Limousin villages and castles

Back in 1314, the Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat fair shifted dates to accommodate pilgrims drawn by Saint Leonard’s relics, a sign of brisk trade as much as devotion. Today, just 22 km from Limoges, that same hill town still curls around its UNESCO-listed collegiate church. Northward lies Mortemart, once ruled by the dukes of Mortemart, with timbered houses, market halls, and old convents. Between them: hedgerows, chestnut groves, and granite spurs crowned with fortresses—like Châlus, where Richard the Lionheart suffered his fatal wound in 1199.

Your driver meets you at your Limoges hotel in a Mercedes and keeps the car at your disposal all day, flexing the schedule to suit weather and appetite. First, a 35-minute run to Saint-Léonard for a quiet wander, then a country-inn lunch before a 50-minute cross-country drive to Mortemart while you watch the bocage slip by. Within the Périgord-Limousin Regional Nature Park, the private chauffeur manages timing, access, parking, and bookings, so you can savor clafoutis or AOP Limousin apples, tour castles, and pause at washhouses for photographs.