Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat / Limoges La Vélidéale

The route

At Saint-Léonard de Noblat, take the D39 road towards St Martin Terressus. Stay on this road up to St Priest Taurion, then take the D44 towards St Just-le-Martel. This stretch involves some ups and downs. At Place de l’Église, take a little street to your right (the C1) towards the Mairie (town hall), then at the round-about, continue straight on towards the Palais and the Golf de la Porcelaine (in the parish of Panazol). At a crossroads, turn left onto the D140 road towards Limoges. After passing the church at Panazol, turn right (onto the D224). At the round-about after the A20 motorway bridge, take a right onto Avenue du Sablard. You pass close to Limoges’s other historic bridge too, the Pont Saint-Etienne.

Link to the V56 Saint-Jacques à Vélo (a Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage cycle route, Via Vézelay)

At Saint-Léonard de Noblat, our cycle route meets Saint-Jacques à vélo - Via Vézelay, and in fact the two routes run along the same stretch for a while, from the level of the D39 road, heading towards Saint-Priest-Taurion, and up to Limoges.

Practical information

• Office du Tourisme de Limoges
  12 Bd de Fleurus, 87000 Limoges - 05 55 34 46 87
  https://www.destination-limoges.com/ 
• Office du Tourisme de Noblat
  4 Pl. du Champ de Mars, 87400 Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat - 05 55 56 25 06
  https://www.visitlimousin.com/saint-leonard-de-noblat/

SNCF

The Gare des Bénédictins de Limoges is a splendid 1920s station that it’s worth stopping to see, even if you don’t need to use it. Its trains serve the following towns and cities, among others: Vierzon; Périgueux; Brive-la-Gaillarde; Toulouse Matabiau; Bordeaux-Saint-Jean; Poitiers; and Paris Austerlitz.

Don't miss

• Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat: the Moulin du Got, an old-fashioned paper-making mill and printer, with museum and shop; Porcelaine Carpenet, a family business using traditional Limoges porcelain-making methods to create contemporary pieces; the collegiate church forming part of the wider UNESCO World Heritage Site dedicated to fine monuments along the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage route…
• Saint-Priest-Taurion: the Relais du Taurion, a hearty traditional hotel-restaurant close to the river; the Viaduct, with lovely views; local saffron from the Domaine de la Roche.
• Saint-Just-le-Martel: the Centre international de la Caricature, du Dessin de Presse et d'Humour, for a good laugh, looking at highly amusing cartoons.  
• Panazol: Golf de la Porcelaine, a fine golf course a bit east of Limoges. 
• Limoges: the medieval stone bridges, the Pont St Étienne and Pont St Martial; the banks of the Vienne River; the Cathédrale Saint-Étienne, its quarter and the Jardin de l’Évêché, the Bishops’ Gardens looking down on the Vienne…