From time to time, I want to feature some of my favorite villages of France. And, TOURNUS, a village in southern Burgundy just north of Lyon not far from Macon, is right at the top of my list. Why this one, you say? Well, on our treks north to Lorraine and on to Belgium, this is always our first stop. It is one of the few locations off the auto route where there are gas stations at the exit. Plus fuel is 10-11 centimes cheaper per liter than at the auto route service areas. And as you will see, it is a beautiful place to take a break. Let’s go.
Street into the village leads to the 11th century church
St. Philibert.
Crypt (upper left) is one of the most beautiful I have seen.
Below: the cloister
Our jaunt through the village always takes us past beautifully restored places….
….. and finally to a stop at the artisanal boucherie where we can purchase a hard to find Saucisse de Morteau, a smoked sausage not from this area but from the Franche-Comté region…
Great saucisses et saucissons but look at the nice Bresse chicken in the upper right photo (first one on the left)….France’s most renowned (and expensive) poulet.
In the end, we find ourselves on the Saone River….time for lunch…
I know, I know….lunch looks kinda meager, but we still have a long drive ahead of us……However, we have usually made a stop at the patisserie during our walk .. no yummy desserts this day….it was exceptionally closed ….c’est dommage!
