Burgundy
For anyone who's ever read an Astérix comic book and wondered how France's Celtic people really lived, Bibracte is a must-see. This hilltop stronghold of…
Must-see attractions in Burgundy
Yonne
Founded in the AD 880s on a former Roman and Carolingian site, Vézelay's stunning hilltop basilica was rebuilt between the 11th and 13th centuries. On the…
Burgundy
Cluny's vast abbey church, built between 1088 and 1130, once extended from the map table in front of the Palais Jean de Bourbon to the trees near the…
Burgundy
Originally Romanesque, this cathedral was built in the 12th century to house the sacred relics of St Lazarus. Over the main doorway, the famous Romanesque…
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Dijon
Nearing the end of a nine-year renovation, these sprawling galleries in Dijon's monumental Palais des Ducs are works of art in themselves and constitute…
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Hôtel-Dieu des Hospices de Beaune
Beaune
Built in 1443, this magnificent Gothic hospital (until 1971) is famously topped by stunning turrets and pitched rooftops covered in multicoloured tiles…
Yonne
Founded in 1114, Abbaye de Pontigny rises from the lush mustard fields 15km north of Chablis. The spectacular abbatiale (abbey church) is one of the last…
Yonne
This ancient abbey with its dramatic flying buttresses began as a basilica above the tomb of St Germain, the 5th-century bishop who made Auxerre an…
Yonne
Some 200L of water per second gushes from Fosse Dionne, a natural spring near the centre of Tonnerre that was sacred to the Celts and whose vivid blue…
Dijon
A block north of the Palais des Ducs, this church was built between 1220 and 1240. Its extraordinary façade's three tiers are lined with leering gargoyles…
Yonne
In the heart of Auxerre's partly medieval commercial precinct, the golden, spire-topped Tour de l'Horloge was built in 1483 as part of the city's…
Burgundy
A masterpiece of 10th- to 12th-century Romanesque architecture, this abbey church has a beautiful 12th-century bell tower, along with some superb and…
Dijon
Adjacent to the ducal palace, this 46m-high, mid-15th-century tower affords fantastic views over the city. On a clear day you can see all the way to Mont…
Burgundy
This imposing château, built between the 11th and 14th centuries, looms above the medieval hilltop village of Brancion, 12km west of Tournus. It's a…
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Dijon
Around the time of the French Revolution, Mulot & Petitjean founded one of several bakeries making Dijon's famous pain d'épices (gingerbread). Nine…
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Yonne
At this unique medieval building site, a team of skilled artisans, aided by archaeologists, has been diligently working since 1997 to build a fortified…
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Yonne
The Italian Renaissance makes a cameo appearance at this imposing château, built in the 1540s by celebrated Italian architect Serlio. The richly painted…
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Yonne
Le Château de Bazoches sits magnificently on a hillside with views to Vézelay, 12km to the north. Built in the 13th century and visited by royalty…
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Yonne
This charity hospital, founded in 1293 by Marguerite de Bourgogne (wife of Charles d’Anjou), is most famous for its vast, barrel-vaulted patients' hall…
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Burgundy
Founded by Napoléon in 1806, the Haras National houses some of France's finest thoroughbreds, ponies and draught horses. A regular schedule of afternoon…
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Yonne
This vast Gothic cathedral and its stately 68m-high bell tower dominate Auxerre's skyline. The choir, ambulatory and some of the vivid stained-glass…
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Beaune
Opened in 2017 to celebrate the two-year anniversary of Unesco's recognition of Burgundy's vineyards as a World Heritage Site, this free interpretive…
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Palais des Ducs et des États de Bourgogne
Dijon
Once home to Burgundy's powerful dukes, this monumental palace with a neoclassical facade overlooks place de la Libération, old Dijon's magnificent…
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Burgundy
Adjacent to the ancient Celtic stronghold of Bibracte, the excellent Museum of Celtic Civilisation is housed in a minimalist modern structure designed by…
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Burgundy
For an enlightening historical perspective on Cluny and its abbey, start your visit at this archaeological museum inside the Palais Jean de Bourbon…
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Burgundy
Hidden away in the countryside 15km northeast of Autun, this Renaissance-style château has a beautifully furnished interior and a lovely English-style…
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Beaune
In business since 1840, Burgundy's last family-run stone-ground-mustard company offers guided tours through its mustard museum, focusing on mustard's…
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Maquis Bernard Résistance Cemetery
Burgundy
Seven RAF men (the crew of a bomber shot down near here in 1944) and 20 résistants are buried in the neatly tended Maquis Bernard Résistance Cemetery. It…
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Yonne
Dominating the northern edge of the tranquil riverside village of Tanlay, the elegant French Renaissance-style Château de Tanlay is surrounded by a wide…
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Yonne
This fantastic museum in the exquisite townhouse of Nobel Prize–winning pacifist writer Romain Rolland (1866–1944) holds the collection of Christian…
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Yonne
Tonnerre's newest attraction is this house-museum, once home to the colourful Chevalier d'Éon, a gender-bending 18th-century diplomat and spy. The…
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Yonne
Eight centuries ago, masses of pilgrims flocked here thanks to a piece of the skull of St Lazarus, believed to provide protection from leprosy. The early…
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Burgundy
Don't miss this superb collection of Gallo-Roman artefacts, 12th-century Romanesque art, 15th-century paintings and modern art including work by Maurice…
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Dijon
Housed in a 17th-century Cistercian convent, this museum explores village and town life in Burgundy in centuries past with evocative tableaux illustrating…
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Dijon
Truly surprising Celtic, Gallo-Roman and Merovingian artefacts are displayed here, including a particularly fine 1st-century AD bronze of the Celtic river…
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Yonne
The elegant 13th-century Château de Ratilly sits in verdant countryside near Treigny. Interior rooms display a collection of pottery by the Pierlot family…
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Musée Départemental de Préhistoire de Solutré
Burgundy
The Musée de Préhistoire de Solutré displays finds from one of Europe’s richest prehistoric sites, occupied from 35,000 to 10,000 BC. A lovely 20-minute…
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Yonne
The only château in France built on a pentagonal plan, and buttressed by five towers, the Renaissance-era Château de Maulnes, 24km east of Tonnerre, is a…
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Yonne
Located along the D958, 5km southeast of Vézelay, these ancient saltwater springs served as a salt production site in Neolithic times, then later a Celtic…
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Yonne
Colette, author of La Maison de Claudine and Gigi, lived till the age of 18 in the tiny town of St-Sauveur-en-Puisaye, 40km southwest of Auxerre. The…
