France: Semur-en-Auxois

And yet another absolutely stunningly picturesque French medieval town – Semur-en-Auxois. This one is semi-circled by the Armançon River with a spectacular old bridge on the west side of town and well preserved medieval defensive towers. This used to be a fully fortified castle town in the 13th century, though now only 4 of the original towers remain, the highest being La tour de l’Orle d’Or – 55m high and with walls 5m thick! Beyond the defensive towers is the town core of a jumble of narrow cobblestone streets lined up with half-timbered houses with red-tiled roofs.There is also a very impressive Notre Dame church right in the heart of town, built in 1225 in flamboyant Gothic style.