Abbaye de Fontenay and Beaune

Day 5: On to Beaune with a detour


After breakfast, we took our leave of Madame Yveline at La Grange Amboise.  We enjoyed our stay and her hospitality and would definitely stay there on a subsequent trip.


We had a relatively long drive from Amboise to Beaune and planned to stop at Abbaye de Fontenay, a Unesco World Heritage site, and possibly Semeur-en-Auxois. 


Driving in France is really easy.  We had no problems getting out of Amboise and onto the autoroute.  We stopped at a rest stop and purchased the Beaune area map for which we'd searched in vain at bookshops and gas stations and anywhere maps were sold. 


After lunch, we made our way to the Abbaye de Fontenay on small back roads that were deserted.  There were very few villages and fewer villagers.  We saw two cats and one man in an hour.  I didn't realize France was so rural in spots.  The drive was beautiful.


The Abbaye de Fontenay is in a quiet, green, peaceful, and picturesque location. 


From their website www.abbayedefontenay.com
Fontenay Abbey in Burgundy was founded in 1118 by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, a leading French saint, and is the oldest preserved Cistercian abbey in the world.

After the French revolution, which led to the departure of the monks, it was converted to an industrial use which preserved all the buildings of the Romanesque period: the Abbey Church, the Dormitory, Cloister, Chapter Room, the Common Room, and the Forge.
Located in northern Burgundy, it is nestled in a fully preserved valley which extends over 1,200 hectares.
Since 1820, the Abbey of Fontenay has been the private ownership of the same family, which continues to preserve this exceptional site opening to public visit all year round. The Abbey welcomes 100,000 visitors each year who come to admire the beauty and purity of architecture unspoiled for 900 years, and enjoy the quiet of a place designed for spirituality.

The abbey church was consecrated in 1147 by Pope Eugene III.

From their website www.abbayedefontenay.com: 

Abbey Church of Fontenay is one of the oldest Cistercian churches in the world. Built between 1139 and 1147, it is also one of the few Cistercian churches of the twelfth century to have survived intact until today.

According to the will of St. Bernard and the General Chapter of the Cistercian Order, nothing in the church was to distract the eye so that all could be turned to God during the daily offices. That is why this building was designed with simplicity and is a model of Burgundian Romanesque architecture : Latin cross plan, bare facade, simple foliage sculptures for the capitals, and single row of side windows.



The church really is simply beautiful.

The Virgin and Child is a beautiful example of late 13C Burgundian sculpture.

Not a great picture of a beautiful statue

 The glazed tiles are from the 12th and 13th centuries.

The monks slept in this dormitory (reconstructed after a fire) that looks like the upside down hull of a ship.

The dormitory

The 12th century cloister seamlessly and beautifully connects all of the rooms. 

The common room was large, light filled, and beautiful  The monks did all kinds of different work here, possibly including making illustrated manuscripts.

Common room

Common room

The forge is a beautiful 12th century building.  Per the website, it was set aside from the rest of the buildings to mark a difference between work and spiritual life.  It had interesting displays on the works that what went on in it after the French Revolution. 

View of the forge's buttresses

The forge

Vaulted ceiling and decorative stone work
inside the forge

The grounds were just immaculate.  The peace was only interrupted by the grounds keeper's mover or blower.

Platane tree from 1780

We spent a bit of time in the museum and bookstore before leaving.  An excellent and extremely worthwhile detour was Abbaye de Fontenay!


We decided to skip Semeur-en-Auxois because it was getting late.


Next stop: Beaune.  We programmed the GPS to our Air B&B rental and it got us there with no problems.  The owner, Jacqueline, met us within a few minutes and let us into the gorgeous, roomy apartment.  We parked the car a few blocks away in the free lot near a pretty park. It was easy to get there by car and back by foot.

Small kitchen

Open shower and sauna!

Massive bedroom with king bed



View to the left (Dali Museum)

View to the right

View directly in front

The only drawback was that it did not have a washer/dryer or a sink in the separate toilet room. I used the sauna every night--loved it! We really liked this place and would stay there again in a heartbeat.


The apartment was very central in Beaune, right on Place Monge.  We went exploring, stopped for drinks at Les Chevaliers, did some grocery shopping, made some phone calls, relaxed. 


We noticed a couple of really disheveled and dirty looking people hanging around. I thought it was sad that there was a homeless problem in Beaune.  We later found out they were grape pickers--harvest had started!

First drinks in Beaune

We considered a couple of different restaurants for dinner but ended up back at Les Chevaliers.  We sat outside, the smoking was not too bad, and enjoyed our meal.  We also enjoyed watching all the people and animals. It seems natural and right that well-behaved dogs are allowed everywhere (and I'm not your typical dog lover).  We laughed at a little dog that kept trying to go after bigger dogs that just ignored it.  It was the most barking we'd heard in a long time!  It was more cute than disruptive. It was a gorgeous night.

My chicken was tasty

Potatoes au gratin, yum

Husband's beef bourgignon

 A quick walk and we were back in our apartment for the night. 

Back of Notre-Dame de Beaune

Takeaways:
1. Driving in France is really easy and pleasant.  No potholes or bad roads anywhere.
2. Tolls can get expensive. But are worth it!
3. I was charmed by rural, deserted France.
4. Abbaye de Fontenay is worth the detour.
5. The Air B&B apartment was great and the sauna was fantastic (I want one at home)
6. Sitting outside for drinks and dinner is delightful.


Next: All day wine tour