Musée de Vézelay

Vézelay is a hilltop village in northern Burgundy, in the Yonne, and it is known above all for its basilica, the Basilique Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, one of the great Romanesque churches of France. The building, begun in the early twelfth century and rising at the top of a long street of old houses, was built to hold what were believed to be the relics of Mary Magdalene, and it became a major pilgrimage destination and a starting point for the road to Santiago de Compostela. Saint Bernard preached the Second Crusade here in 1146, in front of King Louis VII, and in 1190 the kings of France and England, Philip Augustus and Richard the Lionheart, met here before leaving on the Third Crusade. The village and the basilica were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979.

The museum recorded under this name appears to be mixed up with a different institution. The modern art museum in Vézelay is the Musée Zervos, a small collection kept in the Maison Romain Rolland, a house on Rue Saint-Étienne where the writer Romain Rolland lived in the last years of his life, until his death in 1944. The collection was given to the town by Christian Zervos, the Greek-born art critic and publisher who founded the review Cahiers d'Art, and his wife Yvonne. It reflects their friendships with the great artists of the twentieth century and includes works by Picasso, Miró and Kandinsky, together with other painters and sculptors of the modern movement, including Calder, Giacometti and Léger, in paintings, sculptures and drawings.

The contrast with the Romanesque basilica makes the visit interesting. A short walk from the church, the museum offers a quiet interlude of modern art in a village that is otherwise a monument to the Middle Ages. The rooms are small and intimate, so it takes only about an hour to see everything. Opening times depend on the season and the day of the week, so check before you go, and a modest ticket price applies, with reductions for some groups.

The village is a pleasure to walk around. The long main street, the Rue Saint-Étienne, climbs from the lower gate to the basilica, lined with old houses, craft shops, galleries and small restaurants. Remains of the ramparts, which can be walked, give views over the vineyards and the valley of the Cure and the wooded hills of the Morvan. The Place de la Halle, the Maison de la Vézelay, and the viewpoint at the top of the hill are among the places to see, and the vineyards on the slopes produce a white Burgundy wine with its own appellation.

Most visitors spend half a day, or longer if they climb the tower of the basilica or attend a service. The village suits art lovers, walkers and anyone interested in medieval pilgrimage.