11 Best Sights in Burgundy, France

Founded in the 10th century, the Abbaye de Cluny was the largest church in Europe until the 16th century, when St. Peter's Basilica in Rome was built. Art historians have written themselves into knots tracing the fundamental influence of its architecture in the development of early Gothic style. Cluny's medieval abbots were as powerful as popes; in 1098 Pope Urban II (himself a Cluniac) assured the head of his old abbey that Cluny was the "light of the world." That assertion, of dubious religious validity, did not stand the test of time; after the Revolution the abbey was sold as national property and much of it was used as a stone quarry. Today Cluny stands in ruins, a reminder of the vanity of human grandeur. What remains, however, suggests the size and gorgeous glory of the abbey at its zenith, and piecing it back together in your mind is part of the attraction.

In order to get a clear sense of what you're looking at, start at the Porte d'Honneur, the entrance to the abbey from the village, whose classical architecture is reflected in the pilasters and Corinthian columns of the Clocher de l'Eau-Bénite (a majestic bell tower), crowning the only remaining part of the abbey church, the south transept. Between the two is the reconstructed monumental staircase, which led to the portal of the abbey church, and the excavated column bases of the vast narthex. The entire nave is gone. On one side of the transept is a national horse-breeding center (haras) founded in 1806 by Napoléon and constructed with materials from the destroyed abbey; on the other is an elegant pavilion built as new monks' lodgings in the 18th century. The gardens in front of it once contained an ancient lime tree (destroyed by a 1982 storm) named after Abélard, the controversial philosopher who sought shelter here in 1142. Off to the right is the 13th-century farinier (flour store), with its fine oak-and-chestnut roof and collection of exquisite Romanesque capitals from the vanished choir. The Musée d'Art et d'Archéologie, in the Palais Jean de Bourbon, contains Europe's foremost Romanesque lapidary museum. Vestiges of both the abbey and the village constructed around it are conserved here, as well as part of the Bibliothèque des Moines (Monks' Library).

The best-preserved of the Cistercian abbeys, the Abbaye de Fontenay was founded in 1118 by St-Bernard. The same Cistercian criteria applied to Fontenay as to Pontigny: no-frills architecture and an isolated site—the spot was especially remote, for it had been decreed that these monasteries could not be established anywhere near "cities, feudal manors, or villages." The monks were required to live a completely self-sufficient existence, with no contact whatsoever with the outside world. By the end of the 12th century the buildings were finished, and the abbey's community grew to some 300 monks. Under the protection of Pope Gregory IX and Hughes IV, duke of Burgundy, the monastery soon controlled huge land holdings, vineyards, and timberlands. It prospered until the 16th century, when religious wars and administrative mayhem hastened its decline. Dissolved during the French Revolution, the abbey was used as a paper factory until 1906. Fortunately, the historic buildings emerged unscathed. The abbey is surrounded by extensive, immaculately tended gardens dotted with the fountains that gave it its name. The church's solemn interior is lightened by windows in the facade and by a double row of three narrow windows, representing the Trinity, in the choir. A staircase in the south transept leads to the wooden-roof dormitory (spare a thought for the bleary-eyed monks, obliged to stagger down for services in the dead of night). The chapter house, flanked by a majestic arcade, and the scriptorium, where monks worked on their manuscripts, lead off from the adjoining cloisters.

In the 11th and 12th centuries, the celebrated Basilique Ste-Madeleine was one of the focal points of Christendom. Pilgrims poured in to see the relics of St-Mary Magdalene (in the crypt) before setting off on the great trek to the shrine of St-James at Santiago de Compostela, in northwest Spain. Several pivotal church declarations of the Middle Ages were made from here, including St-Bernard's preaching of the Second Crusade (which attracted a huge French following) and Thomas à Becket's excommunication of English king Henry II. By the mid-13th century the authenticity of St-Mary's relics was in doubt; others had been discovered in Provence. The basilica's decline continued until the French Revolution, when the basilica and adjoining monastery buildings were sold by the state. Only the basilica, cloister, and dormitory escaped demolition, and were falling into ruin when ace restorer Viollet-le-Duc, sent by his mentor Prosper Merimée, rode to the rescue in 1840 (he also restored the cathedrals of Laon and Amiens and Paris's Notre-Dame). Guided tours are offered every Sunday from May to August at 2:30 pm.

