Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: Limoges

Flights – Gatwick to Limoges (Titan Airways)

[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix the broken image links. Incidentally, this aircraft has now left Titan’s service and is used as a cargo aircraft in South America]

Around three weeks before my British Airways flight from Gatwick to Limoges, I received an e-mail informing me that it would be operated by Titan Airways. I had half expected at some point, from reading Flyertalk far too much, that a Gatwick flight of mine would be operated as a wet lease by Titan Airways, so I thought it’d be interesting to see how it went. I did though understand that if I had so wanted, British Airways would offer an alternative date for those who only wanted to fly on their metal.

The crew offered a friendly and engaging welcome, so my first impressions were positive. The crew were also dressed in a smart uniform and I was pleased that the lead crew member in my cabin was Polish, so I expected excellent customer service. Which I duly received throughout the flight. I was flying in Club Europe, and there were the usual BA services such as hot towels and the drinks selection was the same as BA operated flights.

I prefer the slightly more modern British Airways interior, but it was comfortable and clean. Ironically, this was a British Airways aircraft from 1992, when it came into service, until 2015, when it left service.

As I’ve commented on elsewhere, I’ve always felt that the British Airways breakfast meal is their weakest, although there’s obviously a huge element of personal taste involved in that. It wasn’t great and was way too over salted, and lacking in any real quality. Having said that, it was hot and as I understand, this is the food that would have been served if British Airways had been operating the flight.

The crew member was quick to offer extra drinks and he was efficient and seemed to be pro-active in his service. The cabin, which was quite lightly filled, was relatively small, which helped him in his efforts.

I can’t imagine why this would be of interest to anyone, but just in case, the safety card.

Disembarking at Limoges for the next adventure. It took under one minute from leaving the aircraft to getting through to the front of the airport terminal, although I was the first to disembark which helps enormously.

I’ve read a couple of people post that they were disappointed to hear that their flight was being operated by Titan Airways, but having experienced this flight, I’m not sure that they have anything to fear. The tier points, Avios and so on are obviously all the same, although I don’t think that the usual Bidvest trolley ran through the Euro Traveller cabin, although I might be wrong.

July 31, 2025
Flights – British Airways (Limoges to Gatwick)

[I originally published this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix some broken image links]

After a very lovely week in Limoges it was time to depart back to the UK on board Speedbird. Limoges is not an airport which is difficult to navigate and it rather makes London City Airport look large. Mine was the only flight for a few hours and it took around two minutes from entering the terminal to sitting in the departure gate area.

I don’t intend to bore people with an in-depth review of the flight, as it was all efficient and well managed. The crew were welcoming and friendly, whilst being attentive throughout the flight. I was in Club Europe and the load there was light, just five customers, which meant that the bulk of the service was conducted by one crew member.

The cabin was clean and I took my favoured seat of 2C. I say favoured, but I usually get seat 34B on Ryanair because I refuse to pay for a better seat on most flights…. But when I get some luxury, I like an aisle seat, but not on the front because I can’t be near my precious laptop.

I’ve always thought that the food across British Airways in First down to World Traveller in long haul, and in Club Europe in short-haul (since that pesky Cruz took away short-haul food) is actually pretty good. It might not be the best in the world, and can’t necessarily compete with Emirates or Singapore, but it has always met my requirements.

That is with one exception, I’m not the biggest fan of BA breakfasts, especially on short haul where there is little other choice. So I’m always overly delighted when there is a choice for breakfast and one of those options is the plate of cold meats.

The quality of the cold meats was towards the higher end of the scale, with the cheeses having a depth of taste and the tomato a particularly pleasant flavour. The meats melted in the mouth and there was a choice of four bread rolls, with the seeded one taking my fancy.

Given it was a morning flight there was a lot of champagne and wine flowing in the cabin, although just for today I felt that this was a morning for orange juice. Although the champagne did look tempting…. The crew member pro-actively offered extra rolls, drinks and checked if I needed anything else, so I didn’t go without at any time during the flight.

Due to my position in 2C it meant that I disembarked the flight first. And disembarked is the correct word, I refuse to use the word deplane…. I don’t actually like this, as it means that I feel I’m under huge pressure not to get lost as I walk towards the terminal. It’s amazing how I can deviate from what an airport can think is its idiot-proof walk towards customs.

I took this flight for purposes of securing BA status next year and it cost £84, which I think is very reasonable for a business class flight. Although, having said that (well, written that) Limoges is one of the cheapest routes for business in Europe on BA, but it’s a seasonal flight only.

