OWL'S NEST HOTEL RESTAURANT
Auberge La Lucarne aux Chouettes in Burgundy
Formerly owned by film star Leslie Caron, this one time 16th Century
boathouse
on the
Yonne River in the medieval town of Villeneuve-sur-Yonne is about an hour
from Paris in northwest Burgundy. Turned into a restaurant and bed & breakfast style guest hotel, the Auberge the Lucarne aux Chouettes (the Owl's Nest)
has been hosting 
well-traveled gourmets in the beautiful village on the Yonne River.
The lovely restaurant with open-beamed ceilings, lush
flowers and tree
shaded terrace seating facing west across the river where it flows underneath
the ageless St. Nicolas Bridge provides a perfect
romantic view of a Burgundy
sunset while dining on fine cuisine. For an overnight, the
antique character of the town is retained by the Aurberge
of the Owls Nest with antique furnishings selected by Leslie Caron with three available rooms
upstairs from the restaurant.
The
town of Villenueve-sur-Yonne was new when founded by French King Louis
VII in 1163 at the boundary
of Burgundy
and Champagne regions and originally named Villenueve-le-Roi (New Village
of the King) but was changed during the French Revolution to more egalatarian "sur-Yonne" town
on the river. Saint Louis was a resident of the city before departing
for
the Crusades and a city mayor was infamously guillotined after WWII.
The town of Villeneuve-sur-Yonne is still surrounded by a partly intact
wall
with
stone gates at either
end north
and south,
the gates of Sens and Joigny. The Sens Gate dates from the 13th
Century and still retains its medieval character, the Gate of Joigny
was rebuilt in the 16th century. The city between the gates is easily
walked from one end to the other in ten minutes and marked by the gothic
Notre Dame and later Baroque church at the center.
Villeneuve-sur-Yonne
is located between Auxerre and Sens and can be a convenient base for
exploring
Burgundy,
Champagne and Loire. Dijon,
Troyes and Fountainbleu are all easily reached by car for day trips.
Auxerre is a beautiful city and Sens has the oldest Gothic Cathedral
in France. If arriving by car, through either gate, to find
the Owl’s
Nest turn at the Notre Dame church and just before crossing the bridge
turn down to the river shore.
By
train Villenueve-sur-Yonne is about an hour and a half from Paris to get from the station takes a bit of a walk or
taxi. If lost you can ask a local
barkeep in broken
French or unbroken English. Even
if
you
can’t
pronounce “Lucarne
aux Chouettes” the mention of Leslie Caron’s name will elicit
a pointed finger toward to the famous local restaurant on the river,
and if you're asking at the Hotel du Dauphin in town, perhaps that plaintive
look of “we
serve food and have rooms available too”, but c’est la vie. © Bargain
Travel Europe
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Auberge
Lucarne aux Chouettes
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See Also:
ABBEY
DE VAULUISANT
CHATEAU
DE SAINT-FARGEAU
CHÂTEAU
DE FLEURVILLE
CHATEAU BUSSY-RABUTINE
