Auxerre is the capital of the Yonne department and the fourth-largest city in Burgundy. Residents of Auxerre are referred to as Auxerrois.
| Country | France |
|---|---|
| Region | Bourgogne-Franche-Comté |
| Department | Yonne |
| Canton | Auxerre-1, Auxerre-2, Auxerre-3, Auxerre-4 |
| Government | |
| Mayor (2020–2026) | Crescent Marault |
| Area1 | 49.95 km2 (19.29 sq mi) |
| Population (2017-01-01) | 34,634 |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
Auxerre is a commercial and industrial centre, with industries including food production, woodworking and batteries. It is also noted for its production of Burgundy wine, including world-famous Chablis. In 1995 Auxerre was named “Town of Art and History”.
Town planning
The city of Auxerre is divided into eleven districts:
On the left bank :
- City center ,
- Saint-Julien / Saint-Amâtre ,
- Les Piédalloues / La Noue ,
- Les Conches / Les Clairions ,
- Les Rosoirs ,
- Saint-Siméon ,
- Sainte-Geneviève ,
- Les Boussicats ,
- Les Brichères ,
On the right side :
- Right Bank : Les Plattes, Les Vauviers, Croix du Sud, Cité d’Egriselles, Hameau du Coteau, Mignottes ,
- Saint-Gervais / Brazza.
Economy
Local currency
In April 2018 a local currency , the Cagnole , was created and entered into circulation in the city of Auxerre and the department of Yonne.
Sectors of activity
The city is located in the heart of a wine-growing region ( Chablis , Saint-Bris-le-Vineux , Irancy , Coulanges-la-Vineuse …) The city is essentially based on tertiary activity.
The Auxerrexpo Exhibition Center hosts many events organized throughout the year. Auxerre is the seat of the Yonne Chamber of Commerce and Industry . It manages the Auxerre-Branches airport and the river marina.
Auxerre also has industrial and commercial areas including:
- ZI of the Plaine des Isles
- ZI of the Plains of Yonne
- Fontaines des Clairions shopping center ( Géant Casino and 50 shops)
- Saint-Siméon shopping center ( Intermarché )
- Rive-Droite shopping center ( E. Leclerc )
Several international companies have subsidiaries, factories or head offices in the Auxerre area:
- Blackmer / Mouvex (Dover group), European headquarters of the global pump manufacturer for the Europe / Africa / Middle East region
- Casino Group (logistics platform)
- Hermes-Metal Group (European leader in fittings for mass distribution)
- Fruehauf (General-Trailers group)
- Yoplait (General Mills group)
Transports
Urban bike paths and bike hire
Auxerre has many cycle paths because cycle lanes are marked in all the streets or redeveloped intersections. There are thus cycle paths on the sidewalks in avenues Yver, Pierre-de-Courtenay and de la Resistance , on boulevards Gallieni and Lyautey ); on roadway with concrete protective edge in avenue de la Tournelle and partly rue de Brazza ; on the roadway, represented by a white stripe in boulevard de la Chanette, rue de Preuilly, Max-Blondat , rue de la Maladière, and Guynemer , in avenues Foch and Joffre , on the quays of Batardeau and de la Marine ); etc.
Several lanes are also reserved for cyclists: the green corridor, reserved for pedestrians and two non-motorized wheels. A 2.2 km cycle path is also being developed along the Yonne between Auxerre and Augy. Since the end of April 2019, the Léo transport network has been offering electric bicycles and scooters for hire. To meet the high demand for bicycles, the fleet of 100 bicycles will be extended.
Public transport
Seven regular bus lines make up the Léo network , and serve Auxerre and certain towns in its agglomeration ( Monéteau , Perrigny , Saint-Georges-sur-Baulche , Villefargeau , Chevannes , Augy , Vallan , Appoigny ):
The Migraines bus station is located at Porte de Paris, various lines of the TransYonne network provide service throughout the Yonne department as well as those of Nièvre , Aube and Seine-et-Marne .
Rail transport
The train station SNCF of Auxerre-Saint-Gervais is located on a secondary line non electrified which connects via the Gare de Laroche – Migennes line line Paris – Lyon to Marseille St. Charles .
River transport
For a long time a hub for timber traffic from the Morvan to Paris , which gave the name of “La Marine district”, river activity on the Yonne and the Nivernais canal remains today exclusively for tourism ( barges, cruise, restaurant…).
Auxerre marina is the most important in Yonne among the nine in the department. It is used by nearly 3,500 boats each year. The Nivernais canal connects the Loire to Saint-Léger-des-Vignes , to the Yonne to Auxerre.
Air Transport
Air traffic is carried out from Auxerre-Branches airport . Its activity is severely limited by demography on the one hand, but also by the proximity of Paris airports. It also enables business aviation.
Education
The city of Auxerre has around thirty primary schools in the public sector and two in the private sector. These schools are located in all the districts and in the hamlet of Laborde.
