For this week’s post, we stay within Burgundy but move from a stopover town on the circuit – Auxerre – to a destination near the top of the charts. With the possible exception of Dijon, the region’s capital, no town in Burgundy attracts as many visitors as Beaune. Most of these visitors come here to…
Towns in provincial France or La France Profonde come in two varieties: they either aspire to be smaller versions of Paris, or they do not. Auxerre – as near the geographical centre of the country and, perhaps, its heart as you can hope to get – is an excellent example for the second group. Auxerre’s…
Dijon is not a one-bird town. Having introduced you last week to the Martin-Pecheur, the kingfisher who is occasionally spotted near the trail that has been named in his honour, we will tell you today about the other bird that is associated with the capital of Burgundy: the owl. In contrast to the Martin-Pecheur, however,…
When in Dijon, do as the Dijonnais do. Which is why we – on our recent trip to the capital of Burgundy – followed the Sentier du Martin-Pecheur, advertised in the official literature as the favourite “easy hiking” route of the Dijonais. First of all, a clarification to avoid disappointment: the word “pecheur” in the…
How do you stand with military architecture? I mean: fortresses, fortifications and the way in which they have been constructed through history: how much does this interest you? Not all that much? All right, then that makes two of us already. It is not the naturally most fascinating topic on earth, is it? Personally, however,…
Unusual travel suggestions are missions from God. You may be familiar with this quote (it comes from Kurt Vonnegut). But the Easy Hikers have always gone one further: rather than waiting for someone to make such an unusual suggestion, we actively search for pretexts to go to places where one would not normally go. Because…