The abbey of
CLUNY
is the major tourist destination of the region. The voice of its abbot
once made monarchs tremble, as his power in the Christian world was
second only to that of the pope. The monastery was founded in 910 in
response to the corruption of the existing church, and it took only a
couple of vigorous early abbots to build the power of Cluny into a
veritable empire. Gradually its spiritual influence declined, and Cluny
became a royal gift. Both Richelieu and Mazarin did stints in the monastery as abbot.
Now,
although the reputation of the place still pulls in the tourist
coaches, little remains apart from the very attractive village. The
Revolution suppressed the monastery, and Hugues de Semur's vast and
influential eleventh-century church
, the largest building in Christendom until the construction of St
Peter's in Rome, was dismantled in 1810. Now all you can see of the
former abbey
(daily: April-June 9.30am-noon & 2-6pm; July - Sept 9am-7pm; Oct
9.30am-noon & 2-5pm; rest of year 10am-noon & 2-4/5pm; €3.96,
€4.88 combined ticket with museum) is an octagonal belfry, the south
transept and, in the impressive granary, the surviving capitals from
its immense columns. From the top of the Tour des Fromages you can reconstruct it in your imagination; you enter the tower through the tourist office . The Musée d'Art et d'Archaeologie
(same hours as abbey; €2.13, €4.88 combined ticket with abbey), in the
fifteenth-century palace of the last freely elected abbot, helps to
flesh out the picture with reconstructions and fragments of sculpture,
while the octagonal Romanesque belfry of the parish church of St-Marcel also recalls the belfries that once adorned the abbey.
There
are some interesting old houses in rue Mercière or rue Lamartine and,
in particular, rue de la République/rue d'Avril, where nos. 25 and 6
are nearly as old as the abbey itself. At the back of the abbey is one
of France's national stud farms, Haras National (daily 9am-7pm; free), which can also be visited.
The
tourist office is at 6 rue Mercière (daily: May-Sept 10am-7pm; rest of
year 10am-noon & 2.30-6.30pm; tel 03.85.59.05.34, fax
03.85.59.06.95, www.perso.wanadoo.fr/otcluny ). For accommodation
, try the Hôtel de l'Abbaye on avenue de la Gare (tel 03.85.59.11.14,
fax 03.85.59.09.76; €24-46; closed end of Jan to mid-Feb), which has
reasonable rooms; the Hôtel du Commerce , 8 place du Commerce (tel
03.85.59.03.09, fax 03.85.59.00.87; €24-34); or the Hôtel St-Odilon ,
across the river on the justify before the campsite (tel 03.85.59.25.00,
fax 03.85.59.06.18, www.acmtel.com/saint-odilon ; €46-61; closed
mid-Dec to mid-Jan). There's a municipal hostel , Cluny Séjour , on rue Porte-de-Paris (tel 03.85.59.08.83; closed Dec & Jan), and a municipal
campsite , St-Vital (tel 03.85.59.08.34; May to mid-Sept), across Pont de la Levée in the direction of Tournus, where you can also hire
bicycles.
For a meal
, other than a crêpe or snack, try Les Marronniers , 20 av de Gaulle
(tel 03.85.59.07.95), or, for some good country cooking, Le Potin
Gourmand , 4 place Champ-de-Foire (tel 03.85.59.02.06; closed Mon &
Jan 4-Feb 5; best-value menus at €11.89 & €18.29).
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