La Ribière Sud

This is a peaceful place for rambles and bike rides, including the 13-kilometre railway line bike trail from Chalus to Oradour-sur-Vayres. Once at Oradour, drop into the tourist office for info on hikes, bike rides and other activities in the surrounding Périgord-Limousin Regional Nature Park and the Haute-Vienne. More countryside hikes and bike rides leave from Champagnac-la-Rivière and Bussière-Galant, each about 10 minutes' drive from the site and each with viewsome town centres to potter around before or after. For historic houses and castles – and more scenic strolls, Château de Châlus-Maulmont, former home to Richard the Lionheart, is a mere five minutes' drive from the site and 15th-century Château de Brie and its 320 hectares of parkland is within 15. And then on to porcelain city Limoges, for riverside ambles alongside the Vienne, a potter around its museums and cathedral, and – quite possibly – the picking up of souvenirs to bear proudly and boastfully home. Park Zoo Reynou castle and wildlife park is 35 minutes away.