02 : New in the area?

La Tuilerie de Chazelle is deep in the heart of the rolling landscape of South Burgundy. This area is famous for its magnificent Romanesque churches along with numerous towns and villages of unrivalled beauty and not least for its world famous vineyards.
The abundance of Romanesque churches in the area is due, to a large extent, to its proximity to Cluny, where a rich and powerful abbey once was. A visit to what remains of the abbey is a must.

Saturday service at Taizé - picture courtesy of A. Waidelich

The ecumenical monastic community of Taizé is just under 2 miles from here. Taizé attracts young people from around the world and is famous for its "Taizé Songs" (a modern version of Gregorian chants). A little further away is the first Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Europe, the Temple of the Thousand Buddhas (Kagyu Ling) at La Boulaye, well worth the experience.

Over and above all else, Burgundy is well known for its fine food and great wines. Good living has been made into an art-form here. You can enjoy the wine tasting available in the local "caves" that you discover on your travels or you can follow the numerous "wine trails" (Côte d'Or, Côte Chalonnaise and Mâconnais & Beaujolais) that take you past the best and most famous houses of the region.

Wine tasting in the Cave Cooperative of Saint-Gengoux-le-National

For walkers and cyclists this area is ideal. There are many well laid out routes to walk or cycle, of varying levels of difficulty, including the Voie Verte which is a flat, safe cycle path that runs the length of South Burgundy on an old railway track with extensions on canal tow-paths.

It is impossible to give information on everything there is to see around here, but for those who want more information than this small space allows, you can scroll down the page or click on a Label on the right hand side of this article for more details on certain topics like things to see in and around Cormatin or day trips you can make from here, etc.

07 : Food , Wine and Cultural Activities

Over and above all else, Burgundy is known for its food and wine.

Escargots

Good living has been made into an art-form here. You can enjoy the wine tasting available in the local "caves" that you discover on your travels or you can follow the numerous "wine trails" (Côte d'Or, Côte Chalonaise and Mâconnais and Beaujolais) that take you past the best and most famous houses of the region. Lunch and dinner are essential parts of the daily ritual in France and particularly here in Burgundy. These events should be taken very seriously and are to be enjoyed to the full. So why not be like the locals, sit down, chill out and take the time to savour your meal. Whether you sit on the terrace of the local brasserie or you experience the full silver service of some of the best restaurants in France, each meal will be a real treat.

Pavé de boeuf

For that special dinner, you can choose from one of the many highly rated restaurants within reach of La Tuilerie.

But you don't have to go home kilos heavier; the great outdoors of Burgundy is ideal for pursuing a wide range of sporting and leisure activities and is also perfect for nature lovers.
" La Voie Verte", translated as "the green trail", passes within yards of La Tuilerie and runs the length of South Burgundy. This path used to be in part an old railway line and it is now used by cyclists, skaters and walkers, and takes you easily from one delightful village to the next in perfect safety. Just to the north of here, the Voie Verte runs along the tow paths of the Canal du Centre, making for very flat and easy travelling.

Voie Verte and Balade Verte

You could of course just walk around the local lanes or in the forest across the road from La Tuilerie and breath in the pure air, enjoying the wildlife along the way. Organised walks (randonnées) are held on Sundays throughout the year, where you are given a route to follow and you can enjoy refreshments along the way, or you can follow the number of Balades Vertes (green strolls) that have recently been laid out in the area, letting you enjoy a walk without getting lost! One of the walks goes almost past the front door here.

Emmanuel Rossfelder during Guitares en Cormatinois - Chazelle

Had enough of nature and want to do something cultural? There are many local festivals going on all year round. All summer long there are classical concerts given in the beautiful Romanesque church in Chapaize organised by “Chapaize Culture”. In Cormatin and surrounding villages there is the yearly festival “Guitares en Cormatinois”. This series of concerts is not only classical guitar music but also includes lighter concerts as well as folk music. We keep up to date with all the latest events so we can tell you what's on and where during your stay. The real way to experience France is to do as the French do, visit these festivals, visit the markets and poke around in the local brocante.

Marché aux puces - Flagy

You can even try and find that essential souvenir to bring a little bit of Burgundy home with you.

On the internet some interesting videos (in French) can be found:  "La Route des Vins - Bourgogne" (50 minutes) and "Le vignoble de Bourgogne vu du ciel" (13 minutes).

09 : Balades Vertes

Quite recently Saône-et-Loire, South Burgundy has completed the Balades Vertes which are a large number of signposted walking routes throughout the whole of the département (71). Together with the Voie Verte (check out the article) these routes make this area a Mecca for walkers.

In the capital of our canton, St Gengoux le National, the tourist information office has a little book with details of the walks that are in the area between the rivers Grosne and Guye, rather unsurprising called "Guide les Balades Vertes entre Grosne et Guye". The book contains 26 signposted walks and costs €8.00, a little map and description of each walk can be bought separately and they cost € 2.00 each. All the signposts or markings on trees and fence posts are in yellow and are very clear.

A large number of communes along the Voie Verte have a starting point for their walks. The routes to these starting points are clearly marked with large signposts “Randonnée - Balade Verte” on the main roads. By each start point there is a carpark and a map with an overview of the routes that start and finish at that point and the route reference number, for instance the routes from Cormatin are CO1 and CO2, from Taizé TA1 etc. Click here for an album with some more pictures of the Balades Vertes.

Taking a break along the Balades Vertes

For those who want to be a bit more adventurous and make their own way around here, there are very well detailed maps from IGN in their Série Bleue (1:25000) which you can use to find all the footpaths in the area. One of the Grande Randonnées passes close to Cormatin (GR76) and Cluny is one of the starting points for the road to Santiago de Compostella.

Over and above all this, from early in the spring until late in autumn, there are organised randonnées most weekends. The routes are marked by different coloured spray paint arrows on the road or wooden arrows on temporary posts and the walks usually range from 5 to 30 km. At strategic points on the way there are refreshment stalls where wine, water, French bread, cheese and sausage are distributed. The prices vary by distance and range from €3.00 to €10.00.

We get many questions about how to walk or cycle to Taizé from here, so we have made some maps of the various routes and posted them in a photo album. Click here for those routes.