www.avallon-morvan.com. Perched high above the River Cousin and the bottle-green mantle of the Forêt de Morvan, the old heart of this Burgundian market town sits on a granite outcrop, its warren of cobbled streets and little turreted houses gathered around the 15thC Tour de l’Hor-loge and enclosed by ramparts. Facing the main street, the Eglise de Saint-Lazare, a former pilgrim church, presents two beaut fully-carved doorways depicting musical Elders of the Apocalypse, signs of the zodiac, a seasonal cycle of husbancry, trailing foliage and flowers. Nearby, one of the surprise treats in the Musée de l’Avallonnis, place de la Collègiale, is Jean Desprès’s 20thC silverware and jewellery, also 19thC paintings and Gallo-Roman relics (www.museeavallonais.com). Down at the bottom of the street, the sunny Promenade de la Petite Porte is bordered by the ramparts and plunging views down the cliff to the Cousin Valley.

The weekly covered market takes place on place Général-de-Gaulle every Saturday. Bicycle hire is available from the station, and the tourist office can provide details of where to hire canoes for a spot of messing about on the River Cousin. Vezelay, with its famous basilicas is nearby – see Undiscovered Burgundy. [clickable]