In Burgundy: not just wine, but castles, canals and wash-houses

Cormatin, Curbigny. Besancon

May 1, 2008: We arrive right on time for the opening to the public of the first castle on the programme: Chateau de Cormatin. If "the day is seen from the morning," this will be an excellent day, or rather an excellent trip: the castle is fantastic both outside and inside. Outside it is surrounded by large moats and canals; inside, however, it is decorated, furnished with taste and with many rooms open to the public. The only negative point (as with almost all the castles we will visit in Burgundy) is the guide: extremely long-winded, with information that is almost always obvious for those who are used to visiting castles like us. After visiting the castle and a short walk in the park, lunchtime arrives; we therefore resume our usual habit adopted on French soil: lunch in a boulangerie (translation: bakery).

French boulangeries are a fantastic thing; even in the smallest boulangerie of the most remote village you will find something to feed yourself: savoury baked goods (e.g. quiche, croque monsieur and the like) and exceptional sweets (typically the "flan" or little pear tarts etc. etc.). Then look for a "romantic place" to eat the meal you've bought (and in Burgundy there's no shortage of them) and you're set! Then, off we dash to the second castle: Chateau de Drèe in Curbigny. This castle is also interesting although less impressive than the previous one. The furnishings, although very well cared for and antique, are more recent due to a modernization by the owner after buying the castle stripped of its original furnishings. The park is always beautiful with very well-tended fountains and flowerbeds. Then, many km by car await us to reach Besancon, the place where we will stay overnight.

Besancon is not part of the Burgundy region but rather of Franche-Comté. This is evident right away: it doesn't have the typical charm of the places in Burgundy and this disappoints us quite a bit. On the other hand, the hotel we booked by e-mail is fantastic: Hotel Charles Quint, in an old period building, with period-style furnishings, a fireplace in the room, an old swimming pool in the park, etc. etc. Breakfast, in the beautiful period-style room, is of average quality, as are the prices. We also had the foresight to book the parking space and so we had no problems parking (otherwise it would have been trouble). The city is nothing special: streets paved with grey stone. The only lively spot is the area near the canal where there are many bars and restaurants. We have dinner outdoors in that area but the dinner is truly pitiful.

Unfortunately French cuisine doesn't suit my palate, while it seems to suit Max's tastes a little better.

Dijon, Sully, Beaime

The first stop of the day is a visit to the city of DIJON, or rather DIJON. Although it is the largest city in Burgundy, Dijon has a characteristic and interesting historic centre: numerous half-timbered houses alongside palatial buildings and then, the heart of the city, the huge Place de la Liberation.

We buy lunch at the boulangerie and eat it in a lovely little rest area on the romantic wine route "Route des Grands Crus," heading towards the castle of Sully, with a few white cows keeping us company. The road is very scenic: we pass through vineyard estates and charming villages entirely made of stone, little bridges and stretches of yellow fields. The castle of Sully has beautiful exteriors: a large moat, an access bridge and a large side terrace with an imposing staircase. The interiors are also pleasant and the guide is very nice but always "too long" in her almost theatrical guided tour. The castle shop is charming too.

We then head towards the city of Beaune where we will stay overnight. Beaune is the liveliest city in Burgundy; you can tell right away from the number of tourists. It is the wine city par excellence as it is located right in the vineyard area. It is cheerful, lively, colourful. In Beaune you visit the famous HOTEL-DIEU, an old almshouse-hospital with distinctive colourful architecture and completely reconstructed interiors, complete with wax nuns.

We have dinner in a brasserie in the beautiful large central square. Don't forget to visit the lovely washhouse, along the perimeter walls of the city. In the evening it is even lit up!

The hotel is located outside the city walls and so we have to drive there: Hotel Le Home. It is a lovely country house with a facade covered in climbing plants. The rooms are in the annex, each with its own entrance door from the outside (as in motels). The room is striking with an exposed brick wall. The owners, on the other hand, seemingly a bit scatterbrained, are very stingy. Breakfast, although served on fine china, is very limited: everything is counted and, if you want orange juice, you have to pay a supplement. Moreover, the owner, right after breakfast, chases after us asking for payment, fearing that we might leave the hotel without paying. And that's not the best! If you want to stay in Beaune, there are other hotels right inside the city walls, in the heart of the historic centre (e.g. Hotel De la Poste or Hotel Des Remparts).