Today the UNESCO-listed basilica has recaptured much of its glory and is considered to be one of France's most prestigious Romanesque showcases. The exterior tympanum was redone by Viollet-le-Duc (have a look at the eroded original as you exit the cloister), but the narthex (circa 1150) is a Romanesque masterpiece. Note the interwoven zodiac signs and depictions of seasonal crafts along its rim, similar to those at both Troyes and Autun. The pilgrims' route around the building is indicated by the majestic flowers, which metamorphose into full-blown blooms, over the left-hand entrance on the right; an annual procession is still held on July 22. The basilica's exterior is best seen from the leafy terrace to the right of the facade. Opposite, a vast, verdant panorama encompasses vines, lush valleys, and rolling hills. In the foreground is the Flamboyant Gothic spire of St-Père-sous-Vézelay, a tiny village 3 km (2 miles) away.

Historically linked more with Paris than Burgundy, Sens was the country’s ecclesiastical center for centuries. Today it's still dominated by Cathédrale St-Étienne, once the French sanctuary for Thomas à Becket and a model for England's Canterbury Cathedral. You can see the 240-foot south tower from miles away. As you draw near, the pompous 19th-century buildings lining the town's narrow main street—notably the meringue-like Hôtel de Ville—can give you a false impression; in fact, the streets leading off it near the cathedral (notably Rue Abelard and Rue Jean-Cousin) are full of medieval half-timber houses. On Monday the cathedral square is crowded with merchants' stalls, and the beautiful late-19th-century market hall—a distant cousin of Baltard's former iron-and-glass Halles in Paris—hums with people buying meat and produce. A smaller market is held on Friday morning.

Begun around 1130, the cathedral once had two towers: one was topped in 1532 by an elegant though somewhat incongruous Renaissance campanile that contained two monster bells; the other was taken down in the 19th century. Note the trefoil arches decorating the exterior of the remaining tower. The gallery, with statues of former archbishops of Sens, is a 19th-century addition, but the statue of St. Stephen (aka St-Étienne) between the doors of the central portal, is thought to date to late in the 12th century. The vast, harmonious interior is justly renowned for its stained-glass windows: the oldest (circa 1200) are in the north transept and include the stories of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son; those in the south transept were manufactured in 1500 in Troyes and include a much-admired Tree of Jesse. Stained-glass windows in the north of the chancel retrace the story of Thomas à Becket: Becket fled to Sens from England to escape the wrath of Henry II before returning to his cathedral in Canterbury, where he was murdered in 1170. Below the window—which shows him embarking on his journey in a boat, and also at the moment of his death—is a medieval statue of an archbishop said to have come from the site of Becket's home in Sens. Becket's aube (vestment) is displayed in the annex to the Palais Synodal.

Built from Sebastiano Serlio's designs, with interior blandishments by Primaticcio, the Château d'Ancy-le-Franc is an important example of Italianism, less for its plain, heavy exterior than for its sumptuous rooms and apartments, many with carved or painted walls and ceilings plus original furnishings. Niccolò dell'Abate and other court artists created the magnificent Chambre des Arts (Art Gallery) and other rooms filled with murals depicting the signs of the zodiac, the Battle of Pharsala, and the motif of Diana in Her Bath (much favored by Diane de Poitiers, sister of the Comtesse de Tonnerre). Such grandeur won the approval of no less than the Sun King, Louis XIV, who once stayed in the Salon Bleu (Blue Room). The east wing of the ground floor, which housed Diane de Poitier's apartments, has been restored. Highlights here include Diane's bedroom with its 16th-century murals.

Philippe le Hardi, the son of the king of France, was the illustrious owner of this majestic 9th- to 16th-century castle. The surrounding estate—one of the largest in Burgundy—has 237 acres of vines, and a visit to it culminates with a tasting of four wines. The award-winning St-Aubin "En Vesvau," matured and aged in wooden casks, is a must-try, as is the Clos Philippe le Hardi and AOP Aloxe-Corton "Les Brunettes et Planchots." There are three classic wine tastings (from €10) and, by appointment only, two high-end wine tastings that include a tour of the cellar that ends with either two white wines and three reds (€25) or three whites and three reds, including at least two Premier Cru and one Grand Cru (€55). 

Unlike most aristocrats who heeded the royal summons to live at Versailles and fled the countryside, the marquis and marquise de Tanlay opted to live here among their village retainers. As a result, the Château de Tanlay, built around 1550, never fell into neglect and is a masterpiece of early French Baroque. Spectacularly adorned with rusticated obelisks, pagoda-like towers, the finest in French Classicist ornamentation, and a "grand canal," the château is centered around a typical cour d'honneur. Inside, the Hall of Caesars vestibule, framed by wrought-iron railings, leads to a wood-panel salon and dining room filled with period furniture. A graceful staircase climbs to the second floor, which has the showstopper: a gigantic gallery frescoed in Italianate trompe-l'oeil. A small room in the tower above was used as a secret meeting place by Huguenot Protestants during the 1562–98 Wars of Religion; note the cupola with its fresco of scantily clad 16th-century religious personalities. Visits are by guided tour only, which depart daily at 10:10 am, 11:15 am, 2:15 pm, 3:15 pm, 4:15 pm, and 5:15 pm.

