Discover Is-Sur-Tille

Is-Sur-Tille combines local history with a special connection to the Burgundy truffle and a variety of ways to experience the surrounding area. If you are looking for a hotel in Is-Sur-Tille, you can match these highlights to your interests: in town, the focus is on the history of churches and castles, a cultural and digital venue, and a rose garden; beyond the built-up area, a trail leads through woodland and across a limestone plateau.

Watercourse and walking routes

The promenade on Rue Gambetta follows the Bief des Courtines. Its existence is documented as far back as the 12th century. Washhouses line the watercourse between the town centre and Parc des Capucins. Along the Bief, you can also take in a part of the local architectural and everyday history.

Les Mauritaines offers a different focus: the trail passes through the forests of Is-Sur-Tille and across the limestone plateau above the town. It starts at the Capucins car park, is 10.9 kilometres long and is marked in yellow. The circuit is listed as taking about 2 hours and 45 minutes. This approximate duration can help you plan the excursion as part of your stay; check current trail conditions before setting off. While the promenade follows the watercourse and washhouses, Les Mauritaines takes you through woodland and plateau scenery.

Churches, chapel and castle history

Église Saint-Léger was built in the 12th century on the site of an older place of worship. Merovingian sarcophagi were discovered there in the 1960s. The bell tower also has distinctive architectural details: it is roofed with glazed tiles, typical of Burgundian architecture, and houses three bells. One of them is Louise, which weighs 1,802 kilograms.

Another trace of the past leads to the Gothic Chapelle Saint-Charles. Construction began in July 1848; it was intended to house the burial place of its benefactor and his daughter Caroline. The chapel was fully renovated in 2022. The different dates—from the medieval place of worship to the 19th-century chapel and its renovation—offer several points of reference in the town’s history, which is not tied to a single building.

At Château Charbonnel, the Olivier-de-Lénoncourt Tower and gargoyles remain from the first castle built on this site in 1537. The façade also bears gargoyles dating from 1657, when the second castle was built on the site of the first. These two dates distinguish the history of the first castle from the later building phase.

Cultural venue and rose garden

Espace Carnot is a cultural and digital venue open to everyone. Its facilities include a media library, an exhibition space, a digital area, a video game room, a toy library and a digital museum. It is housed in the former Carnot school. The building was constructed in 1884 from stone quarried in Is-Sur-Tille. A visit to this cultural venue therefore combines today’s cultural and digital offerings with the history of a school building and local building materials.

The Kiosque and rose garden site features a pergola intended to serve as a rose garden, as well as a decorative kiosk. The kiosk is characteristic of 19th-century gardens. As part of the restoration of the rose garden, the town commissioned the rose “Belle issoise” in 2022 as a representation of the town. The garden and its structures add a horticultural perspective to the history of churches and castles.

Burgundy truffle and local themes

The Burgundy truffle (Tuber uncinatum) is a local speciality of Is-Sur-Tille and the subject of specialised research. COVATI organises an annual fair dedicated to it; if you would like to plan your trip around the event, check the dates for your travel period. There is also the educational truffle plantation of Pays Seine-et-Tilles. It lies on the Route de la Truffe de Bourgogne and offers a fun, educational trail that is open year-round and accessible to everyone. This lets you distinguish between the themes of research and the fair, on the one hand, and a walk through the plantation, on the other.

Memorial site of the American camp

The preserved American camp memorial comprises several different remnants: a restored chimney from the officers’ mess building, reserve tanks near the RD 959 and a stele in the industrial zone. Their locations and different forms—a chimney, tanks and a stele—give the memorial site a tangible presence. Together with the churches, the castle and Chapelle Saint-Charles, the memorial expands the historical themes you can consider when choosing a stay in Is-Sur-Tille.

Discover more destinations: Montigny-Sur-Aube, Bessey-En-Chaume, Corcelles-lès-Cîteaux, Essey, Pontailler-Sur-Saône, Plombières-lès-Dijon, Saint-Apollinaire, Vianges.

For the broader travel overview: Cote-Dor.