Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Wandering from the castle to the church, you'll pass the town's lone business
(l'Auberge du Vieux Brancion), a 15th-century market hall that was used by farmers from
the surrounding countryside until 1900, plus a handful of other buildings from that period.
The 12th-century warm-stone
church
(with faint paintings surviving from 1330) is
the town's highlight. Circumnavigate the small building—this is Romanesque at its pure,
unadulterated, fortress-of-God best (thick walls, small windows, once colorfully painted
interior, no-frills exterior). Notice the stone roof; inside, find the English explanations of
thepaintings.Fromitsfrontdoor,enjoyalord'sviewoveronegloriousBurgundianestate.
Sleeping and Eating in or near Brancion:
You have two good choices. In the center
of the village,
$ L'Auberge du Vieux Brancion
serves traditional Burgundian fare (€16
lunch
menu,
€23 dinner
menu
) and also offers a perfectly tranquil place to spend the night.
Say
bonjour
to François (very simple and frumpy rooms, Ds-€38, Db-€50-58, family
rooms-€55-75, tel. 03 85 51 03 83, fax 03 85 32 17 67,
www.brancion.fr
, no email—must
call or fax to book rooms).
Foramuchmoreupscaleexperience,includingthebestBurgundianviewroomsI've
found, drive a mile south of the village, following the sign to
$$$ Hôtel la Montagne de
Brancion****.
Here, every one of the 19 sharp, ultra-modern, and deck-equipped rooms
faces a territorial view over vineyards, hills, and pastures. The garden comes with sway-
back view chairs, and a pool lies below. The owners pride themselves on their “gourmet
restaurant”andexpectyoutodinethere(Db-€120-180,Dbsuite-€200-300,extrabed-€18,
priceybreakfast-€18,
menus
-€35-65oràlacarte,tel.0385511240,
www.brancion.com
,
Chapaize
This hamlet, a few miles west of Brancion on D-14, grew up around its Benedictine mon-
astery—only its 11th-century church survives. It's a pristine place (cars park in a lot at
the edge of town), peppered with flowers and rustic decay. A ghost-town café faces the
village's classic Romanesque church—study the fine stonework by Lombard masons. (Its
lean seems designed to challenge the faith of parishioners.) The WWI monument near the
entry—with so many names from such a tiny hamlet—is a reminder of the 4.2 million
young French men who were wounded or died in the war that
didn't
end all wars. Wander
around the back for a view of the belfry, and then ponder Chapaize across the street while
sipping a café au lait.
