Limoges is the prefecture town of the Haute-Vienne, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, in west-central France. With around 130 000 inhabitants, it is the main city of the historic Limousin. It spreads over the hillsides above the Vienne, the river that crosses the city and is spanned by the medieval bridges of Saint-Étienne and Saint-Martial. Its position at the junction of the A20 motorway and a rail network towards Paris, Bordeaux and Toulouse makes it a regional anchor point, halfway between the Massif Central and the Aquitaine Basin.
The city built its reputation on the arts of fire. Capital of porcelain and enamel, Limoges still bears the mark in the Émailleurs district, in the Adrien-Dubouché national museum and in the 328 porcelain panels that adorn the covered market halls. The cathedral of Saint-Étienne, the Cité district around it and the Château district, the economic and retail heart, define the centre. Limoges-Bénédictins station, with its campanile and its dome, remains one of the city's most emblematic landmarks.
Limoges today rests on its university, on the Dupuytren teaching hospital to the north, on its multimedia library and on a network of cultural and sports facilities, including the Beaublanc sports park, home of the Limoges CSP basketball club. The Ester technology park, to the east, hosts companies and laboratories. The city bus and trolleybus network serves every district, from the centre to the large estates of the north. That setting, combined with prices among the most moderate of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine prefectures, shapes an accessible property market, both for buying and for investing.