July 30, 2025
Limoges – Leaving (and the kindness of bus drivers)

[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix the broken image link]

After the end of a very lovely week, it’s now time to go back to the UK (albeit rather briefly). Limoges (the above photo is of the city hall) is a beautiful place and everyone seemed friendly and helpful. My trip to Oradour sur Glane will also live with me for some time, a haunting memory of the horrors that took place there.

And on that helpful theme…. The bus service doesn’t run to the airport in the mornings, so I thought that I’d risk getting to the airport only two hours early (I consider that cutting it fine). To do that I needed to get a bus to a point around twenty minutes walk away from the airport, which seemed much better than the two hour walk that I had to get to the centre of Limoges.

Anyway, I get on the bus and the driver is exceptionally helpful, even with my English mauling the pronunciation of the French locations. So we’re sailing into near where my stop was and I press the button to get off. The driver ignores the bell and smiles at me, and the next thing I realise he’s taken me to the airport itself. I could well do without that twenty minutes walk at the moment, so that’s a real help to me. His other passengers seemed confused and he had to spend time to explain the situation, but they didn’t seem too irritated at the English person messing up their schedule. So, more smiles, lots of thanks, shaking of hands and I’m at the airport nice and early.

A lovely end to my little Limoges trip.

River Walk

Pont Saint-Martial

Chapelle Saint-Aurélien

Limoges Library

Santiago de Compostela

Église Saint Pierre (St. Peter’s Church)

Gare de Limoges-Bénédictins (Railway Station)

O’Panda

French Resistance Museum

Oradour sur Glane (Bus Journey)

Oradour sur Glane

Rue de la Boucherie

Jean Burger

St. Michel des Lions

Musée National Adrien Dubouché

La Mie Câline

Limoges City Pass

Quiet Streets

Limoges Cathedral

Walk from Airport

July 30, 2025
Limoges – River Walk

[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix the broken image links]

Earlier in the week I thought it’d be a nice idea to walk from Pont Saint Martial along the river. I didn’t walk very far as it was too hot, but I’m sure it would have made for a rather picturesque walk in slightly cooler weather.

There were lots of fish in the river, and fortunately I didn’t see any snakes.

Fortunately there were numerous benches to sit on and look at the view as I couldn’t walk too far at a time in the heat.

Very peaceful (and if I haven’t mentioned it, very hot).

July 29, 2025
Limoges – Pont Saint-Martial

[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix some broken image links]

One of the most beautiful pieces of medieval architecture still remaining in Limoges is the Pont Saint-Martial, which crossed the Vienne river. The stone bridge dates to 1215 and it replaces a much earlier Gallo-Roman bridge. Sadly this was torn down on the orders of King Henry II, showing just what a long history of trouble making there has been between France and England. All now resolved of course….

A view down the river of what I think is the Pont Neuf bridge.

A view from the bridge, which today carries only pedestrians and cyclists.

The bridge is one of the few crossing points for pedestrians over the river in this area, although it’s a rather lovely walk along the river bank.

There’s a photo on the river bank of what the bridge used to look like. Which is pretty much what it looks like now….

The bridge became a listed historic monument in 1908, and it’s sort of noticeable from the photo how different the lengths of span are along the structure.

July 29, 2025
Limoges – Chapelle Saint-Aurélien

[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix the broken image links]

I visited the Rue de la Boucherie earlier in the week, but this chapel wasn’t open at the time. It was originally constructed in the fifteenth century to replace an earlier church nearby, which has long been lost under other buildings. It was later closed down during the French Revolution, and purchased by the guild of butchers.

The church is small, evident by that I’m actually standing in the entrance to the building to take this photo. It’s brighter than the photo suggests, although it still feels an intimate place of worship.

The altar, which is where the historic relics owned by the church are kept for safety.

Above are two of the statues in the church.

A photo taken looking back towards the entrance, with the spiral staircase on the right and the balcony above.

July 29, 2025
Limoges – Église Saint Pierre (St. Peter’s Church)

[I originally posted this in July 2018, but reposted it in July 2025 to fix the broken image links]

This is one of the two churches in the central part of the city, and it’s a colourful and, to me, confusing building. The cathedral is wider than the nave is long, so the internal structure feels rather different to the usual layout. Looking at an overhead photo of the cathedral, the standard church design is visible, but the aisles have just been made particularly substantial.

The church was mostly constructed between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries in the Gothic style.

The organ at the end of the nave.

The nave cuts across the centre of this photo, with the pulpit visible on the right.

