France Guide
Burgundy
Noyers– sur– Serein
Twenty-three kilometres to the southeast of Chablis, you come to the beautiful little town of NOYERS-SUR-SEREIN. With no public transport, it's sealed from the modern world in a medieval time warp. Half-timbered and arcaded houses, ornamented with rustic carvings – particularly those on place de la Petite-Étape-aux-Vins and round place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville – are corralled inside a loop of the river and the town walls, and pleasant hours can be passed wandering the path between the river and the irregular walls, with their robust towers. The Serein here is as pretty as in Chablis, but Noyers, being remarkably free of commercialism, has more charm.
Considering that it is based in such a small town, the Musée de Noyers (Feb– May & Oct– Dec Sat & Sun 2.30–6.30pm; June– Sept daily except Tues 11am–6.30pm; €4) certainly punches above its weight. It comprises one of the best collections in the country of the Naive painters, who had no formal training and were often workers lacking academic education (one, Augustine Lesage, worked as a miner for sixty years before he started painting). Some star exhibits include Gérard Lattier's morbid comic-strip-style work, the excellent collages of Louis Quilici and dreamy early twentieth-century paintings of Jacques Lagrange. If you're in shape, you might want to attempt the hike up to the hill behind the town, at the top of which are a ruined twelfth-century castle and a beautiful panorama over the town. To find the path up, turn left just outside the southern gateway to the town.
The best place to stay and eat is the ivy-covered seventeenth-century
La Vieille Tour (April– Aug only; 
03.86.82.87.69, 
03.86.82.66.04; Price: €51-65) in place du Grenier-à-Sel in the town centre. The five beautifully furnished and charmingly rustic chambres d'hôte are rife with personality and views across the gardens to the river. Their restaurant ( 03.86.82.87.36; closed Thurs; reservations essential), just down the road, offers wonderful meals, featuring all the regional classics plus a vegetarian option, for €15, with an equally good-value wine list to accompany them.