Secondary education
Despite the city’s limited demography, Auxerre benefits from a significant network of schools, from primary education to higher education. The decentralization of certain training courses now allows the city to emerge in terms of vocational training.
Higher education
Even though the majority of the Institut Universitaire Technologique de Bourgogne is concentrated in Dijon , there is an annex in Auxerre with the aim of decentralizing the University of Burgundy from the regional capital.
Various training courses can be taken in Auxerre:
- The IUFM Departmental Center
- The CIFA (Interprofessional Center for Apprenticeship Training) which prepares people for careers in management, sales, aesthetics, real estate and hotels / restaurants.
- Chamber of Commerce and Industry with training in management, commerce, management and sales forces.
- Nursing training institute
- Lycée Jacques-Amyot , high school Fourier , high school Saint Joseph – La Salle .
- IUT of Auxerre. There are 3 DUTs : marketing techniques; networks and telecommunications ; Civil Engineering and Sustainable Construction.
- House of the company: work-study training for engineers ( ITII Bourgogne ) and for commerce and management.
Other establishments
It is also possible to follow training courses in several establishments such as the Interprofessional Center for Apprenticeship Training (CIFA), the Building and Public Works Center ( CFA ), the Association for Continuing Education in icaunaise ( AFPI ), the Training center for apprentices in industry (CFAI) or at the national conservatory of arts and crafts ( CNAM .).
Health
In the xii th century , Auxerre already has several facilities dedicated to health: a leper colony, Hotel-Dieu or the Great Charities of Auxerre, but the Saint Antoine Hospital.
The Auxerre hospital center , with a capacity of 572 beds and places in 2018, including:
- Medicine,
- Surgery,
- Gyneco – obstetrics,
- Medium stay,
- Long stay,
- SSIAD.
Local Culture and Heritage
Green spaces
Auxerre has been rewarded with the Grand Prix distinction and four flowers at the Flower Towns and Villages Competition for many years. However, it is no longer registered there today.
The gardens of the Saint-Germain abbey
Once a place of meditation and rest in the old abbey, a former orchard and vegetable patch, the gardens now mark out the entrance to the museum. A terrace allows summer entertainment where the public discovers the art of botany.
Les Promenades
Under pressure from Auxerre, frustrated at not being able to access the Chevalier-de-l’Arquebuse garden, this “green boulevard” was created in place of the old fortifications in the city center . Rows of flower beds, lawns and lime trees, the Promenades also offer a French garden on the site of the Arquebuse.
Garden of the Museum
On the site of the Natural History Museum of the city of Auxerre, a magnificent French-style garden has been created with species as superb as they are exotic. Located on the peripheral boulevards of the city center , the museum garden offers the public many activities and exhibitions.
Other green spaces:
- Parc des Maréchaux
- Square Leblanc-Duvernoy
- Arboretum Darnus-Rantheaume
- The Plains of Yonne
- The towpath
- Parc de l’Arbre-Sec
- Roscoff square
- Coulée verte
- Icaunaise countryside
Places and monuments
The city received the City of Art and History label in 1995 . Its historic center is classified as an almost entirely safeguarded sector ( 67 hectares). It has many, many houses from the Middle Ages – especially in the closest neighborhood of the Yonne, which are the most ancient, Renaissance and many remarkable mansions of the xvii th and xviii th century (around the Saint-Eusèbe church ).
Architecture
The city center is dotted with wooden sculptures painted by the artist François Brochet . One of them represents the Auxerre poetess Marie Noël . Others represent scenes inspired by works by the writer Restif de la Bretonne , originally from the surrounding area. These works are regularly damaged and the originals had to be replaced. Note also the presence of a fountain surmounted by a statue of Cadet Roussel , a character from Auxerre. A large number of houses preserved in this part of the city are half-timbered .
The clock tower has a two-sided model (one of which is a copy after the original) of the xv th century with the colors pink and golden.
The old suburbs also include some beautiful buildings, such as the Hôtel de Sparre in the Saint-Gervais district (avenue Gambetta), built in 1769 at a place called at the time Fleure-Boudin by Joseph Magnus comte de Sparre , marshal of the royal armies, on the plans of the Parisian architect Philippe Dullin protected from the Duke of Aiguillon.
Museums
The Saint-Germain Museum , housed in the former abbey of the same name, houses the prehistoric , Gallo-Roman and medieval collections of the city of Auxerre, as well as temporary exhibitions.
The Leblanc-Duvernoy Museum , a family home rehabilitated into a museum, presents Beauvais tapestries as well as an important collection of Puisaye sandstone and regional and national earthenware. The Museum presents collections of local paleontology and temporary exhibitions. The museum is dedicated to Paul Bert.
The Maison de l ‘ Eau et de l’ Environnement , installed in a former water lifting plant built in 1882 and remodeled in 1914 , is dedicated to public awareness campaigns for the preservation of the environment .
