Saint Gengoux

Location: 35km south from the cottages, 20km from Cluny.

Nearby: Chapaize chapel, the village and castle of Cormatin, the Taizé community, the Blanot caves, the Voie Verte.

Why we love this place:

• for the many windows, doors, turrets, and corbelled staircases dotting the historic centre of Saint Gengoux. Here you have the enjoyment of visiting a little known place which is outside the well-worn tourist routes (see list of some points of interest).
• traditional market on tuesday morning,
• the church built in 1120 by the Benedictines of Cluny and rebuilt in the sixteenth century. It is listed on the Federation of Cluniac Sites (note the footbridge between the bell tower and the traditional tour).
• the half-timbered XVth century house, typical of the Burgundian architecture of the time.
• a circular walk around the center is very pleasant and behind some houses you will find some beautiful surprises – mostly the houses dating from the nineteenth century were built on the ancient walls.
• the Tourist Office, located in a former Napoleonic guardhouse, has very good information and very helpful staff. You can see a walking tour on a map of the town.
  
• the wealth of Romanesque art around Saint Gengoux - see the chapels in Saône-et-loire department and closeby.

A little history: Saint Gengoux was renamed Jouvence after the Revolution. The town regained its original name at the Restoration, but locals still call themselves the Jouvenceaux and the Jouvencelles.
X. Maglott