The three communes of the Montsaugeonnais

Park in the car park near the Grand Étang in Montsaugeon.

(S/E) From the road, facing the lake, turn right to walk round it. Ignore the Chemin du Paquis on the right, continue to Rue de l’Étang and head up into the village. Once on Rue du Grenier à Sel, turn left towards Rue du Châtelet; ignore Rue Pierre Guene on your right and take the next street.
Turn right and walk up to the town hall; walk past it, admire the town houses, cross the magnificent Montsaugeon market halls – an atrium with an external cornice featuring a cove moulding – then return to Rue Châtelet and head towards the church.

(1) Pass under the medieval gateway and continue straight on up to the Church of Notre-Dame. Walk round the church and take Rue du Cimetière to Rue Goubaud. Turn left onto this street and then take the^first right onto Chemin des Fossés or the D171. Follow this for a few metres and turn left immediately. Continue along this road until you reach the junction with a grassy, stony track opposite the aerial masts.

(2) Take this path, cross the bridge over the SNCF railway line and continue along the path to the right until you reach the D974 after passing a cemetery.

(3) Turn right onto the D974, enter Prauthoy, and pass the church and the castle. Turn right
onto Rue de la Gare. Go past the post office.

(4) Veer left to pass the tennis courts. Stay on this path until you reach the level crossing.

(5) Ignore the level crossing on the SNCF line and continue along the bank of the Ruisseau de la Fosse to the sewage treatment works.

(6) Cross the D974 to join the service road. Turn left onto it and continue to the junction with Rue du Lavoir.

(7) Turn left onto it. Pass through Prauthon: at the junction, turn right and head up Place du Crey; then take the Chemin des Brosses and stay on this path until you reach the woods.

(8) Enter the Montanson woods by taking the path that branches off to the right into the woods. Stay on this path, which circles the Montanson woods, until you reach the^second crossroads with four perpendicular roads.

(9) Turn left into this section of woodland. This straight path ends at the entrance to the village of Aubigny-sur-Badin.

(10) Turn left to walk round Saint-Symphorien Church. Back at the crossroads, continue straight ahead along Rue de l’Abbaye, following the yellow^PR® markings, then turn right to reach the wash house. Return to Rue de l’Abbaye and follow the yellow markings again. You’ll reach the D140 road; turn right onto it for a few metres until you reach a three-way junction.

(11) Leave the road and take the path on the left, following the yellow markings. Further on, when you reach the hamlet known as La Princesse, turn left and cross the Badin stream. Continue on to reach a crossroads with four perpendicular roads.

(12) Turn left, following the yellow markings, walk along the edge of the woodland, continue through the fields until you reach another Y-junction at the edge of a woodland.

(13) Take the path down to the left to reach Impasse Charrière. Turn left at the next junction onto Rue des Maizières. After the first few houses, turn left again and continue to the wash house at Vaux-sous-Aubigny.

(14) Turn right into the narrow lane known as the Promenade des Maïs, admiring the Badin as you go, until you reach Avenue de Bourgogne (the D.974). Cross it with great care and follow it for a few metres to the left. Leave it at the^first junction on the right to head onto Rue de la Gare. Take a small lane on the right to walk round the small pond. Cross the Badin again. Turn left, walk a few steps and rejoin Rue de la Gare.

(15) Keep to the right. Continue along Chemin du Paquis, then Chemin de la Red Cross, following the railway line. You’ll reach a level crossing.

(16) Cross the level crossing, keep to the right at the next three-way junction, and you’ll reach the car park near the Grand Étang in Montsaugeon (S/E).

- Daffodil bloom. A symbol of spring, the daffodil blooms from February through to May. Its flowering period is generally short, lasting no more than 15 days.
- The large Church of Saint-Symphorien, featuring a nave of six bays with side aisles and a chancel of two bays ending in a flat chevet; it dates from the mid-12th century.
Listed features:
The church: listed by decree of 21 February 1914
Periods of construction: mid-12th century

Today, Montsaugeon is a picturesque village; this former stronghold between Langres and Dijon once commanded 10 castles and 25 villages.
Montsaugeon was once a border town between Burgundy and Franche-Comté. Justice was administered there, salt was stored, grapes were harvested from a vineyard renowned for its wine, and famous fairs were held.
Despite the dismantling of the fortress and the gradual decline of the former Burgundian town over the past 500 years, today’s small village has retained the characteristics of a Burgundian town with its specialised districts, its suburb, its stone town houses, its gatehouses and its 18th-century atrium-style market halls, which once hosted fairs and markets. The medieval gatehouse is the sole remnant of the castle’s medieval walls. It dates from the 15th century, and traces of the drawbridge’s lifting mechanism can still be seen there.
Montsaugeon remains the capital of the Montsaugeonnais region, and its vineyard, revived solely through the dedication of enthusiasts, bears its name with elegance.
In 1988, on the initiative of, amongst others, Senator and Mayor Charles Guené, the ARVEM (Association for the Revival of the Montsaugeonnais Vineyards) was founded, along with the Order of the Knights of Montsaugeonnais, with the aim of reviving the local winemaking tradition. In 1995, the first vines were planted. The wine cellar, named Le Muid Montsaugeonnais, is situated in the buildings of a former garage on the southern outskirts of Vaux-sous-Aubigny. Muid’s wines were awarded a gold medal for the 2004 Chardonnay and a silver medal for the 2005 Rosé at the 2005 Agricultural Show. The 2007 Hachette Wine Guide also awarded a star to the 2004 Pinot Noir aged in oak barrels.
See further details here

In 2016, the Muid Montsaugeonnais cellars were ravaged by a major fire which destroyed a large proportion of the 2015 vintage. Since then, new premises – much more spacious and enabling the modernisation of production – have been built on the same site.
In the former commune of Vaux-sous-Aubigny, you can admire, amongst other things, the 12th- and 13th-century Saint-Symphorien Church, as well as some old wash houses.

Prauthoy Castle is situated in the former commune of Prauthoy. Built between the 16th and 19th centuries, it is a building in the classical and Neo-Renaissance styles that once belonged to the Caroillon family, the in-laws of the philosopher Denis Diderot. A storey was added at the end of the 19th century, and it now serves as a luxury hotel, whilst the basement is used as a wine-tasting cellar. In the grounds, you can still admire a 19th-century man-made grotto, as well as a 16th-century wine cellar, the former kitchens and period furniture.

Also worth seeing:
In Langres – These ramparts are well worth a visit. They are dotted with several attractive features: a dovecote, a rack railway, gates and towers, and offer lovely views of the surrounding area. The site is well maintained and peaceful. It’s lovely that it has retained its historic character.
Saint Mammès Cathedral, the Towers of Navarre and D’Orval, and much more…