Things to see and do Berry

The organ of the cathedral has changed many times over the centuries: Reference was made to the first organ in the early 1986 th century and the most recent was inaugurated in by Bishop Plateau. Burned in 1599, it was rebuilt and saved narrowly during the Revolution. With its 50 games, 4 keyboards and its German pedals, it allows you to play the organistique repertoire in full since the th century. The buffet retains the original elements of this time. The th century gives her a beam with the musicians and the th century his gallery. Completely restored, the organ always sounds under the vaults of the cathedral. Many concerts and activities take place during the year. The Festival of the Very Rich Hours of the Berry Organ showcases this great organ by inviting prestigious concertistes to play solo, chamber music, or with an orchestra.

It is a massive church of the xiiith century, located in the heart of the Auron district, the only parish church of Bourges to have been built in Gothic style like the cathedral Saint-Étienne, which it is contemporary. And like St. Stephen's Cathedral, she doesn't have transept, but an ambulatory with radiant chapels. Dedicated in 1230 by the Archbishop of Bourges, his construction would follow a miracle. Saint Antoine de Padua was passing in Bourges (around 1225), and the mule of a Jew, named Guillard, turned away from his oats to kneel in front of the holy man. The owner of the mule then converted to the field and devoted all his money to the construction of the church.

To discover, a few stained glass windows, xve and xvith century frescoes, still partially visible. Jacques Cujas, professor of law at the University of Bourges, was buried in 1590 in one of the north chapels of the church, a monument that deserves to be visited, especially in addition to a visit to the cathedral.

Remembering his peasant childhood, the plaster version of Ernest Nivet dates back to 1912. He is sometimes a little too besieged by mad grass.

In the Neoroman style, this church was built on Dauvergne's plans, inspired by the church of Issoire in the Puy-de-Dôme, and completed in 1882. A golden virgin of 6 meters high is perched on the dome and its bell tower is 50 meters. Inside, a series of Girault-Dupin capitals and columns of the veiled granite chorus. A Pietà of the sixteenth century was reinstalled in a chapel.

Located in the city center, on the square, at the entrance to the pedestrian street, this tourist office offers you a very pleasant welcome. The documentation is rich, both for accommodation and for activities to be done or curiosities to visit in a wide range. The staff is attentive and will be able to advise you according to your interests. Good plans will be offered for exit. Guided tours are offered in the summer.

The museum store retains a well-restored industrial decor (metal staircase and wide openings). It offers the sale of ties, fantasy headlines, t-shirts, very nice fabric toys. The theme of fashion is also declined in book books and books. Exhibitions, for their part, almost always provide quality publications on fashion, clothing, patchwork and a wide selection of postcards.

Dating from the beginning of the fifteenth century, the church was largely restored in the nineteenth century in the neo-Gothic style. We admire his high arrow added and the arch of the edges of his nef. Located in the city center, in the pedestrian street, it is the only place of worship of the inhabitants. It is also open for concerts. The choir was adorned with beautiful windows of the nineteenth century, carried out by the atelier Charles Lévêque de Beauvais (the same workshop worked for the church of Prissac).

The graceful chapel was built at the end of the fifteenth century. In front of you, you can admire a beautiful door consisting of arches that go from colonnades to torsado, and depreciate into a flowered rod. The bell again is also worth a look. The chapel is used today for exhibitions and concerts, especially in the beautiful season. We have a beautiful view on the graceful side from the other shore of Creuse.

Facing Saint Benoît chapel, this ancient building houses the municipal music school. Built in the Renaissance, it consists of a semi-hexagonal semi-hexagonal turret and an ogivale door with ornamented arc. Turn around to admire both sides of the building. In the sixteenth century it was built to serve as a college, then a prison occupied the places at the end of the eighteenth century. It was then that he was named «old prison».

The hotel de Scevolles is one of the beautiful old buildings of the city. In a large paved courtyard, overlooking a garden at the door of the covered market, there is an old classic well with its pulley, as well as a whistle above the door. Surround the wrought iron grid that opens onto the garden, a medallion in Scevolles' family. This place is responsible for history!

