Your contact:	Penelope Stenning
Telephone:	+ 33-(0)5 65 27 12 45
Email:	Click here to contact L'Auditoire

L'Auditoire was built in the Middle Ages as the Auditoire de Justice, or Courthouse, for the medieval town of Turenne. It’s now a finely restored three-storey townhouse with exposed stone walls, high ceilings with wooden beams, and a huge open cantou fireplace, with a wood-burning stove. It comfortably accommodates six guests with all the features needed for a relaxing holiday. As a new service for guests, chefs who once ran a renowned English restaurant can visit to cook and serve a meal for up to eight to the highest standard.

L’Auditoire is situated in the middle of old Turenne, which was built on a hilltop for defensive reasons. The house is situated at the foot of the cliff-face on which the château stands, and is just above a fortified arched gateway of the town’s ancient ramparts. Directly opposite is the 17th century Chapelle des Capucines. With its lofty situation, the house has spectacular views across the rolling fields and forests of the region.

Three entrances on three different levels lead into the house. The first gives access to the completely modern and fully equipped kitchen, which has a wood-panelled dining area to one side. The second entrance opens into the living room, which connects to the kitchen through a glazed door. The living room was once the ancient courtroom, when it rose the full height of the building. It is now divided into two floors, and the deep armchairs and sofa give it an intimate and cosy atmosphere, but the great open “cantou” fireplace and stone features show the room’s former imposing scale.

A wooden staircase from the living room leads upstairs to the middle floor. The third of the house’s three entrances also enters onto the middle floor from an external stone staircase on the other side of the house. The romantically furnished master bedroom has a built-in wood burning fire and large windows giving a view over the 17th century Chapel. Also on this floor are the two bathrooms and toilets, and a bedroom with another double bed. A spiral staircase leads upstairs to the top floor, where the third bedroom has twin beds. Part of this third floor offers ideal facilities for an artist's studio or a writer's garret.

Outside, the sunken courtyard can be reached from both the kitchen and living room. The courtyard enjoys good privacy, and gets plenty of sunlight. It’s a perfect spot to enjoy a barbecue outdoors in the summer. The owners live only 15 minutes away, know the area well, and are always delighted to help with any queries. They can also offer a service of leaving breakfast for the first day (or other food if required).

Special features:

• Credit cards accepted

The dramatic hilltop town of Turenne is a perfectly preserved site of medieval history. At that time, Turenne dominated hundreds of square miles of the surrounding countryside. The peak of the town gives a spectacular view as far as the neighbouring départements of Cantal and Lot, and of the Dordogne valley. Turenne has two bars, two restaurants at the foot of the village, a small tabac/épicerie, and a market every Thursday evening in the summer, which hosts local artisans and their produce. Bicycles can be rented from the tourist office at the bottom of the hill.

Outside of Turenne, itself a major attraction, visitors are within easy reach of some of the most perfectly preserved and endlessly fascinating medieval towns in France. These include Rocamadour, Martel, and Sarlat, all within a half hour’s drive, and villages such as Collonges-La-Rouge, which is entirely made of red stone, and was once a stop on the ancient pilgrimage route of Santiago de Compostela.

The famous cave painting at Lascaux are an easy excursion, as are the deep caves at Padirac, which has an underground lake through which visitors can journey by boat. Rising as far above the ground as the caves plunge below it are the numerous castles of the Dordogne dating from the Hundred Years War, such as Belcastel and Beynac.

There is an enormous variety of countryside around Turenne, from the steep hills of the Corrèze to the lush river valley of the Dordogne and the rugged “causse” of the Lot. The terrain is a utopia for walkers, cyclists and horse riders. Swimming is available in the many rivers, lakes, pools and water parks that are within a short drive. The large lake of Lac de Causse (around 20 minutes away) provides a huge range of water sports such as sailing, wind surfing and rowing. Canoeing is also possible there, but is more exciting on the Dordogne river, where canoes can be rented from different locations.

