News and visits
Our primary concern is to constantly improve the comfort of and your welcome to our cottages.
Sometimes it is our visitors who suggest new ideasto usfor improvements. This ‘news’ blog will bring you up to date,as a result, withnew information.
See you soon.
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Visits: visits are possible at certain times of the year - castle info and visit schedule - 06 81 36 30 84. The visit is interesting and is carried out by the current owner. In about 1 hour you will learn about the evolution of the construction of the castle over the centuries, the wealth of information revealed inside the chapel, and the very different points of view you see as you tour the chateau.
One can walk freely in the park and the garden.
Location : 9 Route de Saint-Pierre - Epiry - 71490 SAINT-EMILAND
The chateau can be reached by road as it lies between Couches and Autun, but it can be accessed also from the Canal du Centre, at Perreuil, following the directions to Essertenne.
You can combine your visit with:
The chateaux of Couches et Autun
or
Villa Perrusson, the Canal du Centre and Le Creusot
Read more: A little-known castle in Burgundy: the Chateau d'Epiry
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The GEORAMA hike
Between Buxy and Saint-Gengoux, the 6km "Géorama" hike around Culles-les-Roches allows you to understand the changes that have taken place in the landscape over time.
Indeed, the village of Culles-les-Roches is installed on a geological fault that you can observe from different points of view on the route.
At each point of interest, very clear and well-illustrated explanatory panels allow you to "read" the landscape. They are easy to read and not technical or off-putting.
For example, they will help you understand how the hills were formed, why water is very evident in the village, and you can visualize how the vines were able to integrate themselves on the slopes.
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2h45 maximum excluding extensions to the Sacré-Coeur statue and Mont Avril (4h15 with the 2 extensions).
Very varied walk (vineyards, moor, village, forest) with several pretty views:
- over the Jambles valley,
- over the Saône valley,
- 360° at the top of Mont Avril.
No difficulty but good shoes are recommended, elevation gain of 200m, 20% shade (on the final uphill).
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Loop St Denis de Vaux – Russilly – St Denis de Vaux
- 2 hours maximum on average, excluding the viewpoint optional detour.
- This is a very varied walk (terrain, environment, orientation) with several pretty views.
- The round trip does not appear on any guidebook – the route is highlighted in orange on the IGN "Chalon-sur-Saône" map that is available in the lodgings.
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Since summer 2019, just over 10 km of cycle paths have been opened from Saint-Léger-sur-Dheune, travelling south, to just a little before Saint-Julien-sur-Dheune (in the direction of Montchanin).
The route is located to the left of the Canal du Centre (going south), as far as Saint-Bérain-sur-Dheune. In this village, which cyclists can traverse, the route crosses to the other side of the canal and to the right of the road.
The cycle path is then sheltered by the trees until it crosses to Perreuil (photo below). From this crossing, the route sometimes follows the cycle path and at other times it continues along small,rural, country back roads (without cars). For the last 2 kilometers,the cycle path again passes through the trees along the Canal du Centre.
The cycle path ends, for the moment, in a cul-de-sac 500m from the cycle path that leads from Saint-Julien-sur-Dheune to Ecuisses (on the other side of the canal).
One day the connection will be better! Enjoy your visit.
The Canal du Centre from our gîtes
The Canal du Centre and its cycle path are located approximately 10km from our gîtes.
Going there by bike is possible while avoiding (almost completely) the D978 (the road from Chalon to Autun). To do this, take the following small roads, the details of which are as follows:
- from Saint-Martin-sous-Montaigu, go up to Saint-Mard-de-Vaux,
- at the church, turn right on the rue de Blaisy towards the D978,
- at the D978 ride 200m left to the Petit Blanc restaurant,
- turn right, then follow the next road left up to Aluze (a steep climb),
- at the entrance of Aluze follow the route left in the direction of Dennevy,
- enjoy a nice descent to Dennevy, the Canal du Centre and the cycle path.
Of course, we provide our guests with the corresponding IGN map.
Find out more about the cycle paths around our lodgings
Do not hesitate to consult our page "A week of cycling and tourism in Burgundy".
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The library has two sections:
The chapel: in the nave and choir of an old Carmelite convent church (14th century) which are still preserved, there are recent books and comics. The large,Gothic style window illuminates the shelves beautifully. Do not miss the threatening animal heads that decorate the ends of the roof beams.
The study room: a library was created in 1843 in a former part of the convent that was rebuilt in the 17th century. The wood paneling adorning the walls dates from the 18th century (it was confiscated during the Revolution from La Ferté abbey and miraculously preserved). The library currently houses 17,000 old volumes from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.
On this page https://patrimoine.bm-chalon.fr/ you will have an idea of the richness of the heritage documents that are preserved there.
The library is not always open but you can request a visit at reception.
When the library was installed in 1843, two globes - one terrestrial, the other celestial - were placed in the current study room. They were made entirely by hand around 1740 by a Capuchin monk Louis Legrand. The latter belonged to the convent of Chalon-sur-Saône and was a cartographer. They were confiscated from the Capuchin convent during the Revolution.
These two globes are among the twenty hand drawn globes, made prior to 1850, kept in France. They measure 1.62m in diameter each. The texts and the drawings were entirely produced on paper, by hand with no printing.
More than 60 constellations appear on the celestial globe. Among these, several were only discovered at the end of the XVIIth century and recorded in the XVIIIth century (e.g. The‘Oak of Charles II’,Robur Carolinumconstellation,and the ‘Fleur de Lys’,Liliumconstellation).
The terrestrial globe shows the state of the known world at the beginning of the 18th century. The journeys of the voyages of nine major navigators (including Magellan and Francis Drake) are shown in dotted lines. Many animals (sometimes monstrous) and boats are represented on the globes.
How to get there
Enter the Town Hall and ask for directions at reception.
Entrance is free, and access to the library is located at the far left of the central courtyard of the town hall from behind reception.
You must go up one floor and, on the left, you will find the entrance to the two libraries and the library reception.
To the left is the chapel and on the right you access the study room and the globes.
Opening times can be found on the page https://bm-chalon.fr/index.php/page/horaires (adult library section, i.e. ‘bibliothèque adultes’).