As with other towns in these pages, I was visiting here because online I saw some reasonable and interesting properties for sale in the area. When I mentioned the town to French acquaintances, I got different reactions: “I don’t think you’ll like it; it was an army base for years…” and “Oh yes, lots going on there.” We must all see for ourselves, mustn’t we? Off I went one day, from Vierzon.
When Margaret and I were roaming around the Touraine – how can it be nearly 9 years ago!? – I thought the areas on the Indre river were particularly sweet. Too quiet, but lovely. And Châteauroux is, at least, the capital of the département of Indre (which touches on our old touring zone) so is much more imposing than the little hamlets we saw.
When I first left the train station, I felt the place was a bit sad. Well, that’s hardly rare, right by a station. And a few blocks on I saw it is a substantial town and yes, seems to have a lot going on. My conclusion: not love at first sight, but if I found a good property around here I’d give it serious consideration.
I share my look around the center of town.
Below, a look at the variety of restaurants and a few shops. It’s not all quaint old buildings or elaborate post-Revolution structures – there are modern malls and plazas, but I didn’t find them interesting to photograph. There is an indoor food market (Les Halles) that wasn’t especially large, but which had a wide enough range of produce, fish, baked goods, cheeses … everything you expect to find, as well as a small cafe from one of the vendors.
I did go into Église Saint-André de Châteauroux, the church seen in the header image, which belongs to the Archdiocese of Bourges.
As an aside, Châteauroux-Déols Air Base was closed in 1967 during DeGaulle’s presidency. There is plenty of history online about the two facilities that were used in wartime and during the Cold War.