Tournus

With its narrow streets winding down to the banks of the Saône, Tournus was once a prominent fishing town and the curious horizontal stones that pierce many of the town roofs are testament to that history. Fishing nets were draped on poles that were suspended between the stones, left to dry in the sun. Today the Saint Philibert Abbey (oldest of the great Romanesque churches of Burgundy), the Perrin-de-Puycousin Museum with its collections of traditional costumes and Bresse furniture, and the art museum dedicated to the local painter Jean-Baptiste Greuze are worth a visit. Tournus is also the northern geographic marker for the region of the Mâconnais. This is the largest and southernmost of the Burgundy wine districts with over 6,500 planted hectares. Chardonnay and Gamay grapes yield great fruity whites and rich reds and are distributed under famous labels such as Mâcon, Mâcon-Villages, and Pouilly-Fuissé.