les chambres de la ville haute

Excellent.

Really great.

Edith and Pierre’s gîte is hard to beat in this region. It sits in the upper town of Dun-sur-Meuse, with green countryside cut through by the Meuse River spread out below. Pierre is passionate about the area, and as the town’s mayor he knows it well. They can suggest beautiful walks, and the location makes it easy to visit both Verdun for its remarkable history and Stenay’s European Beer Museum. Pierre also brews beer as a hobby. He’s shared that passion so generously that guests can taste the local beer, “La Dunoise,” straight from the brewer, who happens to be his son. The gîte itself is one of the area’s most beautiful.

We’ve been returning for years and always enjoy it. Les Chambres de la Ville Haute is lovingly run by the Ploner family. The prices are good, and the rooms are very clean and well kept. From what we think is the best location in the whole area, at the highest point of the Meuse Valley, the view reaches about 10 km. The mountain has a long history: Celts, Romans, and later the Lords of Lorraine built castles and fortifications here, and much of it is still visible. In the old church, the organ’s wooden framework remains after the Germans looted its copper in 1917. It’s also a useful base for visiting battlefields. From Verdun you can reach the American battlefields of 1918, and a little farther toward Varennes are the Argonne battlefields from 1914 to 1918. Verdun is 30 km to the south and easy to get to. It really is a must-see. On our last church visit, the organ pipes had been replaced with wooden replicas. I had to look ten times to tell they weren’t real. It’s a magnificent work of art. The owners have the church key, or you can get it downstairs at the Doulcon Tourist Office by showing an ID card. This time we stayed in Aunt Helene’s cottage rather than the B&B. It has everything you need to manage on your own: a kitchen, gas stove, fridge with freezer, coffee maker, kettle, pots and pans, and cutlery. The beds are good. Close the shutters at night and you can have a blissfully restful sleep.