History in THE MAKING

A rich history came to life for Steve Mather in Bourgogne-FrancheComté, a modern region with an incredible past and countless hidden charms that leave you yearning for more

- Steve Mather

It’s often said that Bourgogne-Franche-Comté is an overlooked region of France, with the majority of tourists staying north to take in the bright lights of Paris or flying south to soak up the sun on the Riviera.

This is despite it being conveniently located only a couple of hours from the capital, and anyone traveling to Lyon and the Côte d’Azur from the City of Light will have to pass through it. So, my advice to those who only see it while barrelling through the beautiful, rolling countryside would stop and stay awhile.

This is an incredibly interesting area to dive into, brimming with history, studded with quaint towns and home to great figures of French history and gastronomic specialties you just can’t afford to miss out on. It could be described as France in miniature, featuring mountains, lakes, rivers, vineyards, and forests. Yes, that’s right, there’s much more on offer here than wine – although that is rather good.

My voyage of discovery began in Sens, the gateway to the region from Paris and remarkably, considering how little is known of the place, home to the very first Gothic cathedral, dating back to around 1135.

Although its name may not be a familiar one now, Sens was once a place of considerable importance and flourished during the Gallo-Roman period. Owing to its name to the Senones people, it was then called Agedincum and became the capital of the Roman province of Lugdunensis Quarta in the fourth century.