French Holiday Gite Burgundy

La Place makes an excellent base for visiting Southern Burgundy, a tranquil region of outstanding natural beauty with a superb architectural heritage and the source of many fine wines.

South Burgundy abounds in things to see and do. The area is one of great natural beauty with a superb architectural heritage. This includes the great cathedrals of Tournus and Paray-le-Monial, the flamboyant Gothic church of Brou and the extraordinary Hotel Dieu at Beaune. There are numerous chateaux such as Berzé-le-Chatel, Cormatin and Pierreclos. The area is also rich in Romanesque village churches of which Anzy-le-Duc is the most outstanding. Meanwhile the Mâconnais vineyards (with the excellent whites of Pouilly-Fuissé,St Veran and Maçon Villages) and the Beaujolais vineyards (including Morgan,Chiroubles,Fleurie and Régnie) are within a 30 minutes drive. The region is strong on arts and crafts especially pottery and glass. In addition many musical events take place throughout the summer including classical concerts at Anzy-le-Duc and Cluny and a jazz festival in Cluny near the end of August.

There are many interesting small towns and villages. Cluny contains the impressive but scanty remains of Cluny Abbey,once the biggest church in Christendom.It is an agreeable place with Roman and Mediaeval remains and a national horse stud of considerable importance. Charolles is a charming town too, a mini Venice of rivers ,canals and bridges. La Clayette boasts a photogenic château, a lake, vintage car museum and fifth best Chocolate maker in France. Of villages Blanot has a pottery, an 11th century church and a grotto full of stalactites and stalagmites. Brancion, once a Mediaeval stronghold has its fortress ,a 15th century covered market, a Romanesque church with some amazing frescoes and panoramic views over the surrounding countryside.

All told the region contains about sixty museums, ranging from photography at the Museum Niépec in Chalon-sur Soane,to ceramics in Digoin and industrial archaeology in Le Creusot, home to the steelmaking Schneider dynasty. Lamartine, 19th century poet and politician lived at St Point and his house is open to the public. There are prehistoric remains at Solutré. It is possible to climb the rock and visit the museum. Meanwhile Azy has prehistoric caves where the remains of bears and lions have been found. In contrast, south of Macon is Touroparc with its zoo and amusement park. The above is a sample of what this marvellous region has to offer.In addition Lyon,Geneva and Dijon can be easily reached by car or train.