Indre: the Agat d'iau, the Berrichon dialect and the Brenne

Portraits 2 Passages Indre takes you to the Berry region, and more precisely to the Indre department! This time it’s Claire and her son Hadrien who join the adventure. Both are real adventurers, as they chose to set off without a tent and on a very tight budget! On the programme: the Brenne park, village festivals, George Sand’s house and plenty of Berrichon dialect!

The route map

Words and pictures tell the emotion, but geography tells the effort. To see the full scale of the journey and its detours, explore the exact route they took and where each challenge was located.

Good to know: you can interact with the map to show or hide the challenges and routes. Hide the list of challenges if you want to try them yourself!

The challenges

Can you take on these cultural challenges like they did? Test your knowledge of the region with the riddles below.

The Pond — Amantine Aurore Lucile Dupin chose a pen name under which she would become a very famous novelist, playwright, letter writer, literary critic, women's rights activist and journalist. Go and stand in front of her house, somewhere in the region.

This is the Château de Nohant, an 18th-century manor in Nohant-Vic, in the south of the Berry (30 km south-east of Châteauroux). It belonged to George Sand. Today it is open to the public, and its garden is listed as a “jardin remarquable” (remarkable garden)!

The Stroll — Ebbes the Noble gave it its name — go and “tazonner” in this green haven.

This riddle contains a word from the Berrichon dialect! “Tazonner” means “to stroll”. The riddle invites you to find a park linked to Ebbes the Noble: the Vallée d'Ebbes, a natural area a stone's throw from Châteauroux town centre.

It's Paudy they find — Find this keep, 35 m high and now standing alone, which suggests it was once well surrounded. In the Middle Ages, a wooden castle stood here, built in the first half of the 12th century by Raoul II, lord of Issoudun.

The Paudy keep is the last remnant of a medieval castle. It stands in Paudy, north of Issoudun.

The Timbered One — Listed as a historic monument, this red house owes its name to the colour of the render applied during a renovation in the early 19th century. It was built for a wealthy merchant family, the Godards. Find this house.

This riddle refers to the half-timbered house in the centre of La Châtre (south of the Indre).

The Wildlife — Fancy cooling off? Go and dip your feet in the largest pond in the Brenne. You might come across cranes and European pond turtles.

The Étang de la Mer Rouge, covering 160 hectares, is the largest pond in the Brenne.

Elegance — Go to this museum in Argenton-sur-Creuse dedicated to a very particular craft.

It's the Museum of the Shirt and Men's Elegance in Argenton-sur-Creuse!

The Merciful — Built on a site of Marian apparitions, this place draws many pilgrims. Go to this site.

Discover the shrine of Pellevoisin, where Mary appeared to Estelle and asked her to proclaim her glory.

Champagne! — Now that's quite a gate! Listed as a historic monument, you'll find it not far from the collegiate church of Saint-Sylvain.

It's the Porte de Champagne. This 16th-century gate is in Levroux.

The Colourless — Thanks to this structure, trains crossed the Creuse from 1886 onwards. Now the crossing is reserved for walkers. Film yourself at this walking spot.

The viaduct is in Le Blanc (south-west of the Indre) and is the town's most imposing monument. Built in 1885–1886, it carried trains coming from Poitiers and Montmorillon across the river 38 m above the water.

Olympus — In a few days [summer 2024], the world's greatest athletes will compete here. Go to this place where precision and ballistics are honoured.

For the 2024 Olympic Games, the shooting events were held at the National Shooting Sports Centre in Déols, near Châteauroux.

The video

The route map

The challenges