Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Return back down to the canal, continue to Vandenesse, and turn right, then left to-
ward Créancy (still on D-18). There's a nice picnic spot on its “port,” with water views
ofChâteauneuf. Keep following D-18fromCréancy,then drive toPouilly-en-Auxois. The
Burgundy Canal tunnels underground for several miles through Pouilly-en-Auxois, as it
passes its highest point between Paris and Dijon (rivers east of here flow to the Mediter-
ranean,thosetothewesttotheAtlantic).You'llgooveritasyoucrossPouilly-en-Auxois.
GothroughPouilly-en-AuxoisandfollowsignstoVitteaux,whereyou'lljoinD-905.
Go north toward
Alise Ste-Reine
and follow signs to
Alésia
and
MuséoParc
. After ex-
ploring the museum and battlefield, backtrack a short distance on D-905 and find signs to
Flavigny-sur-Ozerain
(5 minutes away on D-9).
From Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, drive back to D-905, turn right (north), and follow signs
to the
Abbey of Fontenay.
After the abbey, continue up D-905 to Montbard, then turn
onto D-980 and drive south to
Semur-en-Auxois.
From Semur-en-Auxois, take D-970 via
Pouilly-en-Auxois and retrace your route to Beaune. For a quicker option, you can dart
from Semur-en-Auxois across to the A-6 autoroute and save time by taking it to Beaune
(or head north to Paris).
The museum and battlefield at Alise Ste-Reine and the Abbey of Fontenay are your
primary goals; allow at least an hour to tour each. With no stops, the one-way drive from
Beaune to Fontenay should take about an hour and a half. But you should be stopping—a
lot.
Non-drivers
can get to Alésia by taking the train from Dijon to Les Laumes-Alésia,
and to the Abbey of Fontenay by taking the train to Montbard and a taxi from there (de-
tails provided later). They can get to Semur-en-Auxois by bus (3/day Mon-Sat, 1/day Sun,
from Montbard or Dijon—runs early morning, noon, and evening; railpass gets you a free
ticket, ask TI in Semur about where to get bus ticket). There are no trains to Semur.
This perfectly medieval castle once monitored passage between Burgundy and Paris, with
hawk's-eye views from its 2,000-foot setting.
Châteauneuf
means “new castle,” so you'll
see many in France. This one is in the Auxois area, so it's Châteauneuf-en-Auxois. The
living hill town hunkers in the shadow of its pit-bull château and merits exploring. Park
at the lot in the very upper end of the village (where the road ends), and don't miss the
panoramic viewpoint
nearby.Themilitaryvalueofthissiteispowerfullyclearfromhere.
Find the Burgundy Canal and the three reservoirs that have maintained the canal's flow
for more than 300 years. The small village below is Châteauneuf's port, Vandenesse-en-
Auxois—you'll bethere shortly.Ifnotforphylloxera—the vine-loving insect that ravaged
