REGIONAL FEATURE

Take a look at a map of Eastern France and find the city of Dijon, the capital of the Burgundy region; surrounding this famous medieval city is the Côte-d'Or (department 21); in the western part is The Auxois, famous in the equestrian community for its ancient breed of horse.
The area is also renowned for its spectacular rolling countryside punctuated with stunning, fortified hilltop villages and river towns, beautiful châteaux, and ancient monasteries, many preserved as if time had stood still.
The to-see list is long, and we have some recommendations for you including Semur-en-Auxois, standing high and proud on an escarpment above the Armançon river - its defensive towers and dwarfing high walls make it (without a doubt) one of the most dramatic sights in the region.

A little further along the D18, you will find Pouilly-en-Auxois, a pretty town that sits alongside Le Canal de Bourgogne (the Burgundy Canal), a popular stop for many tourists who want to take a leisurely trip along this famous waterway that follows the river valley.

While you are in the area, make sure you visit Châteauneuf-en-Auxois in its elevated position overlooking the river valley; we take a closer look at this spectacular medieval fortified village in our Must Visit feature in this edition of our newsletter.

Make sure you loop back and visit Saulieu, the capital of the Morvan Regional Park. This is well worth a visit and a stopover for something to eat – the town has some of the finest restaurants in the area.

Talking of eating! From classic French dining to Steakhouse, from American Grill to Bistro and Café style, the Auxois has plenty of culinary experiences to suit every budget and if you are like our newsletter editor, you cannot wait to get back to eating out with friends and family and enjoying life the French way.

And while we remember, although this local area is not as well-known for its wine production as elsewhere in Burgundy, the Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Auxerrois and Pinot Gris, are the traditional grapes cultivated here, producing some very palatable wines. The reds tend to be lively, youthful fruity wines. The whites benefit from the near-perfect south-southeast aspect of the stony clay-limestone hills, delivering some fine Chardonnays with lasting bouquets - they are well worth a try!