Things to see in Guéret

Guéret, historically the capital of the county of La Marche, has a compact centre of pedestrian streets, fountains and granite architecture. Civic buildings and an art and archaeology collection provide the main points of interest in town, while lakeside paths, a plant maze and the Chabrières forest extend a visit into the surrounding countryside.

Streets and squares in central Guéret

The pedestrian streets bring together granite houses and several of Guéret’s older monuments. These include the 17th-century Présidial, the Church of Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul with its prominent porch, and the Hôtel des Moneyroux. Fountains placed around the centre soften the formal stonework.

Place Bonnyaud is the city’s principal square. Its buildings include the blue-granite Hôtel de Ville and the 18th-century Hôtel Saint-François. The Fontaine des Trois Grâces, dating from 1885, is the city’s most monumental fountain. Shops, cafés and restaurants place the square within the everyday life of Guéret rather than apart from it.

Art, archaeology and the Sénatorerie gardens

The Musée d’Art et d’Archéologie occupies the 18th-century Hôtel de la Sénatorerie. Its broad collections cover local history as well as art from well beyond the Creuse. The holdings include champlevé enamels dating from the 12th to the 15th centuries, sculptures by Rodin and Camille Claudel, and paintings of the Creuse valley by Armand Guillaumin.

Egyptian antiquities sit alongside paintings from the Flemish, Italian and French schools, while a collection of edged weapons and firearms adds another subject. The surrounding Parc de la Sénatorerie is a public garden planted with mature trees, including unusual species. It provides a quieter counterpart to the museum rooms.

Hôtel des Moneyroux

Built during the 15th and 16th centuries, the Hôtel des Moneyroux is also known as the Château des Comtes de la Marche. Two Flamboyant Gothic buildings are joined by a turret, with mullioned windows and a carefully worked façade defining the exterior. Period furniture and Aubusson tapestries furnish some of the interior rooms. Access to working civic rooms should be checked locally before a visit.

Water and woodland outside the centre

Étang de Courtille is a leisure lake edged by walking and mountain-bike paths, with fitness routes around the water. Possible activities include canoeing, windsurfing, dinghy sailing, water cycling, swimming, mini-golf and roller skating; availability may vary.

The giant maze of the Monts de Guéret occupies a park of more than six hectares. Its route runs through a large plant maze, where themed question sheets direct participants towards different turns according to their answers. Other attractions in the park include a small farm, skill games and an educational area concerned with sustainable development.

In the Forêt de Chabrières, an animal park is devoted to wolves living in large semi-free enclosures. Paths provide observation points for Canadian wolves, including white and black animals, and European grey wolves. As with the leisure lake and maze, current opening arrangements and visitor activities are best confirmed before travelling.