Leisure
The city brings together many places of leisure:
A bowling alley is installed in Monéteau , new with 20 lanes, which can accommodate nearly 700 people at most. It also has a Laser Game room , a mini golf course and a kart track .
- The Ice rink in Monéteau open to all with sometimes organized shows.
- Foot in-door : near the karting offers covered synthetic pitches (with championships).
- Two escape games opened in Auxerre at the start of 2019.
- Night clubs : several clubs are open some evenings and weekends: the Gotta and the Nyx Club in Auxerre, the Kitch Club ( Monéteau ), Lavida loca ( Venoy ), etc.
- Auxerre municipal library, located near the city center.
Live shows
The city has cultural structures, particularly in terms of the distribution of live shows: Le Silex, contemporary music scene (SMAC) in Yonne. Concert hall consisting of 2 halls (500 seats and 200 seats) offering nearly 60 concerts per season; the Jazz-Club d’Auxerre, a stage devoted to jazz, blues and world music aesthetics offering around fifteen events per season and Le Théâtre – Stage Conventonnée d’Int interest National Art et Création, which is made up of 2 rooms (555 seats and 122 seats) offering around forty shows and 120 performances per season.
Gastronomy
Vineyard
Auxerre has a wine heritage renowned throughout the world. In addition to the Clos de la Chaînenette vines , in the center of the city, Auxerre is surrounded by Burgundy vineyards. Auxerre wine was offered at the festivals of the Chauvency tournament in 1285 .
- The Auxerrois vineyard : Bourgogne-côte-d’Auxerre , Bourgogne Coulanges-la-Vineuse , Bourgogne Chitry , Irancy and Saint-Bris .
- The Chablis vineyard : Chablis Grand Crus, Premier Cru, Chablis, Petit Chablis
- Le Clos of the string, in Auxerre, is one of the oldest documented vineyard in France , as known from texts from the vii th century.
Specialties
The gougère the escargots , the beef bourguignon , the Burgundy truffles , ham to Chablisienne or eggs poached are sépcialités Auxerrois.
Cultural events and festivities
The January 22 is celebrated the Saint Vincent rotating the Grand Auxerrois , in a nearby town or even Auxerre. On this occasion, a parade of wine brotherhoods , a mass and a baptism of Saint Vincent du Grand Auxerrois, as well as tastings are organized . The streets are also open to musical and artistic entertainment, as well as craft exhibitions .
Since 2005 , the 3 th Sunday in May , Vine Flowers event brings together a hundred winegrowers of Chablis and Grand Auxerrois on the banks of the Yonne , historic place of departure of wine to Paris .
The Festival Aux Zarbs, which was held every year in July at the Parc de l’Arbre-Sec , hosted artists for three days a year between 2003 and 2010. The Catalpa Festival has since taken over by offering three evenings of concerts free between current and world music the last weekend of June with 38,000 spectators in 2018. About fifteen concerts by international, national and regional groups are presented at l’Arbre-Sec park .
Every summer since 2001 “The Boy Festival , the Note!” animates the city of Auxerre with a free concert in a café from Monday to Saturday from 9 pm to 11:30 pm. A varied program, ranging from jazz to rock through Celtic music, is offered each year in July and August. The concerts have extended for several years to Auxerre and Auxerrois. Building on the success of the operation, Auxerre (the tourist office and the municipality) exported its festival to Cosne-sur-Loire , Dijon and Sens .
In December, a Christmas market is held on the quays . A race takes place every year at the end of December, before Christmas: the Corrida. Several races of different lengths follow one another in the city center.
Sports
The city of Auxerre remains a very dynamic city in terms of sport. Behind his professional football club ( AJ Auxerre ), many other sports activities can be practiced in the city. 125 sports associations offer the possibility of practicing 60 disciplines.
The city of Auxerre serves as the “finish city” for the Paris-Auxerre road cycling event , which started in Varennes-sur-Seine since the 1970s.
Éric Cantona , former player at AJA, distinguished the city with these words: “ France does not deserve Auxerre, England undoubtedly, but not France . “
Major sports facilities
Auxerre has many sports infrastructure. The best known is the Stade de l’Abbé-Deschamps ( football ) with 18,541 seats. Near the latter, we also find the Stade de l’Arbre-Sec ( football ) with 4000 seats and the Pierre-Bouillot Stadium ( rugby ) with 3500 seats. The Hauts d’Auxerre sports complex ( basketball , handball , judo , etc.) has 2,500 places. The city also has the Arbre-Sec nautical stadium with 5 covered pools and 3 open pools.
The sports and leisure complex Serge Mesonès , Rive Droite, allows you to practice climbing (wall to regional standards), roller hockey , martial arts , dance and gymnastics . The Cyber Glace is a private ice rink that allows you to practice figure skating . It is located in Monéteau in the northern suburbs of Auxerre.
