Vintage Car Route Des Grands Crus Depart Vacances Nationale6This great French national road “from Paris to Milan via Turin”, linked Paris to Italy via Lyon and Savoy, and crossed Burgundy.
Now the D906, it invites you to take your time, stop in the Pays Beaunois halfway between Paris and Lyon, and schedule a “retro” break at the Bel-Air service station, located at the top of the commune of La Rochepot.
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This area was an essential stop-off point on the vacation route. In the 70s, the station, where the “Relairoute” restaurant was located, had its moment of glory with a mythical scene from Jean Pierre Melville’s film Le Cercle Rouge, starring Alain Delon and Bourvil.
Today, the Bel Air service station is undergoing a complete overhaul: retro signage, purchase of old garages with typical 50s architecture, advertising for the major brands of the era painted on the walls and creation of a club-house. Vintage car collectors and their associations take over the place once a month on weekends to exchange and share.
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national6-garageAnother pretty story about the “Bel-Air” site: in 1887, Louis Chevrolet, a young Swiss-born man from Beaune who worked as a mechanic in a bicycle store, helped out a wealthy American. After arriving in the United States with his luggage and a career as a racing driver, he created the Chevrolet car brand. The story goes that Louis Chevrolet was a frequent visitor to the Bel-Air site in his youth, and used the name for the famous Chevrolet “Bel Air”, produced by General Motors in the USA until 1975.
Leave the Nationale 6 to reach the foot of the cliffs, in Orches.
There you’ll meet a pure Burgundian, Françoise Rocault. He welcomes you to his estate and bed & breakfast. This poetic winem-maker has a lot to share.
Falaise Orches
St Romain Vignes
