Vieux Aubusson (Old Town)

Aubusson lies in a deep valley of the river Creuse, in the Creuse department in central France, and its old town is shaped by the river and by the craft that has made it famous. The tapestry industry, which has been established in the town since at least the fifteenth century and is shared with the neighbouring town of Felletin, shaped the quarters on the banks, where workers lived close to the workshops and dyers' yards. The soft water of the Creuse was good for dyeing wool, and the weavers' houses and workshops lined the water. Today the old town is compact and rewards a slow walk of an hour or two, with the added interest of seeing tapestry looms at work in workshops that open to visitors.

The centre of the old quarter is the Pont de la Terrade, a stone bridge of the seventeenth century that crosses the river and links the two sides of the town. It once joined the district where the workers lived with the area of the workshops, and it is the best point from which to see the town, with the houses rising steeply above the water and the green hills beyond. Close to the bridge stands the Châtelet de la Terrade, a medieval fortified gate and remnant of the old defences, and the remains of the castle of the viscounts of Aubusson, which dominated the town from the eleventh century.

The streets above the river have houses from several periods. Timber-framed houses of the fifteenth century survive in some lanes, with their upper floors projecting over the street, and there are stone mansions of later centuries. The most unusual building is the Maison à Rocaille, a house whose façade is decorated with rockwork, a form of fanciful imitation of natural stone and grottoes that was fashionable in the nineteenth century. The Place d'Espagne, with its fountain, is a pleasant spot, and several buildings from the early twentieth century in Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles, built when the tapestry industry thrived, show the town's later prosperity.

The most interesting stops are connected to tapestry. The Cité internationale de la tapisserie, a short distance from the old centre, houses the Musée National de la Tapisserie, with a collection that goes from medieval times to modern work, including pieces designed by twentieth-century artists. The Maison de la Tapisserie and the weaving workshops, the ateliers, offer demonstrations and sell tapestries and rugs. Aubusson tapestry was recognised by UNESCO in 2009 as part of the intangible heritage of humanity. On market days the Marché d'Aubusson brings local life to the streets.

The area has been inhabited for a very long time. A hillfort of the Iron Age, the Camp des Chatres, overlooks the town, and the Gallo-Roman period left traces too. The old town is quiet and little visited compared with better-known places, which is part of its charm. There is no fee to walk the streets, but museums and workshops have their own opening times, so ask at the tourist office. The visit suits lovers of textiles, history and quiet small towns.