Vézelay

The magical pilgrimage site of Vézelay is an interesting place to visit. Sitting high on its hilltop above the surrounding countryside and for many people the highlight of a visit to Burgundy, this little town of Vézelay is full of narrow streets lined with old houses with sculptured doorways and mullioned windows leading up to the 12th-century Basilica Sainte Madeleine, the enormous building that sits above the village. This extraordinarily long church is beautiful in its simplicity with its soaring columns and paved floor and when religious pilgrimages were the fashion, it was an important stop on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Take note of the brass coquille saint Jacques, the pilgrimage sign of welcome and hospitality that are still embedded in the cobbled streets.