Jean Baptiste Hippolyte Delor, a local church official in the nineteenth century.

Some of the beautiful stained glass in the church. Unfortunately, since I didn’t bring my camera on this trip, the colours aren’t very vibrant in these photos.

A very beautiful church with numerous paintings, statues and decorative items which are on display. It feels much less of a touristy location than the other church and the cathedral in Limoges, making it harder for me to get an understanding of the building.

July 29, 2025
Limoges – Limoges Library

[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix the broken image links]

The rather beautiful Limoges library and despite the open plan nature of the building, it’s quiet and peaceful with a real feeling of space.

This is what irritates me slightly, seeing libraries overseas which are much better than those in the UK. Norwich library is one of the worst libraries I’ve experienced, it’s usually full of people shouting, there are usually examples of how users have evaded the filters on library computers and there are rarely chairs available. So, on that last point, Limoges library has no issues with having space for users.

There is a relatively large section of English books, as well a reference section for English books. In addition, there are many books in German and other languages, which is something that I haven’t seen from Norfolk Library Service.

Although of little interest to me, the music and DVD section was substantial, and was stretched across the top floor of the building. It was all neatly presented and everything seemed to be in a coherent alphabetical order.

But most of all, so many lovely books!

There was also a little exhibition that had been put together in the foyer area. It’s explaining how books are preserved.

Sometimes covers need replacing, or the book putting in a box, although mould in vellum covers is far more challenging. Having listened to the conservators at Norfolk Record Office, it is though something which can be achieved with some excellent results.

Books in need of repair.

This display was just showing the types of repair that were needed, from pasting a page back in to ensuring that the covers are secured.

July 29, 2025
Limoges – Santiago de Compostela

[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix the broken image links]

Limoges is on the route of the pilgrim route that is known as Santiago de Compostela, a path which has become much more popular in recent years. I hope to do some of this path in 2019, but for a much shorter distance than the expedition that some pilgrims, and walkers, take.

The route of the camino is marked with scallop shells and there are many of these on the streets of Limoges. The French word for scallop is ‘Coquille Saint Jacques’, it is thought because pilgrims used to collect the shells towards the end of their pilgrimage.

There’s more information about the Vezelay Way, which goes through Limoges, at https://www.caminoways.com/introduction-to-the-vezelay-way.

July 28, 2025
Limoges – Gare de Limoges-Bénédictins (Railway Station)

[I originally posted this in July 2018, but have reposted it to fix some broken image links]

I always like visiting railway stations, just to see the array of food options they have, and of course to check the design and heritage of the building. My first impressions of approaching this railway station were positive because it looks different and interesting, although I had to climb a lot of steps to get to it, which wasn’t ideal given the hot weather (I may have mentioned that it’s too hot). The tracks for the station are underneath the concourse, so the station itself is elevated to a higher level, and hence the steps.

The side view of the city’s railway station, which is an interesting mix of architectural styles and designs. The current building dates to the 1920s, although there has been a station on this site since 1856. It takes its name from the Benedictine monastery that was located here but which was seized and closed down during the French Revolution.

The large central dome of the railway station giving it an airy and bright feel.

A photo of the grand interior, and another from the 1920s when the railway station opened. I should have had the foresight to find the original photo first before taking my one, then I could have taken them from the wrong place. But I didn’t, so they’re from different angles.

The information board, with the various destinations which are served, including Paris. Personally I think the prices for walk-up fares are too expensive for local journeys, but there are cheaper fares for longer distance journeys if pre-booked.

The railway station is known for its Art Nouveau and Art Deco designs, and the tower is one of the city’s landmarks. However, this was badly damaged in 1998 when some maintenance work went a bit wrong and they set fire to it.

The clocks on the main tower were also reportedly set two minutes in advance for some considerable time, an aid to ensure that passengers had a little more time than they might have thought. A clever trick, but they no longer offer this service to passengers….

The name of the railway station is clearly visible in stone above the central arch of the frontage.

There were once different section for departing and arriving passengers, although these entrances are no longer used.

Some decorative elements to the architecture. It’s certainly a beautiful and grand building, although the main restaurant is currently being closed down and I’m not sure what’s replacing it. At the moment there are what appear to be endless vending machines across the concourse, although these are clearly well used.

There is insufficient seating for the number of passengers using the station, or certainly, there was when I’ve walked in. It’s not the most functional of railway stations in that regard, but the signage all looked clear. There is apparently still a tunnel underneath the concourse, although now blocked off at one end, which was used by the Germans during the Second World War.

July 28, 2025