Villas in Limousin

Beynat and Turenne suit families near Brive, Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne suits river days, and Treignac suits lakes and walking. Most of our Limousin homes are in southern Corrèze, a short drive from Brive, with a handful on the Millevaches plateau and in the Creuse. Prices are lower than in the Dordogne next door, but you will need a car.

Where

Villas: 22
From, per week: £300
Cheapest month: September
Nearest airports: Limoges has the most UK flights, at around an hour and a half from London, and suits the north and the plateau. Brive is closest to Beynat, Turenne and Beaulieu, but had no London flights in summer 2026, so check before booking. Bergerac, around two hours from Brive, is the fallback.

Where to stay in Limousin

Beynat and Aubazine (south of Tulle)

Beynat has the most homes we list in Limousin. It sits on wooded hills between Brive and Beaulieu, close to the Étang de Miel, a lake with a summer beach and supervised swimming. Aubazine, around 20 minutes north, has a Cistercian abbey and the Canal des Moines, a 12th-century watercourse with a cliffside footpath beside it. Brive airport is about 30 minutes away.

Best for: Families who want a swimming lake and a short transfer

Not for you if: You want a town on foot: Beynat is a village and the shops are basic.

Turenne, Meyssac and Queyssac-les-Vignes (the red villages)

Turenne is a hill village under a castle tower, with views across to the Dordogne valley. Meyssac and nearby Collonges-la-Rouge are built of dark red sandstone, and Queyssac-les-Vignes is a wine village above the river, where a little vin paillé is still made. Rocamadour and the Gouffre de Padirac, both in the Lot, are 40 minutes to an hour south. Brive airport is 30 to 45 minutes away.

Best for: Couples who like old villages, markets and day trips into the Lot

Not for you if: You want quiet lanes in August: Collonges-la-Rouge fills with coach parties.

Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne and Camps-Saint-Mathurin-Léobazel

Beaulieu is a small riverside town on the Dordogne with a Romanesque abbey church, whose carved doorway shows the Last Judgement. Canoe hire and gravel river beaches make it the liveliest base in southern Corrèze in summer. Camps-Saint-Mathurin-Léobazel is a wooded hill village between the Dordogne and Cère gorges, about 20 minutes east. Brive airport is roughly an hour from either.

Best for: River swimmers, canoeists and anglers

Not for you if: You need a fast route to the airport: the lanes from here are slow.

The upper Dordogne gorges (St-Martin-la-Méanne, Marcillac-la-Croisille)

The Dordogne runs through a chain of dammed gorges here, wooded and steep. Saint-Martin-la-Méanne is close to the Tours de Merle, a cluster of ruined medieval towers on a rock above the Maronne, with shows and events in summer. Marcillac-la-Croisille is beside the Lac de la Valette reservoir, with a beach and walking trails. Tulle is about 30 minutes away and Brive airport around an hour.

Best for: Walkers and families who want lakes and forest

Not for you if: You want vineyards and stone villages: this is reservoir and forest country.

Treignac and Meyrignac-l'Église (the Millevaches plateau)

Treignac is a stone town on a bend of the Vézère, with an old bridge and the Lac des Bariousses for swimming just upstream. Meyrignac-l'Église is a hamlet south of the Monédières hills, near the village of Corrèze. The Millevaches regional park is heather, peat bog and conifer plantation, with good marked walks and very few people. Limoges and Brive airports are each about an hour away.

Best for: Walkers and cyclists who want open moorland and cool summers

Not for you if: You want heat: the plateau is higher and wetter than the Brive basin.

Pompadour and the north (Saint-Sulpice-les-Feuilles, Pionnat, La Brionne)

Arnac-Pompadour, west of Brive, has the château given to Madame de Pompadour and one of France's national studs, with racing in summer. The others are a long way north. Pionnat and La Brionne are villages near Guéret in the Creuse, close to the Monts de Guéret wolf park, and Saint-Sulpice-les-Feuilles is in northern Haute-Vienne, near the A20. Limoges airport is under an hour from most of them.

Best for: Riders and anyone who wants rural France well away from the crowds

Not for you if: You want a cluster of sights: these homes are far apart and well spread out.

When to go to Limousin

June to mid-September is the main season, when the lakes have lifeguards and the rivers are warm enough for swimming and canoeing. July and August bring French families and the summer markets, but the area rarely feels crowded outside Collonges-la-Rouge and Beaulieu. The plateau is cooler and wetter than southern Corrèze. Autumn is good for walking, with chestnuts and ceps in October. From November many restaurants keep short hours and lake beaches close.