The priory Saint-Genitour is built by the end of the eleventh century by the powerful Abbey abbey. It is around this building that the low city begins to develop. In the thirteenth century, the chapel of the priory, extended from a nef, became the parish church. The church then enlarges with chapel additions: one in the fifteenth century, two others in the xviie and the last in the xixe, together with a wind. Admire the Romanesque chorus and the grotesques that finish truncated colonnants, gothic chapels and relics of Saint Genour. A very large picture recently restored, Caesar's Denier, is hung in the transept. This is the old copy of a work by Pierre Paul Rubens.

It is the ancient church of the Convent of the Recollets, built from 1623. It is very simple and has good acoustics. The square bell dates from the twentieth century. Its furniture is particularly remarkable: It has a chair and a retable of the eighteenth century, another retable of the seventeenth century and the famous sockets containing the relics of the «Holy Saints». Beautiful stained glass of the twentieth century represents the legend of the Holy Saints and the martyrdom of Saint Etienne. Notice the poilu hosted by Christ.

Former possession of the Abbey Abbey, it houses until 1269 the relics of the Monk Cyran, the founder of the Abbey of Brenne. Near the Naillac Castle, it dominates the Creuse. It has all the purity and simplicity of Romanesque churches: a rectangular nef, a right choir, a square bell and a tile cover. The interior is clear and we are struck by its elevation. On the west wall, you can admire a painting illustrating the three dead and three vivos. This theme is also located in Antigny, close to Vienna or Prissac and Chavin in Indre. This decommissioned church serves local products in season.

Originally, it was the priory church. It is dated by the end of the eleventh century. Its portal without tympan is a pure product of the Romanesque style. The white stone is adorned with beautiful sculptures. The north portal and the west portal are decorated with geometric motifs (stars and recurring motifs). There are many capitals and softens. Recently cleaned, his bleach dazzled in the sun. The interior is darker. In the sober form, it still contains capitals with vegetal decor.

It's one of the most remarkable of the Lower Berry. You can see by far its square tower covered with shingles. Founded in the eleventh century, it is now composed of a unique nef, an abbey and two absidioles, a crypt and a fortified bell tower of the XIV century. Its chapels date from the fifteenth century, and its double-archivolte gateway is XII. The western carved portal and the nef capitals are interesting, as well as the whole nineteenth century stalemate, to the happy mercy. The church treasure contains very beautiful limousine enamels.

You cannot go to Gargilesse without discovering its church Notre-Dame, built in the xiith century stone stone. The crypt carries magnificent frescoes between xiie and the sixteenth century. Well lit, paintings fascinate their beauty. We admire an Adoration of the Mages, a Final Judgment, the Escape in Egypt, Saint Nicolas… In the choir, William de Naillac's famous gailer has been damaged by women's ill-treatment of children. The historical capitals of the 24 old people of the Apocalypse are very well preserved, although the church is very humid (the north wall is quite degraded). Several concerts are given each year in the church.

The regional park of La is among its cities the charming city of Blanc. His visit is rich in many sites to discover, including: its castle (Naillac Castle) with its 2 big dungeons, its museums (the Ecomuseum Ecomuseum and the house of friends of the white)… Of course the streets will be a great pleasure… So the visit of the Blanc is not finished!

The tourist office of Belâbre is located at the entrance to the campsite on the riverside. Julie informs you all year round about tourist events, accommodations and local activities. The tourist office also manages camping (24 locations, 5 chalets and camping grounds) and the various boat and canoe rentals, bicycles and mini golf. A cyberspace with wifi is available.

