A Guide 2 Corréze

Description:

Geography and Transport

Corréze is the southern third of the Limousin region, and is bordered by Haute Vienne and Creuse to the north, Lot and Dordogne to the south and Puy-de-Dôme and Cantal in the east.  The department is situated to the west of the Massif Central, and the land is a mix of mountain, plateau and the basin of Brive-la-Gaillard, which enjoys a more favourable climate.  A huge area of the Corréze is designated as part of the Plateau de Millevaches, a recognised Natural Park.  The major route through the department is the A89 autoroute, which links the A20 north of Brive with the A71 north of Clermont-Ferrand.  The main towns of Tulle, Brive and Ussel are all linked via the TER rail network, enabling connections with Limoges and Clermont Ferrand, and a TGV service links Brive with Paris, albeit without the benefit of a high speed track.  For most of Corréze the best option for air travel is Limoges-Bellegarde, which offers year-round routes to a number of UK destinations, although for the south and west of the department airports such as Rodez and Bergerac offer an alternative.

Climate

There are five variations in climate for Corréze, due to the varied nature of the landscape.  Brive is said to be most like Aquitaine to which it connects, that is a maritime climate, with moderate winter temperatures (and occasional snowfall), and high temperatures in summer (accompanied by storms).  Around Vézère and Auvézère on the plateau, the degraded maritime climate means lower summer temperatures, frequent rain and occasional snowfall.  The Tulle area is described as a more continental climate typified by lower temperatures and higher rainfall than Brive.  Summer temperatures will be hot, but in winter frosts are not uncommon.  Xaintrie has fresher temperatures, frequent frosts and abundant rainfall, in stark contrast with the milder Dordogne valley.   The Millevaches Natural Park is a mix of mountainous zones with strong frosts and frequent snowfall, and very wet zones.

Tourism

Owing to its proximity to the Millevaches Natural Park, with many rivers, lakes and hills, tourism in Corréze is heavily weighted towards the outdoors.  It has over forty man-made lakes, six of which are of an area of over 1000ha, and four water sport centres.  There are over 100km of hiking trails, with 400 separate walks set out in the areas 'topo guide'.  Add to that 300km of designated horse-riding trails, 12 mountain biking centres, 12 centres for white-water sports as well as facilities for fishing, golf, climbing, hot air ballooning and paragliding. There is no question that Corréze is an ideal destination for outdoors enthusiasts.  There is plenty of interesting architecture to see here as well, with historic castles and churches, barrages, viaducts, bridges and no fewer than five villages classified as some of the most beautiful in France.  The area towards the north west of Corréze is a place renowned for apples, with the special nature of the soil and climate here producing distinctly different versions of well known types such as golden delicious.  The area has both AOC and AOP status for its products.  The 'capital' Tulle is famous for producing Accordions (it has the only factory in France and a museum) as well as the famous lace 'poinct de Tulle'.  Brive is home to the Denoix distillery which is responsible for the local walnut liqueur, and the famous 'purple' mustard made with grapes, whilst Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne is famous for its strawberries, with a festival held each year to celebrate the humble fruit.

Economy

The local economy is not surprisingly dominated by agriculture, but also there are large numbers of artisans here, of which the building trades account for the lions share.  Commerce and services are well represented, whilst industry makes up the fewest number of businesses.  The unemployment rate in Corréze is 6.1% (2007) against a national average of 9.1% (2006).

Key Stats

As with the whole of the Limousin region, Corréze has a bigger proportion of older people than younger people (19% of the population is under 20 years, and 31% is over 60 years).  There are more women than men here (51% vs 49%), and 13% of dwellings here are classed as second homes (more than the national average).