www.burgundy-tourism.com. Squeezed between the N6 and the banks of the Saône, Tournus is a quiet little town dominated by the Romanesque bulk of the Ancien Abbaye de Saint-Philibert. Fortress like Saint-Philibert predates Cluny, the severity of its machicolated facade moderated by a simple pattern of tall Lombard arches cut into the brickwork, and a pink-tipped tower decorated with attenuated 11thC figures. The dusty-pink local stone is one of the distinguishing features of the interior, its nave held aloft on broad, striped arches, in contrast to the dim narthex crouched on squat, circular pillars. The crosswise barrel vaulting is unusual, illuminated by windows to either side. Down in the 12thC crypt, a double row of slender pillars sporting leafy capitals form an elegant counterpoint to the rough stone vaulting. Behind the cloister, there is a fine 15thC Logis Abbatiale.

The 18thC artist Greuze was a native of Tournus. An interesting selection of his portraits and drawings are on show in the Hôtel-Dieu, www.musee-greuze.fr. The town centre has some attractive houses, and the tourist office provides a nosey-parker’s guide to hidden sights starting at 12 rue de la République, a Renaissance courtyard with balconies, a spiral staircase and handy vaulted bicycle park.