Auxerre is a mid-sized town that we stopped at on our drive home from Provence. The drive from our hotel in Aix to our home was over 8 hours, so we needed a place to pull over and stretch our legs and break up the monotony of driving. Auxerre was a good place for that because it was close to a half way point along our route.
We arrived there early in the morning, around 9am, which might give you an idea of how early we left that day - around 4am or so.
If you follow my blog and remember back to the beginning of our trip then you might recall that we had hit some major traffic congestion on the way down. It was a busy travel weekend and we wanted to avoid more traffic on the way home so we decided to get on the road before everyone else. The plan went off without a hitch and it was smooth sailing the whole way. All it cost me was a few hours of sleep, but I was used to that by this point in time.
The city of Auxerre is located in the Burgandy region of France along the Yonne River, which runs down its center.
It's known for its large Abbey and Cathedral, both of which are situated on a small hill overlooking the water. You have already seen them in the photos above and will see more in photos to come.
You can get an amazing view of the cathedral from one of its many bridges that cross over the water or from the banks on the other side.
While you are over there you can also check out the numerous house boats parked along the banks. This one had been converted into a restaurant, which I thought was pretty cool.
It was quite chilly that day and there was a crisp morning breeze in the air so we didn't linger too long by the water.
Just long enough to snap some photos before heading into town to have a coffee at a small cafe and a croissant from a local bakery.
It was a Sunday of a long weekend so the town was quiet and sleepy that morning,
or maybe everyone was attending mass at the time we were there. I can't be certain of the reason, but there were very few people on the streets nonetheless.
The town is quite old and definitely has that feeling about it. It's made up of traditional half-timber homes that are built upon cobblestone streets.
It has that quintessential French town look about it, or at least what I've come to associate with the Northern part of the country.
Just seeing the colorfully painted half-timbers makes me all misty eyed and reminiscent of our time living there...
Okay moving on.
We walked past the Cathedral dedicated to Saint Etienne on our way over to view the Abbey.
The church was pretty standard for France and not nearly as impressive at the front as it was at the back.
From there we walked the short distance to the Abbey and came to a large courtyard in front of it.
Next to that was a tall clock towner. It was nothing extravagant or anything but I took a photo of it so I may as well mention it.
The best part of this spot was the view of the town below.
I always love a good view of a cloud covered sky above old quarter rooftops. Rolling fields in the distance is a cherry on top.
You can really tell that each home in town has its own sort of character about it, even from above.
Looking to the left you could get a clear view of Saint-Etienne. As you can see, it looks an awful lot like the Abbey cathedral.
I don't fully understand how two massive churches that are almost exactly the same can be situated so close to one another. I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation for it but I would need someone to explain that to me. Perhaps they are different denominations?
We didn't go inside the Abbey because dogs aren't allowed into churches. To be honest, I don't recall if going inside was even an option. It may have been a museum that charged admission but I can't be certain.
From there we took a stroll along the river promenade.
We passed by the cathedral again and got a good view of the back.
This was one of those instances where the back was actually much more impressive than the front.
We made our way to one of several pretty bridges that span the river.
This one is called Passerelle de la liberte, which translates to Liberty Footbridge.
Its an awesome spot to view the river and the cathedral and is the location where I took a lot of the photos.
Auxerre wasn't a main destination for us during the trip but was more of a brief stop over to get out and walk for a bit after a long drive. I can't really comment on any accommodations or food, and I probably wouldn't go out of my way to travel there for more than a day if I wasn't in the area. Nonetheless, it was a really nice town along the river. It had a charming old quarter and impressive cathedral and Abbey. Those things to me, make it a worth checking out if you happen to be in the area.
