France2024

The visit to this town was last minute, and until the evening before, completely unknown and unresearched by us. We had contemplated visiting Orleans, but we'd been there before, then Nevers, but it didn't have as much to see as we might have liked. Chateauroux was a pleasantly surprising little city. Right outside the train station is a museum dedicated to the former US military base there f om 1951 - 1967. We had no idea. The museum is just one room, and it was closed when we got there. However, there were people there who were accepting some exhibit material from a man who had been the assistant commissary manager. Obviously they let us in, very happy to have some Americans visiting. They had some nice exhibits and interesting information.
From there, we traveled into town a couple blocks and had lunch at an Italian restaurant. We discovered it's a local chain, as we had eaten at the one in Bourges when we arrived. It's a great atmosphere with really good food. After lunch, we walked to the closed chateau the town is named for. The prefecture owns the building and keep it closed to the public. A bit of a bust, but we were able to walk through town and stroll in a really beautiful public park system along the river. A visit of the large church, not a cathedral, though cathedral sized, and a coffee finished our visit. We decided to try the bus system to get back. It worked pretty well and was comfortable enough. It got us back to Bourges in about the same amount of time as the train would have.Read more