The Moulin de la Filature was in the Middle Ages a wheat mill and, in the nineteenth century, became a flax spinning that welcomed up to 400 workers in its most beautiful years. Today the mill has been restored and offers both an exhibition room (on the ground floor) and a show room (upstairs). The entertainment program is available on the website of the Tourist Office of Le Blanc. Humor, theater, dance run through the shows. It plays both Feydeau and Laurent Mauvignier. We hear Albin de la Simone or jazz. There are also games of theatrical improvization…

The covered wood bridge is a curiosity not to be missed: it is a unique building in France, classified as a historic monument. Realized in the middle of the nineteenth century, the covered bridge was well restored by the municipality of the Christian-Chabenet Bridge in 2001. This bridge, worthy of the film on the road to Madison, makes more think of the United States than France. He punctuates a pleasant walk on the edge of the Bouzanne. Long 20 m, the bridge is fully assembled by wooden ankles. The course has been shaken from the roundabout (at the exit of the village towards Argenton-sur-Creuse). Note the fun covered miniature bridge on this roundabout.

This observatory is located on the edge of a private pond near the hamlet of Blizon. It's one of the oldest ponds. it is covered with lilies. You can admire one of the last great rostrums in Brenne. There is a large colony of herons that nest on the spot. Birds that can be observed on this pond include many species of ducks, herons and magnets. Walks accompanied by the Maison de la Nature de Saint-Michel in Brenne. The Blizon Trail also allows you to discover this place alone.

Built just after the great fire of 1487, the Lallemant Hotel occupies several plots of land and spans the Gallo-Roman bastion that plunges the high city. It is the first Bourges building where the Renaissance style appears, still mixed with Gothic elements, hence its great architectural interest. This particular house was built for the family of Lallemant, rich ennobled traders, who have exercised important municipal loads, and have also been interested in alchemy in a less formal way: not to miss the hotel's oratory, whose ceiling to the 30 crafted casing may well represent the quest for philosopher's stone. The Hotel Lallemant, now owned by the city of Bourges, has been set up in the museum of Decorative Arts. The visit is free, an explanatory workbook is provided at the reception.

This is a long pedestrian street. There are many wooden houses but many are still to be renovated. The shops that border it are often independent and give it an unsubtyped character: shoe dealer, butcher, florist, house of tea and coffee, toy shop… Unfortunately, many of these family shops are closing their doors to allow them to place their place in caractère (banks, malls, real estate agencies…). The upper part, formerly named rue du Argent-d'Argent, has long lost its hostels, you-farriers, bourreliers, charron and horse dealers. Traffic was rare and slow. The calm and calm of the former Grand Rue d'Auron makes it pleasant to travel without a specific purpose.

The archbishops of Bourges are located on the south side of the cathedral from the th century. In the th century Bishop Phélypeaux de La Vrillière decided to make it a great palace. From the ambitious project led by the architect Pierre Bullet, only the south wing and the garden are made. To see this imposing building, the pavilion of La Vrillière, one can only imagine the prosperity of the archdiocese at that time. Inside, the rotating staircase hanging on the arch is adorned with statues and bas-reliefs representing the four evangelists. Following the separation of the Church and the State, this palace was ceded free of charge to the city of Bourges in 1909, which installed its municipal services and the library the following year. Since the construction of the new town hall (adjacent) in 1992, the old archiepiscopal palace still houses some municipal services, the Municipal Council Hall, the hall of honour, the weddings hall and the Best Workers'Museum in France.

One of the great pride of Bruère-Allichamps is undoubtedly to be the geographical center of France since 1797. A witness to this exceptional geographical situation, a large stone monument overfitted with the tricolor flag is set in the crossroads of the commune. It was the Duke of Béthune-Charost who had him installed in 1799. The exact situation in central France is, of course, the subject of scientific quarrels. Some believe that Bruère-Allichamps has not usurped its title, others are looking for Saulzais-le-Potier, about twenty kilometers south. Some ensure that the center of France is located in Saint-Amand Montrond, rue des Sighirs very exactly. The good news is that it is possible to visit these three places in half a day, since Saint-Amand is between Bruère and Saulzais. Not sure it helps to get an idea, but at least we'll be sure you've been in the center of France!

It is one of the few remains of the old Châteauroux. Encircling a paved alleyway that preserved its ancient charm, the door Saint Martin deserves the detour through its romantic spect. Preferably look on the side of Rue Descente-de-Ville. It is likely to represent the coat of arms of the city with its arcade in the full shredder and its tower. Restored in the sixteenth century, this door served as a prison until 1742.

