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15. Saulieu, Burgundy
Population: 2,283
The main reason for coming here is to celebrate François Pompon, creator of the Polar Bear, the greatest of all animal sculptures. He was born in Saulieu in 1855, went on to work with Rodin, and finally found fame with the bear in his 68th year. The original sculpture is in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, but there’s a great copy guarding the main drag through Saulieu, plus other fine works in the village’s small but splendid Musée François Pompon. The second reason is gastronomic: halfway between Paris and Lyon, Saulieu has been a foodie stopover for centuries. It still is, with the terrifyingly expensive Côte d’Or at its heart. Thirdly, it’s a grittily disarming gateway to the Morvan granite uplands, the wildest bit of Burgundy. The place, in short, has pretty much everything.
Best bit: The eating. If loaded, head for La Côte d’Or, one of France’s greatest restaurants. At dinner, expect little change from £400 for two. The associated Loiseau du Morvan bistro – in the Hotel La Tour d’Auxois opposite – is much more affordable; mains from around £20. More reasonable still, and excellent, is the Restaurant 7.
Where to stay: The 17th-century former convent, Hotel La Tour d’Auxois has doubles from £94.
How to get there: It isn’t easy. That’s part of the attraction. Nearest airports Orly and Lyon are some 2h30 away. A train from London, via Paris, to Dijon or Avallon is between five and six hours and hellishly expensive. In all cases, you’ll need to hire a car – so I’d bite the bullet, travel all the way by car (Calais-Saulieu = 5h40) and make a proper trip of it.
14. Gordes, Vaucluse, Provence
Population: 1,666
Of all the celebrated villages in the Luberon stretch of Provence, Gordes is the most worthy. Prettiest, too, on its hill-topping site. It’s now best-known in France for the Parisian artists and media glitterati who descend there, with discretion, in summer. But they do so because it’s a delight. The hazards of a hard past have left it spilling down the hillside, its conspiracy of steep steps and stone streets barely one donkey wide. Visitors flow through. Ridley Scott lives nearby. There’s the château up top. Cafés hike their prices – but nothing tells you that the place was awarded the Croix de Guerre for its wartime role as a resistance centre. There’s true grit beneath the glamour.
Best bit: Just down the road, the Cistercian Sénanque Abbey soars with sobriety, indicating that medieval monks weren’t all debauched. Some had a sense of the sublime. Sénanque is the abbey on all the photos, waves of lavender to the fore.
Where to stay: Clamped to the rock face where the ramparts were, the Bastide de Gordes unfolds down the drop in a series of stone terraces rendered grey-green by Mediterranean vegetation. It’s the discreet, high-luxury palace spot the well-heeled require (doubles from £578, then – steeply – up).
How to get there: Fly to Marseille then hire a car for the hour’s drive to Gordes.
13. Rochefort-en-Terre, Brittany
Population: 635
Among previous inhabitants of Rochefort (near Vannes) was turn-of-the-20th-century Naia – a witch and a ventriloquist apparently possessing the power of ubiquity. She wasn’t entirely legendary. There are photos of her in the Naia Museum, though whether any depict her in different places simultaneously is unclear. We must also mention Alfred Partridge Klots, a US painter who restored the village château to Gothic and Renaissance glory. It’s easy to see why Klots was seduced. The stone structure of the village had (and has) hardly evolved in centuries. It’s so pristinely preserved that it seems almost unreal. Almost. Rural squalor has been replaced by geraniums, buttresses stop the church sliding down hill and the Café Breton, serving since 1818, is among the oldest bistros in Europe. It’s nicely adorned with Klots paintings.
Best bit: The village has devised several playful ways of exploring Rochefort, not least the Escapados open-air, round-the-village escape game. Details here.
Where to stay: A mile from Rochefort, the Auberge Saint Hernin is a real, stone country auberge with a real country restaurant – plus a garden and swimming pool. Doubles from £71.
How to get there: Ferry from Portsmouth to St Malo, then two hours to Rochefort.
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Publish date : 2024-07-18 09:44:18
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Author : info-blog
Publish date : 2024-07-18 14:23:55
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.