You see Vézelay from a long way off, a hill crowned with a basilica, with a village strung along the ridge below it. It is one of the great Romanesque churches of France, the Basilica of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, begun in the early twelfth century to house relics said to be those of Mary Magdalene. Pilgrims came in thousands, and in 1146 Bernard of Clairvaux preached the Second Crusade here, to a crowd so large that he spoke in the open air. It is also a starting point for one of the Camino de Santiago routes, so you often see walkers with scallop shells on their packs.
Inside the church, the nave is long and pale, and the capitals carry carved scenes, with devils, saints and the occasional joke. On the summer solstice, the sun shines through the windows and lays a line of light spots down the centre of the nave, a detail that draws crowds. The village around the basilica is a steep, cobbled street of galleries and stone houses, and the whole is a World Heritage site, listed in 1979.
The ride into Vézelay is a pleasure in itself. The valley of the Cure river is green and quiet, with the hills of the Morvan to the south, covered with oak and beech. The roads are narrow and full of gentle curves, and the traffic is light outside the summer weekends. Be careful with the last climb into the village, which is steep and cobbled, and find a place to park below the town, then walk up. The hill is a good spot for a sunset, when the light turns the stone honey-coloured.
Avallon, about twelve kilometres away, is the nearest sizeable town, with petrol stations, supermarkets and a handful of restaurants. The area is known for Charolais beef, and for local cheeses and Burgundy wines such as Chablis, which is not far to the north. This is a ride for a slow, unhurried day, and the abbey of Fontenay, which this route links with, is one of the best-preserved Cistercian monasteries, founded by Bernard's followers in 1118.