Although it wasn’t completed until the Renaissance, construction on Château du Clos de Vougeot was actually begun in the 12th century by Cistercian monks from neighboring Cîteaux who needed wine for Mass and wanted to make a diplomatic offering. It's best known as the seat of Burgundy's elite company of wine lovers, the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin, who gather here in November at the start of an annual three-day festival, Les Trois Glorieuses. You can admire the château's cellars, where ceremonies are held, and ogle the huge 13th-century grape presses, marvels of medieval engineering. There are also regular photo exhibitions and concerts. Forty-five minute guided tours (€12) leave at 10:30, 11:30 (in English), 2:30, and 4:30 daily.

With its steep, gabled roof colorfully tiled in intricate patterns, the famed Hospices de Beaune is this city’s top attraction—and one of Burgundy’s most iconic sights. Better known to some as the Hôtel-Dieu, it was founded in 1443 as a hospital to provide free care for the poor after the Hundred Years' War. The interior looks medieval but was repainted by 19th-century restorer Ouradou (Viollet-le-Duc's son-in-law); it centers on the grand salle, more than 160 feet long, with the original furniture, a great wooden roof, and the super-picturesque cour d'honneur. The Hospices carried on its medical activities until 1971—its nurses still wearing their habitlike uniforms—and the hospital's history is retraced in the museum, whose wide-ranging collections contain some odd medical instruments from the 15th century. You can also see a collection of tapestries that belonged to the repentant founder of the Hospices, ducal chancellor Nicolas Rolin, who hoped charity would relieve him of his sins—one of which was collecting wives. Outstanding are both the tapestry he had made for Madame Rolin III, with its repeated motif of "my only star," and one relating the legend of St-Eloi and his miraculous restoration of a horse's leg.

But the showstopper at the Hôtel-Dieu is Rogier Van der Weyden's stirring, gigantic 15th-century masterpiece The Last Judgment, commissioned for the hospital's chapel by Rolin. The intense colors and mind-tripping imagery were meant to scare the illiterate patients into religious submission. Notice the touch of misogyny; more women are going to hell than to heaven, while Christ, the judge, remains completely unmoved. The Hospices own around 150 acres of the region's finest vineyards, much of it classified as Grand or Premier Cru.

This haven for foodies occupies a complex that combines starkly modern buildings and a renovated former hospital dating back to 1204, all sprawled over a 16-acre site at the southwest edge of the city. One of the contemporary wings houses an outpost of the Ferrandi culinary school and the Ecole des Vins de Bourgogne, which holds tastings and workshops. But the hub is the Gastronomic Village, an outdoor shopping mall with high-end food and wine shops, a culinary bookstore, and an on-site kitchen where top chefs hold live cooking demonstrations and masterclasses. One of the highlights is the Cave de la Cité,  an oenophile's paradise, with more than 3,000 different wines, 250 sold by the glass. Among the on-site eateries, you'll find the café-brasserie Comptoir de la Cité and the first-class restaurant La Table des Climats. There are also permanent and temporary food-focused exhibitions, a museum, a cinema complex, and a luxury Hilton hotel.

The elegant, classical exterior of this former palace can best be admired from half-moon Place de la Libération and the cour d'honneur. The kitchens (circa 1450), with their six huge fireplaces and (for their time) state-of-the-art aeration funnel in the ceiling, catch the eye, as does the 15th-century Salle des Gardes (Guard Room), with its richly carved and colored tombs and late-14th-century altarpieces. The palace now houses one of France's major art museums, the Musée des Beaux-Arts (Fine Arts Museum). The magnificent tombs sculpted for dukes Philip the Bold and his son John the Fearless (note their dramatically moving mourners, hidden in shrouds) are just two highlights of a rich collection of medieval objects and Renaissance furniture gathered here as testimony to Marguerite of Flanders (Philip the Bold's wife). She brought to Burgundy not only her dowry, namely the rich province of Flanders, but also a host of distinguished artists—including Rogier van der Weyden, Jan van Eyck, and Claus Sluter. Their artistic legacy can be seen here, as well as at several of Burgundy's other museums and monuments. Among the paintings are works by Italian old masters and French 19th-century artists, such as Théodore Géricault and Gustave Courbet, plus their Impressionist successors, notably Édouard Manet and Claude Monet.