Bellac is where the French author Jean Giraudoux, writer of L'Apollon de Bellac, was born in 1882. His house has been turned into a museum.
Geography
Bellac lies 45 km (28 mi) northwest of Limoges at the confluence of the rivers Gartempe and Vincou [fr], in the Department of Haute-Vienne. Poitiers is 70 km (43 mi) to the northwest, and Angoulême 100 km (62 mi) to the southwest. The hills known as the Monts de Blond [fr] lie immediately to the south.
Bellac is 30 km (19 mi) west of the A20 Limoges-Orléans motorway, and lies at a crossroads where the RN145 crosses the RN147. Both these roads had been designated part of the Route Centre-Europe Atlantique [fr] (RCEA) and were thus at risk of being upgraded to motorway. However, the latest thinking is that the RCEA will be re-routed from La Souterraine south down the A20 to Limoges and then via upgraded to the N520/N141 routes to Angoulême and the west.