A Dungeon by Any Other Name . . .

is a castle keep!  The French word "donjon" or "dongeon" does NOT mean dungeon!  It means a castle keep, which can be quite a disappointment if you're told there are TWO donjons and, well, no dungeons.  During my adventures in chateaus, I *did* see a dungeon though!  More on that later.

Medieval City of Chauvigny
I started my day by stopping in the Medieval City in Chauvigny because my cottage hosts had suggested it (and so far their recommendations had been spot on), plus the online things I saw looked interesting - good location for a pit stop on the longer journey to the Loire Valley!  When I arrived I noticed, well, a distinct lack of people.  Nowhere in the tourist info (pdf link here for English: Chauvigny English Flyer) did it mention the city being CLOSED at any point.  I first saw the Donjon de Gouzon, which houses a museum and was closed.  There's an excellent view of the Collégiale Saint Pierre roof from the steps to the museum though.

It's too bad I couldn't view the interior of the Collégiale Saint Pierre, since it appears to be stunning in the advertising photos, but this was as good as I could get:

On the bright side, I had this lovely little companion following me around - the only living creature I saw in the city!  Finally, I left, but pulled over to capture these ruins (not sure which chateau it is as there are several in ruins in the Medieval City).

In short, I hate to really give feedback on the place since everything was closed, but of all of my stops over the weekend, it was the least visually impressive from the exterior.  If you're in the area, it's worth a stop, but I don't think I'd make a special trip for it!