Vézelay / Flez-Cuzy

Paradoxically, you need to start this cycling adventure on foot! It seems only fitting to begin this Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage route by climbing Vézelay’s Eternal Hill to visit the famed St Mary Magdalene Basilica. One of an exclusive group of monuments to benefit from a double mention on UNESCO’s World Heritage Site list, the church’s gleaming stone sides are revealed as the sun turns in the sky. At the summer solstice, an extraordinary trail of light illuminates the nave. Stroll along the steep, narrow lanes in the village perched around the iconic church to discover arts and crafts and Burgundy wine shops, plus terraces with views to the Morvan Hills. Enjoy a short detour north to see Asquins Church. Aimery Picaud is thought to have been one of its chaplains, as well as author of the 12th-century Codex Calixtinus, a guide for pilgrims also recognized as part of the World Heritage Site dedicated to the Santiago de Compostela routes. Next, head off for the medieval town of Tannay.

Cycle route from Vézelay to Flez-Cuzy

The cycle route is signposted Saint-Jacques à Vélo as you leave Rue Saint-Pierre, a street coming down directly from Vézelay’s St Mary Magdalene Basilica. You need to push your bike through the village, as its main artery is reserved for pedestrians and delivery vans. 
Once on the cycle route, you rapidly leave the famous village of Vézelay, surrounded by its vineyards, to enter, from the place named L’Étang, a more bucolic world and light woods. Here, you won’t encounter many motorized vehicles, but the road is narrow, so be careful of the lack of visibility as you go round bends.
The Burgundian hills may look gentle, but they are demanding and provide you with your first physical test along the route. The rest of this cycle route, certainly up to the Creuse Valley, will prove much flatter. 
From Fontenay-près-Vézelay, you come out into open agricultural fields, including cereals and sunflowers, joining the D53 road, followed by the D119, leading you to Tannay.

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The first stage finishes at Tannay, which has a railway station. That’s no excuse for abandoning your cycling adventure when you’ve barely begun it! However, the station offers a perfect place to start on the cycle route for those who prefer to avoid the undulating first stage through the Vézelay hills.

Don't miss 

• Asquins: Église St-Jacques-le-Majeur, if this church is open, ask to see the wall paintings in the 15th-century sacristy
• Vézelay: Basilique Sainte Marie Madeleine : St Mary Magdalene Basilica, the tympanum in the narthex (entrance tower) a masterpiece of Romanesque carving; the Musée Zervos (in the Maison Romain Rolland), home to the finest pieces of the modern art collection of the Christian Zervos bequest; the Musée de l’œuvre Viollet-le-Duc, displaying many original medieval sculptures from the Basilica.