Fishing permits are readily available and there is a fishing lake just four kilometres away at Turenne-Gare. Several nearby riding stables, such as Chadenac, provide horse riding for beginners and experts alike. The nearest tennis courts are only 12 minutes away, while golfers have a choice of three local courses.

The area abounds in excellent local food markets and summer fêtes, and is world famous for its gastronomy. The town of Brive (20 minutes away) is reputed to have one of the best food markets in all of France. Summer is long and warm, preceded by a short early spring. Warm autumns with wonderful colours extend well into November. The long awaited Brive/ Souilliac airport is rumoured to be operational from the UK by June 2010.

The kitchen	The kitchen
The dining area	The living area
The master bedroom	The second bedroom
The main bathroom	The second bathroom
l'Auditoire, overlooking the countryside outside Turenne	The village of Turenne

Add our names to the long list of those nourished in mind and spirit while staying in this magical house and village. Merci et à bientôt.
John B. - Montgomery, Vermont, USA

We had a glorious Christmas week here at L'Auditoire. It is a lovely house in a lovely town. We attended Christmas mass, took long walks, spent hours by the fireplace as well as taking excursions to Les Ezies, Lascaux etc. The bedrooms are comfortably warm - plenty of bedding. You have decorated the house so nicely, and we appreciated all the holiday decor, especially the tree. Thank you.
Noah B. - Santa Cruz, California, USA

We called this our 'fairy tale' house. The location is breathtaking - atop a perfectly preserved medieval village, across from a 17th century chapel and just below the remains of a mighty chateau. There are stunning vistas in every direction, the night sky is splashed with stars and there are castles by the dozens throughout the region. It's quiet, the house is comfortable and modern, the fireplaces toasty and fun. We had a perfect retreat and would return in a heartbeat.
Virginia S. - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

The charm of the house had been apparent from the website photos but became real as we lived in the house and continued to find more things of interest. The charm of the old was balanced by the modern conveniences of the kitchen and bathrooms. Everything we needed to make our stay comfortable and enjoyable was there - evidence of the careful thoughtfulness of the owners. Sofa and chairs that invited curling up in, pretty dishes that made the food look good, even a cooler so that the shopping at the open air market could be followed by sightseeing expeditions. The friendliness of the local residents, the beauty of the village and the views on our walks, the peace, quiet and absolute lack of traffic by the house combined with the charm of the house itself made for a restful haven. We enjoyed most of our two months in France but L'Auditoire was special.
Bill & Joyce B. - Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Driving toward Turenne was magical. There it was rising out of the clouds. We just couldn't believe our luck to have chosen this place. We wound up the narrow streets to find the house which was much more than we expected, beautiful and French. Everything was supplied, we just had to go to the markets for food (great). The village is not commercialised as sadly a lot of the nearby villages are and this made Turenne an exception. We only stayed seven days but let us say we could have stayed longer as there was so much to see in this area. Thank you Penny and Kevin for you wonderful hospitality.
Trudy and John F - Auckland, New Zealand

We had a great time taking in all the local attractions and markets. It was a tremendous place to stay with a fairytale location. It was more than any of us had expected. We will return here the next vacation.
Anne McK. - Arizona, USA

It is not often that a place is so much better than youd imagined but this definitely is - magic!
Anthony F - Victoria, Australia

A year has passed since our stay at LAuditoire and the vivid images and perfumes and colors and music of this extraordinary week in Turenne live on. We recall the splendour of the pasture in the morning as we opened the shutters and the feeling of safety and protection through the violence of the thunderstorm at night followed by the warmth of the noon sun and the unexpected, a hot air rising high above our heads. Many occasions in our lives pass us by and only a few we wish to remember dearly. In our lives our stay in Turenne is one of them. We can never thank you enough for opening to our family the doors of such a dream house.
Pascale N. - Montreal, Quebec, Canada