La Souterraine is an area of farming and light industry, comprising the town and a few small hamlets.

It is situated some 20 miles (32 km) west of Guéret, at the junction of the D1, D912, D951 and the N145 roads.

The small river Sédelle, a tributary of the Creuse, flows through the town.

There is evidence of pre-Roman occupation here, attested by the discovery of Stone Age tools and a menhir.

The name of the town, translating as ‘subterranean’, comes from the underground parts of the church, the crypt.