A quarter of an hour from the gîtes

Semur-en-Auxois

A medieval town standing on a pink granite plateau, in a loop of the Armançon: its towers, its fortified gates, its Gothic collegiate church, and a whole old town to explore on foot.

See the gîtes Visits and practical information

round towers in the keep: 4
high: the Tour de l'Orle d'Or: 44 m
work begins on the collegiate church: 1225
first Course de la Bague: 1639

The Porte Sauvigny, its vaulted passage and the cobbled lane — Benjamin Smith · CC BY-SA 4.0

Into the old town

Gates and lanes

You enter the old town through the Porte Sauvigny, then the Porte Guillier, which opens onto the rue Buffon and its old houses. Everything here is best discovered on foot, from vaulted passage to cobbled lane.

A Gothic masterpiece

The collegiate church of Notre-Dame

Begun in 1225 and restored in the 19th century by Viollet-le-Duc, the collegiate church is striking for its tall, narrow nave. Don't miss the carved tympanum of the Porte des Bleds, or the 15th-century painted Entombment.

The houses of the quai Baudon, on the banks of the Armançon — Benjamin Smith · CC BY-SA 4.0

By the water

Along the Armançon

Below the town, the Armançon loops around it. Along the quays, old houses are reflected in the river; from the Pont Joly, the whole of Semur appears, standing on its rock.

A little history

The keep and its four towers

Rebuilt in the 13th century, Semur's castle was dismantled in the 17th: in 1602, an ordinance of Henri IV ordered its destruction. Its four round towers remain: the Géhenne, the Prison, the Tour Margot and the most famous, the Orle d'Or, 44 metres high, with walls almost five metres thick at the base.

And every 31 May since 1639, Semur has run the Bague: a horse race of 2,112 metres in a straight line, over in less than two minutes.

The Tour de l'Orle d'Or — Pierre André Leclercq · CC BY-SA 4.0

Stay

Sleep a quarter of an hour from Semur

Both gîtes are in Montigny-sur-Armançon, the village at the tail of the Lac de Pont. Each sleeps up to five, with a garden, and pets are welcome.

Gîte de la PisserotteThe blue house, a stone's throw from the stream that flows into the lake.Discover Pisserotte

Gîte de la KélidoineThe house of the celandine, the yellow flower that grows along its walls.Discover Kélidoine

On the way, between Semur and the gîtes: the Lac de Pont, its beach and the walk around the lake

Opening times for the museum, visits and events change from season to season: the Terres d'Auxois tourist office keeps them up to date. The tourist office website(opens in a new tab)