weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

From yesterday's location Blois in the Loire valley we drove some 220 km east to Vézelay at the western edge of Burgundy. We passed by this well-known hill-top town some 30 years ago on another one of our drives from the Loire river, noticed the hilltop setting but did not have the time to explore it, but it remained in my memory for all these years as a place to visit. We had a good stay in this charming place and then visited a number of other interesting towns in Burgundy, finishing off in Dijon.

Each of these often small towns has its own charm and place in history. After Vézelay we stayed in Semur-en-Auxois, Beaune and Dijon and visited the other places during our drives. Beaune is of special interest to me: From 1964 to 1965 I spent one year working in Paris and I do remember my probably first ever guided day-tour by SNCF (the French railway company) which brought me to this city, famous for being the wine capital of Burgundy and particularly for its colorful Hospices de Beaune where their annual wine auction is apparently the primary wine auction in France - I would have thought that this distinction would belong to the Bordeaux region, but I am always happy to learn something new.

Beaune with its 20,000 inhabitants is dwarfed by its nearby, much larger neighbor Dijon with close to 160,000 inhabitants. It’s known for its traditional mustard, vineyard tours, autumn gastronomic fair and building styles ranging from Gothic to art deco. The distinguished 1787 Musée des Beaux-Arts, housed in the vast Palace of the Dukes, which I picture below, holds a rich collection of paintings, sculptures, crafts and antiquities.

The few images shown below hopefully can give you a "first feel" for these places, I provide below a couple of links to articles in Wikipedia should you be interested in learning further details on these locations:

Vézelay: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%A9zelay
Semur-en-Auxois: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semur-en-Auxois
Beaune: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaune
Dijon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dijon


Notes
TRIP INFO: Set # 1 provides a brief introduction to this series. Please use the link below if you would like to review this intro:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-797460-1.html

EARLIER POSTS of this series: Access my topic list at UHH, the new posts are listed in reverse chronological order:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/user-topic-list?usernum=45105

Thanks for visiting, I recommend viewing the downloads and look forward to your comments and questions.

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1 - Yonne/Vézelay - Steep street in this defensible hill town famous for its 11th-century Vézelay abbey, both the town and the abbey are a UNESCO World Heritage site

(Download)

2 - Côte-d'Or/Semur-en-Auxois - Medieval core of the historic town built on a pink granite bluff encircled more than half by the river Armançon

(Download)

3 - Côte-d'Or/ Châteauneuf-en-Auxois - Situated on a rocky promontory, the 12th century Castle of Châteauneuf is visible from afar

(Download)

4 - Saône-et-Loire/Autun - Adjacent to Autun's famous 12th century cathedral, an ancient half-timbered house now functioning as a restaurant (and yes, we lunched there)

(Download)

5 - Saône-et-Loire/Autun - Another, less colorful but very authentic half-timbered house in the village

(Download)

6 - Côte-d'Or/Beaune - Courtyard of the 15th century "Hospices de Beaune" with the signature "Burgundian Tile" polychrome renaissance roofing style of the region - a UNESCO World Heritage Site

(Download)

7 - Côte-d'Or/Beaune - Detail of the above courtyard

(Download)

8 - Côte-d'Or/Aloxe-Corton - Colorful patches of vineyards in early spring between Savigny-les-Beaunes and Aloxe-Corton

(Download)

9 - Côte-d'Or/Dijon - Place de la Libération with the Palace of the Dukes and Estates of Burgundy, a remarkably well-preserved architectural assemblage, the oldest parts are from the 14th century, with subsequent additions

(Download)

10 - Côte-d'Or/Dijon - The central part of the Palace of the Dukes and Estates of Burgundy

(Download)

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

For your reference:

Map detailing our drive through that part of France and the location of the places presented in this set, i.e. Vézelay and the cluster of places at the bottom right of the map

(Download)

jederick Loc: Northern Utah

Terrific subjects and scenes all well photographed, Joe...love the old architecture and how well it is preserved! Looking forward to more of your posts. BTW, See you got a new camera system for this European adventure!

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

Absolutely beautiful.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Earnest Botello Loc: Hockley, Texas

Excellent series, Joe, the color and architecture are great.

NMGal Loc: NE NM

Beautiful photography, Joe. It is so well preserved.

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Thank you Jim for your kind comment, I am happy to hear that you enjoyed the pictures so far. And yes, I finally broke down and went mirrorless and the images in these sets are the first ones I shot with the new camera.

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Thank you Kathy, glad to hear that you enjoyed these images as well.

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Thank you Bill for these thumbs pointing in a benevolent direction.

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Thanks Earnest, I am happy that you enjoyed this set as well.

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Thank you Barbara, glad to see that you enjoyed these pictures and yes, these buildings are very well preserved, they basically are all local treasures.

srg

Love that roof detail.
Great pictures

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Thank you srg for your kind comment - I agree, that roof is really spectacular - I saw it the first time in 1964 as a 20-year old and was totally amazed then and still am each time I see it again!

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

Really nice, Joe.