Pretty Villages of Burgundy France

Travelled:218km

Stay: Mery sur Seine- picnic area beside canal N48.5110 E3.8859

Visited: Flavigny sur Ozerain and Noyers both classified as a ‘Most Beautiful Village of France’ in the Burgundy region.

We were lucky last nights stormy weather passed us by the time we went to sleep resulting in a very quiet night. In the morning we consulted the internet to see what we could see on our journey back towards Bluey’s resting place in Rousseloy near Paris. We decided on 2 villages that are classified as one of the most beautiful villages of France. 

It took just over an hour to reach Flavigny sur Ozerain (Our GPS taking us on some interesting back roads). 

Back in 719 a Benedictine Abbey was built here on top of a rocky spur. During the Middle Ages it became a popular stop for pilgrims especially those on their way to Santiago de Compastela (Spain). The town grew around the Abbey and later became fortified during the 12th century. By the time of the French Revolution the Abbey Church was probably in ruins due to corruption. During this time the monks tradition of preserving aniseed in a coating of sugar became well known and there were several manufacturers of this candy dragée. Now all the manufacturing is done in one place in the Abbey. We visited the shop that had tastings of the various flavours as well as information on the history and manufacturing process. 

Yummy flavours 

We were also able to visit the factory itself with a guide where we learnt some interesting facts. The process starts with a single anise seed and over a period of 15 days it is covered with successive coats of flavoured sugar syrup using copper barrels that turn and a specific speed and kept at a certain temperature. Each day one ton of the lollies are made and packaged to send all over France and international destinations.

The images on the tins depict a love story. Under are the different sizes of the aniseed as it is covered in the sugar layers.

 We then explored the rest of the village admiring various architectural features. 

Abbey crypt.

We then drove another hour or so to the medieval village of Noyers, set in the Chablis countryside on the banks of the River Serein. We entered the village through one of the fortified towered gateways and strolled along the cobbled streets admiring the many half timbered buildings with some unique features. 

We also had a look in the 15th century church. 

We then decided to drive a further 100km to the other side of Troyes, arriving in Mery sur Seine around 5:30pm. After a walk through town we did some preparation getting Bluey ready for storage.