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DA?le
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Halfway between BesanA§on and Dijon on the edge of the flat and fertile valley of the SaA?ne,
DA?LE
is a quiet and provincial town. The medieval capital of the ComtAİ region until Louis XI ordered its destruction in 1479, it's a place to stay overnight, or rest, and attractive enough in a subdued way. Grey-stone houses with barred ground-floor windows stand on narrow streets around the vast, stolid
collegiate of Notre-Dame
, with its lofty belfry (July & Aug guided visits roughly three times a week; check with the tourist office for the days and times; 25F/3.81) - it is well worth climbing for the view. Inside the church, there are beautiful windows and a wonderful Rococo organ. The RhA?ne-Rhine canal washes the feet of the town, and along its bank below the church runs the narrow rue Pasteur, birthplace of the French biologist and chemist
Louis Pasteur
, who discovered the rabies virus (and its cure), and whose name is commemorated in the process of "pasteurization", another of his discoveries. He was the son of a tanner, and his house, like those of his father's workmates, backs onto a pretty waterside walkway leading to an island. The newly renovated house is now a
museum
(April-June, Sept & Oct Mon-Sat 10am-noon & 2-6pm, Sun 2-6pm; July & Aug Mon-Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 2-6pm; Nov-March Sat 10am-noon & 2-5pm, Sun 2-5pm; 20F/3.05).
The
gare routiA?re
is next to the
train station
, a ten-minute walk northeast of the Collegiate Notre-Dame down avenue A. Briand. Whatever happens in DA?le happens between the Grande-Rue - leading up from the bridge - and place GrAİvy, with the
tourist office
on one side of the square at no. 6 (June Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 9am-noon & 2-6pm; July & Aug Mon-Fri 8.30am-6.30pm, Sat 9am-noon & 2-6pm; Sept-May Mon 2-6pm, Tues-Fri 9am-noon & 2-6pm, Sat 9am-noon; tel 03.84.72.11.22, fax 03.84.82.49.27), and cafAİs on the other. At the top of Grande-Rue is the delightful place aux Fleurs, with its fountain and amusing bronze sculpture of
Les Trois CommA?res
(The Three Gossips). There are some reasonable
hotels
in DA?le, including
Le Grand Cerf
, 6 rue Arney, near place GrAİvy (tel 03.84.72.11.68; under 160F/24; closed Sat evening & Sun); and
La ChaumiA?re
, across the river on avenue MarAİchal-Juin (tel 03.84.70.72.40, fax 03.84.79.25.60; 220-300F/34-46). But the cheapest rooms, as usual, are at the
HI hostel
,
St-Jean
, place Jean XXIII (tel 03.84.82.36.74, fax 03.84.79.17.69); take bus #1, direction "Mesnils-Poiset", stop "Les Paters". The local
campsite
,
Camping du Pasquier
, is down by the river (tel 03.84.72.02.61; mid-March to mid-Oct). For
food
, there are various pizzerias and crA?peries - such as the canalside
La Demi-Lune
, 39 rue Pasteur (closed Mon out of season) - and
Le Bec Fin
, 67 rue Pasteur (tel 03.84.82.43.43), for the gourmands (menus from 105F/16.01). Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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France,
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