Curemonte: a three-castle town

The walk into Curemonte offers a lovely view of the village.

In return for parking a few hundred meters outside of town, we are treated to a lovely view of the village of Curemonte on our approach. Curemonte, located in the Corrèze department about 35 km south of Brive-la-Gaillard and 62 km northeast of Sarlat-la-Canéda, is an official plus beau village, and we are not surprised by this distinction. What it lacks in amenities (I note only one café/bar), it makes up for in unassuming charm and views of the Sourdoire and Maumont valleys.

A blue-shuttered home in Curemonte

Glycine hang from a home in Curemonte.

Our path through the center of this ridge-top village takes us past three castles: Château de Plas, Château de Saint-Hilaire and Château de la Johannie. The châteaux are all private and can’t be visited. A “noble house” and its adjacent contemporary garden have a Patrimoine Français designation. Just across the road is the covered market — a former corn exchange — that contains a cross from the 16th century.

One of Curemonte’s three castles

The altarpiece in Curemonte’s Église Saint-Barthélemy
is from 1672.

Curemonte’s covered market hall contains a cross
from the 16th century.

This contemporary garden in Curemonte and its ‘noble house’
is an official Patrimoine Français site.

Here’s a fun fact: Raymond de Curemonte participated in the first crusade of the Hundred Years’ War alongside the count of Toulouse and/or the viscount of Turenne in 1096.

And another: The French novelist Colette took refuge in Curemonte at the home of her daughter during World War II.

Looking across the valley from Curemonte