Auxerre

Auxerre is best seen from the far bank of the Yonne, where the cathedral, the abbey of Saint-Germain and the clock tower stack up above the quays and old roofs. The abbey's Carolingian crypt, built in the 850s, holds frescoes of the life of Saint Stephen that are among the oldest surviving wall paintings in France, still legible in ochre and red on the vaults. The cathedral of Saint-Etienne has thirteenth-century glass and its own crypt with a rare fresco of Christ on horseback. The clock tower in the old town carries a fifteenth-century astronomical dial showing the sun and moon.

What you actually see

• The Carolingian crypt - ninth-century frescoes under Saint-Germain abbey.
• The cathedral glass - thirteenth-century windows in Saint-Etienne.
• The Christ on horseback - an unusual fresco in the cathedral crypt.
• The riverside view - the stacked town seen from the far bank of the Yonne.

When to go

April to October; crypt visits are guided and run at set times. The river quays and canal boats are pleasant in summer. Chablis vineyards are twenty kilometres east.

Honest expectations

The crypts are visited on timed guided tours in French, and photography is restricted to protect the frescoes. The town outside the historic core is ordinary.

Nearby

Chablis lies east; Noyers-sur-Serein is southeast.