The most beautiful villages in France

I have long dreamed of visiting Burgundy and seeing the most beautiful villages in France. Why there?

I once came across a list of the most beautiful towns and villages in France. I have no idea who compiled it. It turned out that half of the villages on that list were in Burgundy. They also make wine and have amazing cuisine. All of this, plus the invitation of friends, didn’t take long to decide – we went on a road trip to Burgundy.

I advise you to read: Wine & Gastronomy Tour in Burgundy — Taste the Real France

To see the real France, you need to go to the hinterland, where traditions are honored, where cheese and wine are made, where there is no gloss of the capital. There, in the village, old France is alive, you can feel its flavor and taste the tastes and aromas of French cuisine. You can travel there not for all the money in the world and finally fall in love with this wonderful country.

Burgundy travel itinerary and car rental

I don’t know how to make such a trip without a car. Perhaps there are those brave souls who managed to travel in rural France by bus – my hat is off to them.

I think this route is designed for cars – otherwise, you won’t see the vineyards, climb the hills and rocks, or visit castles and chateaux hidden from prying eyes.

In short, rent a car and you will be happy and enjoy the beautiful Burgundy.

We have traditionally chosen the cheapest option at Lyon airport through Rentalcars. And we got a free upgrade. We were given a car of a higher class – we had a great ride in France in a French Citroën C3. The price of 20 euros per day for such a car was absolutely fine with us.

The machine is fast, plus we got a bright and beautiful blue color. Such pleasant moments lift our spirits, although they were always uplifting from the Burgundy views, flavors and, of course, the wine we drank)))

I wrote about the flavors of Burgundy separately – I recommend reading it if you like to drink and eat well.

Getting to Burgundy

The nearest airport is in Lyon.

To buy an inexpensive flight, you should first look at the connection options available.
The fastest way to fly from Paris to Lyon is with AirFrance and KLM flights. Or look for low-cost airlines that have nice price tags – for example, WizzAir flies to Lyon Kyiv Krakow, London, and Bucharest.

Another option is to fly to Geneva, which is located near Burgundy.

Next, rent a car (preferably in a French city – it will be cheaper than at the Geneva airport). There are buses from Geneva Airport to Lyon Airport (see the schedule and buy tickets on Omio) – the round-trip fare starts from 34 euros (it is better to book in advance).

If you need advice on the selection and purchase of tickets, I will be happy to help you for a nominal fee of 25 Euros (depending on the complexity of the route and the number of passengers).

Beaune – the wine route of Grand Cru

Beaune – not to be confused with Bonn in Germany. This small town (a village by our standards) is the wine capital of Burgundy. From Beaune to Dijon leads the famous wine road – the Grand Cru (La Route des Grands Crus). The vineyards and villages that produce the famous Burgundy red and white wines stretch for 60 km.

Back in the XII century, the local Cistercian monks planted the first vine near their monastery. By the beginning of the 14th century, the total area of the vineyard had already reached the current hectares. They were fenced in, and it turned out to be a “fenced field”, or “clos” in French.

Each village has several wineries that emit the aromas of wine fermentation in the fall. When the harvest is over, the grape rows are gradually covered with golden and red leaves – you can’t think of a better picture in the fall.

In Bona, we stopped to see the beautiful Hospice building, walk the streets, and visit the local fair. And then we went to spend the night in the village of Puligny-Montrachet, where we booked a room under the roof in a surprisingly beautiful house LITS de VIN house overlooking the vineyards.

An evening walk along the vineyards, dinner in a restaurant, breakfast on the terrace of the guesthouse in the company of a French elderly couple – it was a great start to a trip to the wine-hilly and castle-laden Burgundy.

You can have a picnic in the vineyards, sipping light Pinot Noir and eating a baguette and cold duck terrine. Breathing in the aromas of leaves and herbs, looking at the stretching valleys, you want to succumb to the ridiculous idea of accidentally missing your return flight.

Where to stay in Beaune and the surrounding area:

Au coin des Hospices≫ – is a lovely apartment in the center of Beaune near the Hospice.
Château de Challanges≫ – is a country chateau in a green park with a swimming pool open in summer. There is parking for the car.
Le Meix Gautheret≫ – affordable family rooms in an old chateau located in the suburbs of Beaune.

