Information on Guided Tours in the Area

Also available from the Cluny Tourism Information Office website is this brochure of guided tours in Cluny and Clunisois.

from: Cluny Tourist Information
(click image for brochure)

The guided tours are for groups rather than individuals and cover a wide variety of subjects including wine tasting, meals, cheese tasting, berry picking, lavoirs, crafts, churches, chateaus, gardens and old Cluny houses. They operate in places such as Taizé, Cormatin, Chapaize, Brancion and Berzé-the-city as well as Cluny.

I have not been on any of these guided tours, but its probably true that you can gain much by knowing more about the place you are visiting and a guided tour is an easy way of doing this.

Rose on Stone

This photo, taken at the artisinal centre in Cormatin, contrasts the smoothness of the rose with the rough stone of the region.

photograph by GrosChigy

published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.

Renting the House at Le Gros Chigy

The time has come! Now that we will have finished the first round of renovations, its time to think about renting The House at Le Gros Chigy.

photograph by ChigyTweet

published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.

The first thing is to decide what kind of business we are going to run. Could be a bed & breakfast, Gite, self catering, home away or vacation rental. We feel that we want something that does not put large day to day demands to serve the holiday maker. Therefore, it will most likely be a week by week rental which are variously called Gites, vacation rental, vacation rental, home away etc.

We feel we are well placed being close to Cluny, Taize, Macon and Montceau les Mines. Burgundy or Bourgogne seems to be a popular area. The Clunoise area in particular offers many attractions and activities, especially during the summer.

We would appreciate your ideas and thoughts on this, so please email us using this link. Have a look at the start of the advert here an give us feedback.

Le Papyllion - Bierexquise & Convivialithé Available Again in Soane et Loire!

If you have seen my post or the comments on Le Papyllon or you move around the area you will know that Wolfgang the proprietor, has recently started selling his vast range of beer from new premises in Cormatin

Driving into the parking near we were welcomed and encouraged by the sign below on the side of a commercial vehicle. This was the first time we had visited Le Papyllon in Crmatin. Our previous visit was three years ago in Bissy-sur-Fley

photograph by ChigyTweet

published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.

Sitting down under the trees and sampling a few beers gave us the chance to think about the change. The disadvantage that is immediately obvious is the location on a busy junction of the D14 and the D981, which means that there is a lot of traffic especially compared to the back road of Bissy-sur-Fley.

photograph by ChigyTweet

published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.

On the other hand the Voie Verte runs right past the building and the Papyllon has put up a sign to tempt the thirsty cyclist! This and the passing traffic on those busy roads, seemed to result in much more business for Wolfgang which is great!

The actual setting under the trees is really great, while the interior looks comfy and warm for those cold winter days when an urbock goes down well!

photograph by ChigyTweet

published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.

Wolfgang was in good spirit and did not even raise the problems he has apparently had with French Beuraucrats, which made for a relaxed afternoon. He told up that he has re opened Papyllon almost exactly 20 years after he first started serving beer at Bissu-sur-Fley.

The most important thing was the selection of beers is still massive and the two I selected were really enjoyable!

The maps below gives an idea of where Papyllon is located - the interesting thing is its only 12 km from the House at Le Gros Chigy!

"Now and Then" Photographs

A while back I made a couple of attempts at showing how the view of the Chigy Chateau shown in old postcards compares to what's there today. If you remember I searched through photos I had taken to find a view that showed more or less what the postcard showed and then A Friend went to the trouble of taking a photograph which I published.

But for the real "autrefois et aujourd'hui" have a look at this

click image to visit site

 


These were taken by Cees van Halderen who writes the blog Life around Cormatin, Taizé, Cluny - Burgundy. This blog gives a really interesting and informative view of happening and things in the area, as seen by a Netherlander.

I am amazed at the effort this photographic project must have taken - I wonder if he's looking to do more, maybe in other villages.