Basilica and hill of

Basilica and hill of Vézelay An hour west of Fontenay brings you to another UNESCO listed abbey, and town. The village of Vézelay is a classified “Sanctuary city in France” and together with the 17 communes that surround it, a classified ‘Grand Site de France.’ Winding streets are lined with Renaissance houses and 17th and 18th century buildings with sculpted doorways. The Basilica sits atop a hill at the end of the main street above the ramparts. Known as the “Eternal Hill” it has played its part in the history of Burgundy, acting as a beacon to welcome and guide pilgrims and crusaders. Shortly after its foundation in the 9th century, the Benedictine abbey of Vézelay claimed to have acquired the relics of St Mary Magdalene and since then it has been an important place of pilgrimage, not to mention a great spot to overlook the Morvan Valley. destinationgrandvezelay.com/ Vezelay Chapel Notre Dame Ronchamp Chapel Notre-Dame du Haut, Ronchamp The chapel Notre-Dame du Haut, the pilgrim’s shelter, the chaplain’s house and the pyramid of peace, built by architect Le Corbusier (1887-1965) have been listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites since July 2016 along with 16 other Le Corbusier sites. The chapel, built in 1955 was criticised by some, while others recognised that it heralded an architectural revolution. Le Corbusier designed the chapel furniture and even painted some pieces. collinenotredameduhaut.com 72 | The Good Life France

Church of Notre-Dame, La Charité-sur-Loire La Charité-sur-Loire was once an important port originally called Seyr. However in the 11th century, the monks of the local abbey grew such a reputation for kindness to pilgrims that locals started to call it La Charité – and the name changed. The monks church was the second biggest in France at the time, after the mighty Abbey of Cluny. A fire in 1559 destroyed a large part of it though it still has four of its five original naves, which were rebuilt in 1695. The Church is famous thanks to its sculpted decor: pillars, capitals, lofty arcades and the bestiary are all typical of Cluny’s richly inspired architecture. In 1998, Notre-Dame church became a UNESCO World Heritage site as it is a major stage on the “Route of Santiago de Compostela”. lachairtesurloire-tourisme.com Charite sur Loire The Good Life France | 73