Valley des Vaux

Location: 12km from Chalon, the valley where our cottages are located.

Nearby: Traditional villages, the Wine Route, chapels and many walks.

Why we love this place:

• the gentle hills of the valley of Vaux, representative of the Côte Chalonnaise, which mixes landscapes of vineyards, groves, meadows and forests
• of course many winemakers to visit (Mercurey appellation) ...
• the sites of "Chatelet" and "Chaumes", which are within walking distance from our village and are classified Natura 2000 sites to protect the typical calciferous grasslands of the Côte Chalonnaise,
• its accessibility and calm: our village of Saint Martin sous Montaigu is in the heart of the valley, near Chalon, Mercurey and Givry.
• the many opportunities for family outings offered to you for walking or cycling (e.g. the scenic view at Theu and its nature trail, or the way of the cross from Saint Denis de Vaux towards Russilly). Several printed guides and detailed local maps are available to our guests,
• a site for climbing located in Saint Denis de Vaux and the rock called "Le Theu",
• the GR7, which leads to the route of Saint Jacques de Compostela, passes through the valley and near the cottages. It is sometimes an opportunity for chance, friendly encounters with other walkers
• the valley is a popular site for its prehistoric finds (but shush, it's a secret!)
• its historical sites : the Romanesque chapel at Touches and the restored chapel at Barizey (dating from the end of the eighteenth it served as a "sketch" by the architect Emiland Gauthey before he built the monumental church of Givry). The fortified farm at Blaisy, the “lavoirs” or village laundries, the dozens of shrines, the ruins of the Chateau of Montaigu. This Chateau was constructed in the twelfth century and then dismantled by order of Henry IV. Some of its ornamental or utilitarian stones were looted over the centuries and were integrated into their homes by the inhabitants of Saint-Martin-sous-Montaigu.

Local traditions: the bells of the church of Saint-Martin-sous-Montaigu are very representative of the old beliefs and customs existing in this wine growing and rural part of Burgundy. On the small bell, dating from 1829, is engraved in Latin "I hunt the clouds". In fact, the villagers thought the bell’s vibrations would move away the clouds, and it was not unusual for people to take to the streets to increase the racket by hitting objects on metal bowls. These practices have been banned since the late eighteenth century because the bell ringers were electrocuted in their steeple, but these beliefs persisted long after this. The great bell, dating from 1860, is only meant to sound the death knell. The tradition is that it sounds as many times as the age of the deceased. Formerly, the winemakers put aside a bottle of fine wine of the year of their birth, to thank the person who would sound the death knell on the day of their death.
X. Maglott