Turenne, France; a beautiful village in the Dordogne Valley

Visit Turenne

Turenne is a village in the Dordogne valley in the Correze department. It is about 30 km south-east of Terrasson-Lavilledieu and 15km south of Brive-la-Gaillarde.

Explore Turenne

North of the Dordogne review: Turenne is a beautiful village which winds uphill to a castle with lovely views over the village and the surrounding countryside.

Turenne

Turenne is a village in the Correze department but almost on the border with both the Dordogne and the Lot departments. It was one of the last fiefdoms to exist in France under the Viscounts of Turenne.

Turenne is a medieval village with lots to see. Pick up a map from the tourist office and follow the guided circuit to make sure you don't miss anything.

At the heart of the village is the Place du Marché where the ancient halle, which no longer exists, was once the place of the weekly grain market.

Around the square and down the Rue Droit are many imposing buildings built in the 15th and 16th centuries end embellished with towers and turrets and other architectural features.

The Rue Droit leads upwards towards the chateau. The chateau sits on a plateau at the top of a steep slope. There are two towers remaining. The Caesar tower is a round tower built in the 13th century to receive signals from relay towers in the west and north.

The keep was built in the 14th century. Most of the other buildings were dismantled in the 18th century when the Viscountcy was sold.

The castle was not large enough to hold all the Viscount's staff and so they were housed in the upper part of the village surrounded by a defensive wall.

Some of these walls still exist along with one of the three original gateways through the wall.

Many of the noble houses in the upper part of the village were destroyed in the revolution but you can still see some coats of arms.

Also to see is the chapel and Capuchin convent built in the 17th century. This later became a boys school and then the town hall.

The Collegiate Church of Our Lady of Saint Pantaleon also dates from the 17th century. It sits on the edge of the village in quite a solitary position.

The interior is very simple though with an elaborate golden altarpiece. The stained glass windows were originally clear but were replaced with coloured glass in the 18th century.

Turenne is one of France's "most beautiful villages" and whilst it is not in the Dordogne department it is so close and so lovely we included it on our site.

Turenne

Places to visit near to Turenne

Turenne is one of a cluster of "most beautiful villages" all very close to each other. All are well worth a visit. Our personal favourite is Collonges-la-Rouge. But also lovely are Curemonte, Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne, Martel, Carennac, Autoire and Loubressac .

The superb village of Rocamadour is also not far away and should be on everyone's list of places to visit.