Centre d'Art Contemporain

Tournus is a small town on the right bank of the Saône in southern Burgundy, and it is known above all for its great Romanesque abbey of Saint-Philibert, one of the finest early medieval churches in France. The Centre d'Art Contemporain, known as ETAC, the Espace Tournusien d'Art Contemporain, adds a contrasting note to this old heritage. It occupies the former church of Saint-Valérien, a small medieval church in the old town which was deconsecrated and put to use as an exhibition space, and the combination of ancient stone and modern art is its main attraction.

The church takes its name from Saint Valerian, a Christian said to have been martyred at Tournus in the late second century, and whose memory is kept in the town. The building is modest in size compared with the abbey, with a plain stone interior, pointed or rounded arches depending on the period, and thick walls that give the space a calm, resonant quality. Unlike a white-walled gallery, the surfaces here are rough and aged, and this creates an interplay between the old fabric and the works on show. Contemporary exhibitions in churches often benefit from the height and the natural light that the architecture provides, and visitors can see how paintings, sculptures and photographs look in a setting that was designed for a different purpose.

The programme presents the work of European artists, including painters, sculptors and photographers, in a series of changing exhibitions during the year, under the artistic direction of Yana Mlynkova. The shows vary in style and subject, from figurative painting to abstract and conceptual work, and the intention is to open the town to the wider art scene of Europe. The centre is a small institution with limited opening times, usually in the afternoons and more often in the summer season, and entry is often free or modest, so check the current exhibition and opening hours before you visit.

Tournus offers a good deal to complement a visit to the gallery. The abbey church of Saint-Philibert, begun in the tenth century and remarkable for its tall, round pillars of pink stone and its barrel-vaulted nave, is one of the major monuments of Romanesque Burgundy, and the cloister and monastic buildings next to it can be visited. The painter Jean-Baptiste Greuze, famous for his sentimental scenes of eighteenth-century life, was born in Tournus in 1725, and the town's Musée Greuze, in the Hôtel-Dieu hospital buildings, has a collection of his work. The Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'Archéologie and the old stone bridge over the Saône are also close, and the riverside is pleasant for a walk. Tournus lies on the road between Chalon-sur-Saône and Mâcon, in the wine country of the Mâconnais.

The centre suits lovers of contemporary art, and anyone who enjoys seeing old buildings put to new uses.