Brive-la-Gaillard, Corrèze, Limousin

Description:

Geography and Transport Links

Brive-la-Gaillard is the largest town in Corrèze, situated in the south of the department, it is close to the border with both Dordogne (24) and Lot (46).  The town is at the crossroads of two major autoroutes, the A89 (Bordeaux-Clermont Ferrand) and the A20 (Vierzon-Toulouse).  It has a mainline rail link, which offers a daily (morning/evening) TGV service to Lille-Europe, although the line itself is not a high speed section of track.  The town is also well connected to the TER network, linking it with Limoges and the prefecture Tulle.  Brive has an airport at La Roche, a few kilometres outside the town, and another is under construction at Souillac, where services to the UK will be offered from 2010.  Currently the nearest airport offering UK destinations is Limoges-Bellegarde, and Bergerac airport is also an option at 124km.  The Corrèze River runs through the town.

Climate

Slightly warmer and drier than the more northerly Limoges, average daytime summer temperatures in Brive reach between 24C and 27C (12C to 14C low).  In winter the average daytime temperatures are around 9C to 10C (2C to 3C low).  The wettest month is April with an average of 6.04cm of precipitation, whilst the driest is February with just 3.33cm.  Brive-la-Gaillarde is part of a zone which receives between 1750 and 2000 hours of sunshine per year.

Tourism

This is a fortified (walled) town with many examples of medieval architecture, such as the Collégiale Saint Martin (built in 1180), the Chapelle Saint-Libéral (XIV and XVc) and the fourteenth century Quartier des Doctrinaires.  Brive-la-Gaillard is a market town, and in addition to the large weekly market, it hosts a flower market (place Latrelle), an annual onion market during the summer and truffle markets in winter.  One of the towns key events is a large book fair held in autumn.  Key museums in the town are the Labenche Museum of Arts and History, sited in a Renaissance building, Maison Edmond Michelet (a WWII museum), and the Denoix Distillery, a nineteenth century distillery famed for the local walnut liqueur.  The town has an 18 hole golf course, and not far away at Lissac is the Lac du Causse, a 100 hectare leisure lake with all kinds of water sports available. 

Economy

Brive-la-Gaillarde has a sizeable industrial presence, with the electrical component and telecomms sectors strongly represented, as well as food, transportation and aeronautical companies.  The Brive economic zone has an unemployment rate of 6.4%, compared against the regional rate of 7.2% and the national rate of 9.1% (INSEE 2006).

Facilities

As you would expect from a city of this size all amenities are available. There are over 70 restaurants offering all kinds of cuisine including seafood, Indian, Vietnamese, Italian, Japanese and Thai.  Brive has 2 heated indoor pools and 1 outdoor pool which is open from June to early September, Brive also has an ice-skating rink open from September to May.   The town has a hospital with 500 beds as well as three separate clinics. Brive is a rugby town, with the club CA Brive one of the top 14 clubs in France.  It has strong connections with the UK, with around 10% of season ticket holders being British nationals, and many players also coming from the UK.  The football team ESA Brive play in the fifth tier of French football (CFA2).  The town boasts seven rugby pitches, 12 volley/handball pitches, 2 all-weather pitches as well as 224 hectares of green spaces, including 3 play parks for children.

Education

The town has 15 state nurseries and 2 private nurseries, 19 state primary schools and 6 private primary schools.  There are 4 state secondary schools (College) and as well as 5 private options, and 4 state and 2 private Colleges (lycee).  There is a university campus in Brive as part of the University of Limoges, focussing on technology.  

Key Stats

Of the properties in Brive-la-Gaillarde 89.1% are classed as primary residences, with 3.2% being classed as second homes.  There are more females than males resident here (53.5% vs 46.5%), and there are more people aged 60 or over than the national average (27.8% vs 21.3%). The number of retired people is also more (23.4% vs 18.2%).  The percentage of people below the age of 19 is lower than the national average (20.5% vs 24.6%)

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