facade. The frieze consists of panels that present products sold here.

You should also take a walk in the streets south of the Halles Centrales, where you can see many beautiful half-timbered houses in the Rue de la Boucherie. Here you can also see the Saint-Aurélien chapel from the 15th-17th centuries, which houses the relics of Saint Aurélien, who was the second bishop of Limoges. A little to the east in Le Château you can see the beautiful exhibition hall, Pavillon du Verdurier, which was built in 1919 as a cold house for imported meat from Argentina. The hall’s decoration with mosaics and porcelain is a beautiful feature of the urban space.

Between the two historically rival towns, Cité and Le Château, you can stroll the squares Place Jourdan and Place Léon-Betoulle, where Limoges’ beautiful town hall is located. The town hall was built in the Neo-Renaissance in the years 1876-1883. In the square in front of the town hall, there is a fountain from 1893, which was originally supposed to have stood on the Place de la République.

Another of the city’s well-known buildings is the railway station Limoges Bénédictins, which was built 1924-1929. The station is dominated by the 67-meter-high tower and the large domed hall above the tracks. To the south you can take walks along the river Vienne, and here you can see the Pont Saint-Martial, a bridge that was built in 1215 as a replacement for a bridge from Roman times. The bridge led to the Cardo Maximus, which was the Roman north-south axis of the city, and it crossed the Roman Forum on the site of Limoges’ Town Hall today.