Where in the world is Issoudun, France?

Let's Look at the Map

Issoudun is a town of about 14,000 located in the center of France. (For comparison purposes, Centralia, WA has 15,000 residents... except they don't speak French in Centralia.)

This is France (I'm pretty sure):


France is comprised of twenty-two regions, which are in turn comprised of departements -- analogous to counties in the US. Issoudun is located in the Centre region (#11, below).

The departements are a relatively recent innovation: March of 1790 -- many people still refer to this area as the provence of Berry.

Within Centre are five departments. Issoudun is located in Indre. Chateauroux (pop. 50,000) is the prefecture ("county seat") and located south-west of Issoudun.

Bourges (pop. 71,000) , the nearest city you're likely to find on a map, is to the north-east in the departement of Cher.

Here's an even closer look. It's about 18 miles from Bourges to Issoudun, and folks tell me that it's a 30 minute drive -- I guess traffic slows to a crawl as you go through the small villages along the way. (click on the map for a closer view)


Getting to Issoudun
There aren't too many options, and both begin with a flight to Paris.

Driving from Charles De Gaulle Airport (CDG) to Issoudun takes about 3 hours. Gas is spendy and many of the highways are toll roads.

The other option is to take a cab or bus to the gare (train station) Austerlitz in Paris, and from there, a train to Issoudun. The train costs $50 to $75 per person and gets you there in 2 hours.

Stay tuned... more to follow.