Semue en Auxois, Abbaye de Fontanay, Ancy Le Franc, Tanlay, Tonnerre, Chablis

We arrive in the medieval town of SEMUR EN AUXOIS and it is still early. The shops are just opening at that moment. We visit the old church, beautiful but definitely in need of work, and then the picturesque main street where every corner is suitable for taking photos. We then head to the Abbaye de Fontanay in Montbard.

The Abbey is much more than just an Abbey as it doesn't have the austerity that normally distinguishes a religious building. Everything is well cared for and almost cheerful: with fountains and canals. All of it serves to instil a sense of serenity in the visitor: in that place you almost feel like embracing monastic life! The road that takes us from the Abbaye de Fontanay to the next castles is the most beautiful road in all of Burgundy. The road runs alongside the main Burgundy canal; the landscapes are obviously postcard-worthy. A stop near a drawbridge, which I myself could open and close, is unavoidable! Fantastic. We then visit the castle of ANCY LE FRANC. This chateau, with a much more austere facade than the other castles (as it is in the Italian style), has a great many rooms open to visitors inside. You visit practically all the rooms on all 4 sides of the castle.

The exteriors, however, cannot be visited. The beautiful park is only visible from the windows.

We have lunch sitting on a bench overlooking the canal outside the castle. Still travelling along extremely scenic roads, we head towards the castle of Tanlay. The castle has a very beautiful moat but the exterior would need some maintenance. The interiors, however, are quite remarkable: here too the rooms are completely furnished; the visit is very long as there are numerous rooms. In fact, you visit a good 3 floors of the castle.

In the Mondadori guidebook we are using for our trip there is then an image that attracts me very much. I absolutely want to look for that place and today we should be in the area. So we go to Tonnerre to visit the FOSSE DE DIONNE. It really takes my breath away. I love washhouses but this is much, much more. Here the water gushes directly from the underground and the effect is impressive.

The last stop of the day, where we will stay overnight, is the little town of CHABLIS. It really is a cheerful, cheerful place. Among other things, we arrive in the middle of a little market and so the town is even livelier. It is an old village of winegrowers. The wine of Chablis must be very renowned! Among other things, the town is home to another fantastic washhouse complete with a romantic walk along the little canal that crosses the village. It's the place for us!

Among other things, the hotel we booked also turns out to be promising and right in the centre of the village. It seems to us to be a very expensive place and we repeatedly check the booking email to make sure we haven't made a mistake about the price. But fortunately we haven't made a mistake: the quality-price ratio is excellent (even though the clerk will later try to charge us a few euros more due to an increase. But I insist and get my way). The HOSTELLERIE DES CLOS is a truly elegant hotel that extends within a cloister. The buffet breakfast, in a truly fantastic room, will be very abundant and very carefully prepared. If you don't have budget concerns, you can stay at the Hotel Du Vieux Moulin in a picturesque location or, at much more affordable prices, at the Hotel Bergerand's.

For dinner we choose a casual restaurant right in the central little square of the village: AU VRAI CHABLIS. The food turns out to be quite good but the service (that is, the waiters) very poor, or rather, very slow and distracted. Be careful: it may have been a one-off but they tried to cheat us on the bill. Check it carefully.

Auxerre, Bazoches, St. Père

How sad. Today we go home. But first there are still a couple of things to see this morning. First of all the town of Auxerre. The view from the bridge is beautiful and the medieval centre is interesting (but not that much). And then it's all uphill! There are several churches to visit but some are closed.

We then visit the last castle of the trip: Chateau de Bazoches. Here the visit is self-guided, with no guides nagging you. The rooms to visit, although well furnished, are not many. Unfortunately most of the castle is private and excluded from the visit, including the prettiest part of the courtyard. A shame.

Last technical stop at St. Père since, passing through, the church catches our eye.

We buy lunch at the boulangerie in Vezelay, which is home to an important cathedral. Unfortunately though we don't have time to visit the town and we immediately regret not having done so, as it turns out to be very pretty. We will definitely do it on the next trip to Burgundy because we realise we absolutely have to come back, as there are many other places we didn't have the actual time to visit.

Dani and Max for more information, visit our website:

COSTS: Mont Blanc Tunnel: round trip € 40.00 (total). Attention! If you go one way only the price is about € 30.00. Night in hotel + breakfast for two people: about € 90.00 in total. Castle admission: on average € 8.00 French motorways: always tolled (prices slightly higher than in Italy). Fuel: price slightly higher than in Italy Dinners: costs slightly lower than in Italy. Total cost of the trip, 4 days, all included: € 400.00 per person.

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