Surroundings of Vézelay
| Asquins ( 1
Km from Vezelay) to visit : village and church (free access of the church by appointment) Asquins, village of 300 inhabitants, rich in rural and religious architectural preserved heritage , surrounded with woody hills; is right in the heart of the valley of the Cure.Its former name "esconium" or "asconium" would indicate a village of springs and fountains. Asquins was a dependant of the abbey of Vezelay until 16th century. The village lived the great gatherings of the first crusades and was a witness of the departure of the pilgrimage on the way to Santiago de Compostella.
Curiosities in the village : the Moutier and the church Saint-Jacques The Major founded in the 11th century, former peasant houses and dovecotes, barn in tithes, the hunting party of the 16th century, the place of Saint Luc Martin, the wash houses and fountains in four places of the village, the bridge that crosses over the Cure, the ruins of the ramparts of the 16th century... The church Saint Jacques The Major (12e/13e centuries): Classified ancient memorial, it is dedicated to Saint Jacques, and is registered by UNESCO as the world's heritage of humanity; and as one of the points of departure of the four routes of the pilgrimage to Santiago. A very beautiful bust in polychromic wooden reliquary representing Saint Jacques (16th century), a woodwork of 18th century wrapping the pillars of the nave, a beautiful set of stained glasses, of which Saint-Jacques in the baroque choir (18th century) deserves the bend. |
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Saint-Père (2
Km from Vezelay) to visit : village and church (free access)m and the salt springs and the archaeological museum (pay entry) The village is located at the foot of the Vezelay's hill, firmly situated on either sides of the Cure. The church of Notre Dame built from 13th and 15th centuries, is a jewel of burgundy's Gothic art : a 50 meters high bell-tower from 13th century, flanked with its 4 angles of angels sounding with the olifant , under the porch or narthex with three portals, a tomb of a woman dated from the 13th century. The interior is very stripped and presents a luminous nave finished by 5 radiant chapels.We can see just at the entry, two stoups out of cast iron; and along the collaterals, the tombs of the supposed founders. At the exit of the village, direction Corbigny, we can see the former church of saint Pierre (11th/12th centuries) dedicated to the patron of the village, with the patoisante (gallic term) deformation became saint Père. As said in the tradition,researchers and archaeologists agreed to see in this place the site of the former monastery of Vézelay founded by Girard of Roussillon in the 9th century. The archaeological site of "Fontaines Salées" Situated at about 1,5 kilometers on the south side of the village, the site of "Fontaines Salées reveals an archaeological place of primary importance. The excavations carried out in 1934 at the instigation of Pr René Louis, had made it possible to update a Gallic sanctuary and a hydrolic establishment of Gallo-Roman time, installed on a salty mineral springs with therapeutic virtues.
Archaeological Museum Established in the former presbytery (next to the church), the museum keeps the archaeology excavations from the site of "Fontaines Salées". A medieval room joins together a collection of sculptures from 13th to 14th centuries coming from St Père, among which is Saint Jacques sculpture dated from the end of 13th century. We also discover the rest of merovingien nécropolis , ceramics, currencies, jewels, statues and ex-voto dated from the Gallo-Roman period.
Town hall of St Père 89450 St Père Tel. ( archaeological site): 03 86 33 37 36 Tel. (museum) 03 86 33 37 31 Off-season: Tel.(town hall) 03 86 33 26 62 mairie.saint-pere@wanadoo.fr - www.saint-pere.fr |
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| Pierre-Perthuis (6
Km from Vezelay) To visit : village, church and two bridges over the cure (free access) Pierre-Perthuis is made up of two hamlets on both sides of the Cure River: Pierre-Perthuis and Précy-le-Moult with grounds that consort granite, arkose and limestone. In Pierre-Perthuis, we can see the remains of a fortified castle and a gate from 12th century. In sheer on the Cure, the small church Saint-Léonard is surrounded by the cemetery. By there, the throats of the Cure are crossed by two bridges, one dated from 1874 with a single arch in 33 meters high; and the second in « dos dâne » (humpbacked) dated from 1770. Following the walking trail GR13 along la Cure, we can discorver the ruins of an old mill "moulin Gingon". Downstream is the the site of "La Roche percée" (the pierced rock) in a natural arch, 6 meters high, giving the village a name.The top of the arch is carpeted with rich and wild mountain floral plants.