In the twelfth century, it is one of the most important squares in Aquitaine, with a dungeon and two wings of buildings joining in square brackets. In 1778 Claude Dupin, George Sand's grandfather who was a tax collector, was located at Raoul Castle. Raoul Castle, which became a hotel of the prefecture under the Consulate, serves as a residence to the prefects until 1826. Starting in 1821, a new prefecture hotel was built next to the old castle. In 1880 the restoration of Raoul Castle was begun under the direction of the architect Dauvergne. It is now the property of the General Council, but its proximity to the hotel of the prefecture prevents visits. It is only occasionally open for exhibitions and for heritage days in September. Take it through the rue de l 'Indre, it overlooks the river impressively.

Built in the th century, it is located in Duperthuis street. His tower tower gives him the appearance of an old castle of fairy tales.

3 kilometers north of Prissac, the Château-Giron Castle is a beautiful manor house surrounded by a vast meadow. He belonged to Alain Giron, a companion of Joan of Arc. With two squares and two round towers, this harmonious xve century castle is reflected in a pond. It's a private stay that doesn't visit. In the park visible from the road, note a more recent chapel. In the church of the village, the castle is reproduced in the background on the stained glass of Saint-Louis.

Like most of the houses on Grande-Rue in the upper town, the house of the Friends of the White dates from the 15th century. It is a small museum of art and popular traditions that evokes daily life in the 19th and early 20th centuries. There is the reconstruction of a Berry interior, the craftsmanship of the clog and shoemakers, the washers, the apothecary, the school of Jules Ferry, the bicycles in memory of the Dilecta bicycle factory. There is also a new exhibition featuring the Blançois cycle industry and the Dilecta professional sports team. Passionate volunteers take visitors on a tour of the museum.

To discover Gargilesse, a village classified in the category of the Most Beautiful Villages of France, it is necessary to put its steps in those of George Sand who describes the most beautiful aspects in his book Promenade around a village and in his Journal de Gargilesse. In the summer, the tourist office is open all over the village, between the Ferme du Château and the church, in the pigeon house. The rest of the year, it is located in the postal agency.

Near the archeological museum you will find a well-preserved Gallo-Roman theater, the Théâtre du Virou. The building was built twice: in the first century first, then in the middle of the iie century, to create a larger space. We can still sit in the stands and admire the scene downstairs. In summer, performances are organized at the Festival des Mille-Aires. Costumed and masked troops like Gallo-Roman times replay pieces of ancient authors (Sophocles, Plaute). Access to the theater is only a guided tour with the visit of the museum of Argentomagus.

One of the most remarkable Benedictine monuments in the region, thanks to the quality of the sculpted decor of its sanctuary - monsters that clash with or bite the tail, birds with long shoulders, monstrous faces with the pointues ears… see also the tomb of Saint Sylvain - th century.

It has been in existence for a long time, as evidenced by a map of the late 1963 th century and was in service until. Today, you can stroll around the banks and watch the beautiful paddle wheel in a bucolic landscape.

This small Romanesque church of the th century, with circular apse, is breakthrough with three windows.

The nave is arched, wooden, with apparent entraits and four high glazed windows. Lighting the building every night.

It is located on an old track that linked Bourges to Nevers. A long time ago he was considered a Gallo-Roman bridge, but recently Jean Mesqui (Engineer and Pavement Engineer) said: «The local archives tell us that such small books, prey of inclement weather and floods, were constantly reconstructed… A refurbishment of the Congy Bridge took place in 1608.» At that time, the administration of the Bridges and Pavements, at the head of which Sully found himself (the strong man of the region), had demolished the old parapets of the bridge and substituted the stone stones; The contractor was a certain Nicolas Gauthier, and the case cost 630 pounds. '. It is not better to say and even though today this bridge jamming Vauvise leads nowhere, it does not prevent it from recently restored…