The village of Issy-l’Evêque lies amidst rolling hills and estates, with endless hedgerows, meandering country roads, and gently murmuring brooks and rivers. It is a landscape that is sprinkled with pastures, ‘étangs’ (natural ponds), and small wooded areas. This unique man-made landscape is called ‘bocage’. All over this landscape, you will see small groups of white dots huddled together, the famous Charolais cattle. It is a lovely and peaceful landscape that will enchant you in any season.
The village offers all basic conveniences, such as a bakery, a butcher, and 2 small grocery stores. There is also a café/restaurant, a post office, a bank, and a hairdresser. Just outside the village, there is a small campsite with its own restaurant.
A particularly interesting feature of the village is its Romanesque church, which dates back to the twelfth century.
But remember, you’re on holiday, no obligations…
Some of the things you could do
On this page, you will find a selection of all kinds of activities and outings in the local area. Needless to say, there are many more… Besides the brochures, maps, and other information available in our guest accommodation, you can always ask us about what’s on in the local area during your stay, such as markets or concerts.
And make sure you ask us for tips!
Ten kilometres north of our village lies the lovely little town of Luzy, which offers a wide range of facilities and options for cultural outings. And when you head out of the village in south-westerly direction, it is only 25 kilometres to the health resort of Bourbon-Lancy with its thermal spas.
The well-known Morvan regional natural park is just eight kilometres north of Issy-l’Evêque, boasting peaks of up to around 900 metres in the southernmost part. It is an area of stunning and rugged natural beauty, with marvellous views, that makes for a great day trip destination. There are several large reservoirs strewn across the park, with Lac de Settons and Lac de Pannecière being the best known ones.
There is also lots of nature to enjoy closer to Clos Laraison. It is only a two-hundred metre walk from the property to the nearest woods, where you might just spot deer, foxes, or wild boars. And just a little further afield, along the banks of the river Somme, lives a colony of beavers.
Issy-l’Evêque is a great starting point for walks or cycling trips. Roads and paths radiate from the village in six different directions, with numerous connections between them, creating a kind of spider’s web of small roads and paths. There are several signposted walking and cycling routes. The village lies on a number of long-distance walking routes, including the famous pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela (GR 13).
When you think of the Burgundy region, you think of good food and fine wine. This region of France is the home of a gastronomic lifestyle, with its local wines being the main feature. From Issy-l’Evêque, it is easy to get to the various wine-growing areas: Chablis to the north, Loire wines (Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé) to the west, Beaujolais to the south east, and the famous Bourgogne wines to the east (along a long, narrow strip from Dijon down to Macon). There are plenty of opportunities for an interesting wine route and wine tastings at one of the many wine domains and ‘cave cooperatives’. Ask us for tips, we know some great places.
There is a plethora of good restaurants in the local area, ranging from simple eateries to fine dining restaurants and everything in between. We can help you find the dining experience you want.
Owing to its rich history, the area has lots to offer. Nearby, you will find lovely small towns such as Bourbon-Lancy, Cluny, Moulins, Charolles, and Autun. The Roman town of Autun, which has lots of character, contains several remnants of Roman times, including an amphitheatre, which are open to the public. There is also the town’s stunning Saint-Lazare cathedral, with its famous Romanesque tympanum.
A little further afield, but still within easy driving distance, lies the well-known wine town of Beaune, as well as the historic cities of Dijon, Vichy, and Macon, all ideal destinations for a day trip.
The local area offers various museums, such as the Rolin Museum in Autun and the Bibracte Museum on the side of Mont Beuvray in the Morvan park. This museum will take you back to the times when Celts and Romans lived on this mountain. The underground museum at the foot of the Roche de Solutré, a large limestone rock formation, will take you back in time even further, showing the creatures that inhabited the area in prehistoric times.
The Burgundy region is known for its many convents, cathedrals, and Romanesque churches, which are certainly worth a visit. Particularly fine specimen are the Saint-Madeleine basilica in Vézelay – which is where various of the crusades started – and Abbaye de Fontenay. And then there are also eight stunning castles in the region, some of which boast exceptional gardens.
Issy-l’Evêque itself does not have a weekly market, but there are several lovely markets in the local area. However, Issy-l’Evêque is home to an annual sheep and calf show, which is a charming event mainly due to its small scale.
In the summer season, there is the annual ‘vide grenier’, the village fair, the ‘Fête Morvandelle’, and ‘Quatorze Juillet’ (14th of July) celebrations, with spectacular fireworks at the end of it. Any self-respecting village in the Burgundy region has its own fair, which are generally themed on some kind of food: snails, frog legs, potato, or crayfish. In the wine-growing areas, there are, as you would expect, wine fairs, organised around the time when wine cellars are emptied or when grapes are harvested and casks are filled; such fairs are on nearly every month.
Other than that, there are music festivals in the summer months: the accordion festival in Luzy, Chalon-sur-Sâone’s jazz festival, and the ‘Musique en Morvan’ and ‘Le Vent sur l’Arbre’ classical music festivals.
The holiday home we offer for rent to holidaymakers does not have any special facilities for babies or small children, such as cots and children’s beds. This is why we have made it clear in the ‘Additional information’ section that the house is less suited for small children, so as to avoid erroneous expectations. If you plan on staying with small children, please contact us first to discuss this. We must say, however, that all our guests who stayed with their children were very satisfied (see our guest book). This is largely because there is a lot to do and explore in the immediate surroundings, also for children: aside from various water-based activities, such as swimming, pedalo riding, and canoeing, there are several (small-scale) amusement parks, zoos, and exciting museums. And let’s not forget that we are right in the heart of the land of Asterix and Obelix…
There is swimming in various places in the area, ranging from a small beach at walking distance, natural swimming ponds nearby, large lakes in the Morvan natural park at driving distance (for a fun day out on a pedalo!), various open-air swimming pools, and water parks, to thermal spas in the health resorts of Bourbon-Lancy and St. Honoré-les-Bains.
- Tennis: at only 100 metres outside the gate, there are 2 excellent tennis courts (hard court), which are available to rent by the hour. Tennis rackets can be provided.
- Canoeing: from Etang sur Arroux, you can canoe along the river Arroux.
- Horse riding: there are several riding schools in the area, which organise lessons or excursions on horseback, or where you can rent a horse.
- Golf: the village of Bourbon-Lancy offers a 9-hole public golf course, for which you do not need any kind of golfing ability licence.