Châteauneuf-en-Auxois

We came here for the Château de Chateauneuf, which was built in a strategic location between Dijon and Aix-en-Provence. Now it is a castle-museum in a fantastically authentic village. And the view – what a beautiful view opens from the hill on which this small picturesque village stands!

From above you can see the hills and the Burgundy Canal, and inside the town everything is preserved as it was many centuries ago. We went to have coffee in an open tavern with a fireplace, paintings on the walls, and evening light streaming in from the small windows. It was as if I had fallen back into the past, although I kept coming back to it on the second day of the trip.

Where to stay near Chateauneuf-en-Auxois:

We spent the night in the neighboring village of Maconge – in a guesthouse La Datcha Bourguignonne – wonderful hosts, evening gatherings with wine and homemade pie are waiting for you. They will be happy to give you recommendations on which restaurant offers delicious food and a warm welcome.

Domaine de Vandenesse & Spa≫ – is a small old house located by the canal, overlooking the Chateau de Chateauneuf.
Château Sainte Sabine≫ – rooms in an old chateau with views of the valley and the castle.
Ancien moulin Créancey≫ – is a wonderful guesthouse with a patio, very attentive owners who prepare delicious breakfasts.

Flavigny-sur-Ozerain

This small village on one of the Burgundy hills is called Flavigny-sur-Ozerain. I planned to visit it because I like to watch the movie Chocolate. Everyone has probably seen this beautiful picture of a woman who wandered the world and found herself in a small French village.

When I found out that this place exists on the map of Burgundy, I definitely included it in our travel itinerary. And she didn’t regret it. Of course, I did not expect to meet Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp there))) And I wasn’t looking for chocolate. I wanted to see a beautiful village and see the soul of France in it.

Flafinia turned out to be a small sleepy town with more old people than young. And many houses are even for sale under a sign. Some houses have portraits of those who once lived there and no longer do. I thought it was cute, and I saw a similar idea in Lisbon, in the Alfama neighborhood.

The house where the chocolate shop was filmed has a boarded-up door. Only old men met in the alleys. On the main square, we found an authentic cafe with Burgundy snails, a stunning apple and cheese tarte a I’Epoisses et aux pommes.

Finally, we saw a shop with Anis de Ravigny anise candies. This is a dragee made according to a recipe invented by monks back in 1591 and is still produced in the abbey building. Next to the factory, there is a fabulous bon-bon car that delivers candy to its customers. When I saw this miracle, I almost cried with emotion. I had only seen such cars in cartoons.

And looking at the sleepy, rose-covered French countryside, I thought: how long will this small town live, or will this beauty be left to our grandchildren and great-grandchildren? I hope so, even though I am in favor of the development of civilization.

Where to stay near Flavigny-sur-Ozerain:

La Flavignienne≫ – is a very nice guesthouse with a classic French breakfast included in the price. Located directly in the ancient Flavinium.
Les Allumettes d’Ecorsaint≫ – is a guesthouse in the neighboring town of Ecorsaint. An ideal location for an overnight stopover between near Flavigny, the owners offer a good dinner based on Burgundian recipes.

Chablis

Another popular and well-known name in wine circles is Chablis, which gave me awe. A bottle of Grand Cru wine from the slopes of this hilly region in northern Burgundy can cost more than your entire travel budget.

The Chablis region is home to the Chardonnay variety, and depending on which slope the grapes grew on, the flavor of the final product differs accordingly. The lower slopes receive little sunlight and the acidity of such grapes is higher. The grapes from the top of the hill get more sun than the sun.

But the lucky ones are the vines that grow in the middle part of the hill – they get the maximum amount of sun. Wines made from this grape are softer and more delicate. The village of Shabli has a large selection of tasting cellars where you can taste wine from different slopes and vintages.

We came here for half a day for the wine, and at the same time we walked around the small town.

Abbey de Fontenay

The capital of Burgundy is the city of Dijon, which gave the French mustard its name. And around it, like a scattering of pearls, there are perfectly preserved medieval villages, abbeys, small towns, and picturesque castles.

