Visit of Auxerre

Visite d’Auxerre, l’Auxerrois et son vignoble

94-km Tour

Visit to Auxerre

Take the time to discover Auxerre while strolling through the old town, with its flagstone alleys and rows of timber-framed houses. Walk under the Clock Tower (one of the three houses of Auxerre’s favourite son, Cadet Roussel), wander through the district of the Marine and its Place Saint Nicolas. Visit the cathedral of Saint Étienne and the Abbey Saint Germain, with its 9th-century frescos (the oldest known in France).

Visit to Saint Bris le Vineux

Nestles amid the knolls of grapevines and cherry orchards, the church dominates the wine-growing houses whose vaulted 12th- and 13th-century cellars bear the most vivid testimony to local viticulture. Everything in Saint Bris reminds you that grapes and cherries are the village’s two riches.

Visit to the Bailly Lapierre cellars

In the township of Saint Bris le Vineux, let yourself be surprised … with a journey to the centre of the earth. The showplace of Burgundy Crémant, the Bailly Lapierre Cellar is located in very old quarries. Here, 5 million bottles of Burgundy Crémant are aged in 4 hectares of cellars located under 50 meters of rock. An extraordinary underground visit, with tasting spaces. Open daily.

Visit to Irancy

Located amid a veritable grapevine amphitheatre, set at the bottom of a deep valley, Irancy, which saw the birth of Soufflot (the architect who designed France’s Pantheon, among other buildings), is the wine-growing village par excellence. The small stone houses with their outdoor stairs cosy up to each other. Their cellars, a true underground village, are the showrooms of the wine growers who invite you to taste their wines, which enjoy Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée status.

Coulanges la Vineuse

Located between two small valleys, on top of a crest reaching down into the Yonne valley, this quaint location lends a “perched” aspect to the village, amidst a circle of vine-props across from the one in Irancy.

Visit to Joigny

Walk through the old town of Joigny, classified as “City of Art and History”, and its timber-framed houses, which include the Tree of Jesse House, or the so-called Baillif’s House. Visit the Church of Saint Thibault and the Church of Saint Jean, the castle of the Gondi, the district of Saint André, the arboretum, and then wander along the banks of the Yonne.