Celon is a commune in the Indre department, in the Centre-Val de Loire region, 9 km south of Argenton-sur-Creuse.
Its territory of 17 km² belongs to the natural region of Boischaut Sud, which announces to the south the very first reliefs of Limousin and therefore of the Massif Central.
Its landscapes are particularly green and tend to be bocage, the locality being mainly covered by meadows (55% of its surface area) and other agricultural areas (39%). The herds of dairy cows are dedicated in particular to the production of Valençay appellation cheeses.
Now served by the A20 motorway which crosses it from north to south, the town which has nearly 400 inhabitants has a bucolic charm conducive to hiking and demonstrates a certain associative dynamism. It also has heritage sites of interest, notably its castle which was the seat of a prosperous lordship from the 13th century.
Something to delight lovers of green tourism!
The village developed around its castle. This one, logically called the castle of Celon, is mentioned as early as the 13th century as the seat of a stronghold surrounded by ditches. The lord who has the right to justice is a vassal of the castellany of Argenton. The residence is still ordinary but we know that from this time, fish ponds, a mill and a tower serving as a dovecote were part of the estate.
In the 15th century, Jean de Céris had the current castle built, which was however supplemented by outbuildings in the 18th century (such as the "gardener's farm") while alterations were made in the 19th century. Nowadays, the whole is in the form of a three-level house framed by taller circular towers, the facade overlooking a courtyard closed to the east by a rectangular building in a classical style. From 1630 to 1744, the estate belonged to the Barbançois family then it passed to the Lagarde family who restored and preserved it throughout the 19th century. Purchased and restored, the castle is still private property at the start of the 21st century. Contemporary frescoes signed by the artist Raoul-Roger Ballet decorate the rooms. A four-hectare park completes the area which hosts seminars, cultural events, wellness courses and includes group accommodation. Information on +33 6 15 35 30 26.
Next to see, near the castle (a door in the enclosure once allowed the lord to go directly to the office), the Saint-Germain parish church. Of Romanesque origin, it was rebuilt in the 14th and 15th centuries. We note its three-bay nave, its bell tower on the "west" side and its rectangular choir with a flat apse. Although the church has a dozen bays, only three are decorated with stained glass windows. They were made in 1880 and 1881 by the master glassmaker Charles Jurie, established in Bourges, and are protected as objects.
Finally, a heritage discovery trail can include the Celon war memorial, the Puy-de-l'Âge tumulus and the astonishing underground cavity of La Perte du Renard.
Enough to mark out hikes starting from the village which will then include plots of bocage, some wooded areas or small bodies of water in the north-west of the territory. Slightly longer loops connect Celon to the valley and the Creuse, to the east, to Argenton with its historic district to the north or to the George Sand house in Gargilesse-Dampierre to the south-east.
Secure routes dedicated to two-wheelers are also available to discover the bucolic charms of the region…
Maps and information on +33 2 54 24 05 30.