The golden age of Burgundy was in the 11th-15th centuries, when several outstanding monasteries were built, which are now included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Cluny Abbey, the largest and richest of them all, was once the largest Christian building in the world.

The Fontaine Abbey is hidden from prying eyes among the wooded hills, where no mobile network even catches it. The Cistercian abbots lived in seclusion, read prayers in the evening in a huge church, forged plows in their own forge, and knew no grief. Until the French Revolution came and the abbey closed and was sold to the Mongolfier family, the same family that became the founders of aeronautics.

Semur-en-Auxois

Semur-en-Ausois is another of the most beautiful towns in Burgundy, which has preserved an old castle, ancient streets with cobblestone running along the slopes. The city on a hill is surrounded by the Armanson River, which loops around the castle on the hill, which has become a kind of island. This island city is connected to the “big land” by medieval bridges – Pont Joly and Pont de Miny.

Oh, those bridges-I saw them in photographs of Burgundy. Because of these views, I put a dot on the map and came to see this medieval beauty.

Semyur used to be a powerful fortress that strengthened the city. The castle is now mostly dismantled, but the tall towers and the main wall, which supports the inner part of the city, have been preserved.

Nothing has changed here since the Middle Ages. The bell in the Notre Dame church rings on time and the Armancon River flows, hugging the small and cozy town from all sides.

Where to stay in Semur-en-Ausois:

We spent one night in Semyur in a small one-story house. Maison de ville familiale et conviviale with a nice front garden. The magic city corresponded to a magic house))).

La Maison Févret≫ – is a hotel in an old building with a terrace and beautiful views of the city and the river.
O p’tit chez soi≫ – the hotel is ideally located at the foot of the city center and the ramparts. The rooms are tastefully decorated and very warm.

Vézelay

We went to Vezelay simply because it was on the way from Semyur to Athénée. Wesle is home to the Basilica of St. Mary Magdalene. One of the routes starts from here Camino de Santiago.

It is also the start of the St. Francis hiking route that leads through the Alps to Assisi, Italy. When I was walking Via Francigena I met a French couple who had come all this way.

The narrow streets of this medieval village are lined with Romanesque and Renaissance houses. In Wesle, we decided to have breakfast in a great place with a beautiful view. We visited the abbey, walked around the city, and ate huge gougere – custard cakes with cheese. Despite the fact that gougères contain pepper and mustard, their flavor is still delicate and delicate, and is ideal for the first cup of coffee.

Then the road to Autun runs along the gorge of the Cur River, where ancient mills are built. We stopped at one of them just to have a look – a mill that had been converted into a residential building. The owner came out of it and invited us to admire the mill and its wonderful transformation into a living space.

The Parisian bought this miracle and now lives inside the mill.

Autun

Autun is one of the oldest cities in France, known primarily for its Romanesque cathedral, Saint Lazare, whose entrance is decorated with an arch with very expressive sculptures on the theme of heaven and hell.

In Vienna, Roman walls and ruins are still preserved. The fact is that the city was founded in the early Roman Empire by Emperor Augustus and was the Roman capital of the Gallic tribes of the Edusii.
Napoleon Bonaparte also studied in Vienna.

Where to stay in Oden:

We stayed in a guesthouse Chambres d’Hôtes Autun – which offered a great view of the cathedral. And the owner of the boarding house, the talkative Philip, made us French pancakes in the morning. He told me how much he liked the Ukrainian town of Shepetivka. Philip is an avid motorcycle traveler who has passed through Ukraine many times during his travels.
Gîte de charme Autun’Home≫ – Excellent house, practically in the center of Autun, with a private garden. Ideally located for walking around the city, as well as for excursions in the region. You get practically half a house: a bedroom and a living room (and of course a kitchen and a bathroom), all furnished with love and style.
Chambre d’Aut’≫ – The apartment is a short drive from the center and major attractions. Nice terrace for breakfast.

The journey through Burgundy did not end there. We went to visit our friends who live in the village of St. Clair near Lyon. But that’s another story I’ll tell one day.

Useful articles and links:

Car rental – we rented a car at the Lyon airport. We picked up an inexpensive option – Rentalcars.com
Hotels – I traditionally book on Booking.com
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