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Chamoux (7 Km from Vezelay)to visit : village, church, spring (free access) Cardoland (pay entry) The town spreads along a narrow woody valley named « la vallée de glace ». The renovated church of the 19th century is surmounted by a bell-tower dated from1844 which rests a foundation of the12th century.
Located in a forest of 10 hectares, Cardo, plastics creator technician and artist, had sculpted a form of an imaginary prehistoric universe : a lagoon and its fauna, rhinoceros of Merck, the great stegosaure, bears of the caves... and the man of cro-magnon, in actual size. A 20 meters length diplodocus . A museum of paleontology, and prehistory with decorated cave. Workshop of prehistoric researches.Playground.
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| Asnières-sous-bois
(9 Km from Vezelay) To visit : village and church (free access) Enclosed in the small valley of "ru de Chamoux", in the midst of the woods; the town of Asnières is divided into two parts: the low village, near the riverbank with its two wash houses; and the high village, with its beautiful public place next to the church of Saint-Sulpice in roman and new-roman style restorations of the 17th century (inside are statues in wooden polychrome from 16th and 17th centuries). The former primary school flanked with a fortified tower and the town hall. |
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Bazoches (
10 Km from Vezelay) To visit : village and church (free access) Castle (pay entry) Chateau de Bazoches -Castle of BazochesThe feudal castle of Bazoches (12 th century), built on a trapezoïdal plan; was acquired by Marshal of Vauban in 1675 where he settled his engineering office. The castle, flanked of four round towers and a square dungeon; has undergone few modifications since the 12th century. Important restorations had set in some of its aspects of the 17th century.
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| CHÂTEL-CENSOIR (15
Km from Vézelay) to visit : the village and the church (free access) Situated in the south of the department of Yonne, not far from Vézelay and near the cities like Avallon and Clamecy; Châtel-Censoir has retail chains of commerce (bakery, grocer's shop, butcher's shop, café-restaurant, press, garage, doctor, pharmacy, bank ) and has several daily connections to Paris by SNCF (railway station). Its historical, architectural, and religious heritage makes this medieval village a pleasant site to visit. The nature offers possibilities of hikes in the forest, along the rivers, where we can discover by chance during a walk some built dried piled stones (huts, walls, fences) or wood-floatings. Possible accommodations are available: VVF, gîtes, guest houses, camping site. www.chatel-censoir.com
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| CHASTELLUX-sur-CURE
(17 Km from Vézelay) To visit : village (free access) Castle (pay entry) Chateau de Chastellux - CASTLE OF CHASTELLUX Perched at the top of a mound dominating the Cure, this impressive castle flanked by 8 towers, reshaped in 13th century and restored in 1825, belongs to the same family for more than 1000 years. Numerous members of this family marked the history of France.
The Latest of 2011:
Château de Chastellux - 89630 Chastellux-sur-Cure - Tél . 03 86 34 20 03 - 06 76 75 83 71 ph.dechastellux@orange.fr - www.chateau-de-chastellux.com
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Arcy sur Cure (à 19 km de Vézelay) Grottes d'Arcy sur Cure - Caves of Arcy sur Cure A high place of prehistory, classified 2nd cave decorated by the age of its paintings - Walk-visiting commentaries of one hour in the heart of the earth
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Clamecy
( 23 km fromVezelay) 20 minutes from Vézelay, discover this strangely rich museum of France. Roman Rolland's collections, Charles Loupot's posters, fine arts donated by Ex-President François Mitterrand, archaeology, history of wood-floating, the earthenwares. Labelled 'tourism and handicap' opens from 10.am to 12.am and
from 2.pm to 6.pm Musée d'Art et d'Histoire
R Rolland - Avenue de la République - 58500
Clamecy |
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Vermenton - Reigny ( 26 Km from Vezelay)
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| Bailly ( 36 km
from Vezelay) Caves de Bailly - Cellars of Bailly Lapierre
home@bailly-lapierre.com www.bailly-lapierre.fr Tél .
03 86 53 77 76 |
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CERVON
( 33Km from Vézelay, 4 km from Corbigny) To visit : Castle(pay entry)
Tél : 03 86 20 01 22 - 03 58 05 50 11 |
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BEINE - CHABLIS ( 53Km from
Vézelay)
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