Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
IfquietSemur-en-Auxoisseducesyouintospendinganight,try
$$ Hôtel les Cymaises**,
with comfortable rooms and big beds in a manor house with a quiet courtyard (Db-€73,
Tb-€85, 2-room Qb-€105, private parking, 7 Rue du Renaudot, tel. 03 80 97 21 44,
Eating:
The various cafés along Rue du Buffon offer ambience and average quality.
L'Entract
is where everybody goes for pizza, pasta, salads, and more in a relaxed at-
mosphere (daily, below the church on 4 Rue Fevret, tel. 03 80 96 60 10). The historic
charcuterie
(delicatessen) across from the church can supply your picnic needs (Tue-Sat
9:00-19:30, Sun 9:00-12:00, closed Mon).
These three sights—Vézelay, and its Romanesque Basilica of Ste. Madeleine; the under-
construction Château de Guédelon; and the underrated, overlooked city of Bourges, with
itsgrand“High”Gothiccathedral—makegoodstopsfordriversconnectingBurgundyand
the Loire Valley. Squeezing in visits to all three in one day is impossible, so pick two and
get an early start (allow six hours of driving from Beaune to the Loire, plus time to stop
and visit the sights). The first two sights also work if you're linking Burgundy and Paris
(in which case, skip Bourges, which requires a long detour.)
For more than eight centuries, travelers have hoofed it up through this pretty little town
to get to the famous hilltop church, the Basilica of Ste. Madeleine. In its 12th-century
prime, Vézelay welcomed the medieval masses. Cultists of Mary Magdalene came to file
past her (supposed) body. Pilgrims rendezvoused here to march to Spain to venerate St.
James' (supposed) relics in Santiago de Compostela. Three Crusades were launched from
this hill: the Second Crusade (1146), announced by Bernard of Clairveaux; the Third Cru-
sade (1190), under Richard the Lionhearted and King Philippe Auguste; and the Seventh
Crusade (1248), by King (and Saint) Louis IX. Today, tourists flock to Vézelay's basilica,
famous for its place in history, its soul-stirring Romanesque architecture—reproduced in
countless art books—and for the relics of Mary Magdalene.
Tourist Information:
Vézelay's TI is at the lower end of the village (on Rue St.
Etienne,whichturnsintoRueSt.Pierre;May-Septdaily10:00-13:00&14:00-18:00,until
