France Guide
Burgundy
The châteaux of Ancy-le-Franc
Close to Tonnerre are two of the finest, though least-known and least-visited, châteaux in France: Ancy-le-Franc and Tanlay. The former has the edge for architectural purity, the latter for romantic appeal. The SNCF offers a taxi from Tonnerre to either château for the same price as a train journey of equivalent length – it's a hassle, though: you need to book by phone the day before (Ancy 
03.80.89.31.30; Tanlay 03.86.92.77.24).
The Château d'Ancy-le-Franc (guided tours only, April to mid-Nov Tues– Sun at 10.30am, 11.30am & 2, 3 & 4pm; plus April– Sept 5pm; €9) is 25km from Tonnerre and was built in the mid-sixteenth century for the brother-in-law of the notorious Diane de Poitiers, mistress of Henri II. More Italian than French, with its textbook classical countenance, it is the only accepted work of the Italian Sebastiano Serlio, one of the most important architectural theorists of the Renaissance, who was brought to France in 1540 by François I to work on his palace at Fontainebleau. The exterior is rather austere and forbidding, but the inner courtyard is a refined embodiment of the principles of classical architecture. Some of the apartments are sumptuous, decorated by the Italian artists Primaticcio and Niccolò dell'Abbate, who also worked at Fontainebleau. There are occasional concerts in the courtyard in summer, as well as atmospheric evening tours; 
www.chateau-ancy.com has the programme.
Ancy has a small hotel, the modernized Hostellerie du Centre, 34 Grande-Rue ( 03.86.75.15.11, www.diaphora.com/hostellerieducentre ; Price: €51-65; good restaurant from €17), which boasts a tiny, indoor, heated swimming pool.