Burgundy Holiday Attractions
CHURCHES
The Michelin Guide names the finest Romanesque churches in
Burgundy as:
The abbey church at Fontenay*
Tthe basilica at Vezelay*
The cathedral at Autun (20km south of the Villa on the D980)
BEAUTIFUL VILLAGES
There are several French websites naming the best 100 villages
four are
in Burgundy of which thress are within easy reach of
the Villa
Vezelay*
Chateauneuf*
Noyers -
(10 km east of Auxerre near an exit from the A6,
an hour from Villa)
ROMAN AND PRE-ROMAN FRANCE
Autun was founded by Emperor Augustus as Augustodium in the
first
century as the Roman capital of Northern Gaul, taking the title
from
the Gaulish tribes’ city of Bribracte on the nearby mountain
of Beavray
which dates from
P 300 years before.
Autun has Roman gates, autitorium and ruins -
Bibracte only
excavations, but also a
museum and views of Mont Blanc
(if not too much cloud) - both
merit stars from the guidebooks.
THE MIDDLE AGES
After the Hundred Years War Burgundy passed from English to
local
control and the Dukes of Burgundy ruled from Beaune* and
then Dijon* for
almost 200 years before being defeated by the
French armies. Both towns
have maintained their historic buildings
from that time, adding wine
and mustard, respectively, to their
current fame.
THE MORVAN PARK
The size of several UK counties, the Morvan is an extension of the
Grand Massif in the centre of France - rocky, with forests and raging
rivers splitting pastures and upland moors. It lies in the centre of
Burgundy. The Villa is near the centre of the Morvan. Hundreds of kilometres of trails for walking, cycling ad horse-riding
criss-cross the Park, some starting at the local village and passing
the door. There are watersports available on the rivers and lakes.
Ballooning too.
VINYARDS, CHATEAUX AND CANALS
The most famous Burgundy vineyards are those in a north-south line
around Beaune*. Names such as Nuits St George and Meursault
are
known
the world over, and there are dozens more. It takes an
hour
going east
to reach these. And, the same distance north lies
Chablis, and to the
west Pouilly (on the Loire river), and to the
south - Beaujolais.
There are many chateaux and fortified towns in good order to visit -
the most notable are Rochepot* and Semur*. Three canals cross
Burgundy
- Canal du Centre, Canal de Bourgogne and Canal du
Nivernais. And three
major rivers, albeit not yet as wide as they
will become - the Seine’s
major tributary the Yonne (and also the
source of the Seine itself),
the Loire, and the Saone (which
becomes the Rhone at Lyon).
Places marked with * are denoted on the map below
