Coordinates: 45°39′21″N 0°58′53″E / 45.6558°N 0.9814°E / 45.6558; 0.9814

Châlus (Occitan: Chasluç) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in western France.

Châlus' is where Richard I of England was wounded by a crossbow bolt and killed as a result of the wound. It was shot by Pierre Basile while Richard I was besieging the castle in 1199.

In 1275-1280, Géraud de Maumont built a second castle, Châlus Maulmont, in front of Châlus Chabrol. Chateau Châlus Maulmont was damaged extensively during the French Revolution, and was dismantled in 1790, then used as a prison. The tower of Châlus Maulmont collapsed on March 20, 1994.

By 1745, the first map, in the 1/8628th, of Châlus is established to appear in the atlas of Trudaine for the majority of Limoges, with the portion of road at the level of La-Ribière going to Châlus of the Big road from Limoges to Périgueux and with the portion of road reaching the majority of Périgord.

T. E. Lawrence, who would later be known as Lawrence of Arabia, celebrated his 20th birthday at the former Grand Hôtel du Midi, Place de la Fountain, on August 16, 1908, whilst tracing the route of Richard I of England, on a cycling tour of France in preparation for his thesis: The Influence of the crusades on the European military architecture at the end of the XIIth century.

Raymond Poulidor (born 15 April 1936, Masbaraud-Mérignat, Creuse, France), is a former professional bicycle racer. He was known as the eternal second, because he finished the Tour de France in second place three times, and in third place five times, including his final Tour at the age of 40. Despite his consistency, he never wore the Yellow Jersey in 14 Tours, of which he completed 12.

His career was distinguished, despite coinciding with two great riders - Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx. This underdog position may have been the reason Poulidor was a favourite of the public.

Raymond Poulidor was the son of Martial and Maria Poulidor, small farmers outside the hamlet of Masbaraud-Mérignat, where the Creuse region east of Limoges meets the département of Haute-Vienne. He was born in the same year that his eventual directeur sportif, Antonin Magne, became world road race champion. Poulidor began working on the farm where, he remembered, "the soil was poor and we had to work hard; farming incomes were poor." The need for working hands on the farm meant he left school at 14 even though he wanted to continue his studies. Local entertainment went little further than village fairs, with coconut shies, sack-races, competitions for bottles of home-made jam... and inter-village cycle races.