A UNESCO-listed hill village in Burgundy: a Romanesque pilgrimage basilica that's been drawing walkers to the start of the Camino de Santiago since the 12th century, a stone village clinging to the slope below it, and the green folds of the Morvan just beyond — easily done on a single charge each way, with an optional Supercharger buffer stop right on the route.
Vézelay isn't just a pretty stone village — the Basilique Sainte-Marie-Madeleine at its summit is one of the great monuments of Romanesque France: Saint Bernard preached the Second Crusade from here in 1146, and it's long served as one of the four historic starting points of the Camino de Santiago (the Via Lemovicensis) in France, which is exactly why the whole hill is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Below the basilica, the village is genuinely tiny (about 450 residents) and ranks among the "Plus Beaux Villages de France." Around it, the Morvan Regional Nature Park starts almost at the edge of town — the GR13 long-distance trail runs straight through, and the neighbouring village of Saint-Père-sous-Vézelay adds a second, quieter stop with its own Gothic church and vineyard views. It's a proper 2-night trip, but at ~215–220 km each way it's well within a single charge — the Auxerre Supercharger sits right on the route if you want a comfort-buffer top-up, but it isn't required.
Vézelay sits roughly 215–220 km from Meudon-la-Forêt by the A6/A77 corridor (Paris–Vézelay itself is commonly quoted at 225–228 km / ~2h to 2h45 depending on route, so Meudon trims a little off that). Each one-way leg is comfortably inside this Model Y's realistic ~330–370 km single-charge range, so no charging stop is actually needed in either direction — this is a one-charge-each-way trip like the closer Fontainebleau or Chartres runs, just with a bit more margin used up.
Sources: ViaMichelin route data (Vézelay–Paris ≈226 km / ~2h4min via A6 through Auxerre); Tesla Supercharger location listing for Auxerre, France – Appoigny.
Drive down the A6 direct — no charging stop needed, though the Auxerre/Appoigny Supercharger is right on the way if you'd like an optional buffer top-up (grab a coffee, it's a normal service-area style stop) — then continue the last 45 km to Vézelay. Climb the cobbled Rue Saint-Étienne/Rue Saint-Pierre up to the Basilique Sainte-Marie-Madeleine at the top — entry is free (open daily 8:00–20:00), and the nave alone, with its striped Romanesque arches and famously carved tympanum over the narthex door, is worth the climb. Wander the ramparts and the Terrasse du Château at the very top of the hill for the sunset view over the Cure valley and the Morvan hills beyond — this is the shot everyone comes for.
Sources: park4night listing "(89450) Vézelay - D951" (Les Ruesses parking, user-reported rates); Camping Municipal de l'Ermitage tariff data via ville-data.com and the campsite's own site.
Morning: explore the village itself — narrow stone lanes, small artisan shops, and the basilica's crypt (said to hold relics associated with Mary Magdalene, the whole reason this became a pilgrimage site). Walk or ride down to Saint-Père-sous-Vézelay, a smaller, quieter village 3 km below with its own handsome Gothic church and vineyard views — a nice easy there-and-back on foot or a short spin on the bike. In the afternoon, pick up a stretch of the GR13, the long-distance trail that runs right through Vézelay into the Morvan Regional Nature Park — even a short 1–2 hour out-and-back gives you rolling farmland, hedgerows and forest that feels a world away from the Paris suburbs. Longer stages (10–30 km) push deeper into the Morvan toward Lac des Settons if you want to make a full day of it.
Sources: Auberge la Coquille menu pricing (aubergelacoquille.com); regional tourism pages for Saint-Père-sous-Vézelay and the GR13 through the Parc naturel régional du Morvan.
If it's a Sunday, check whether the small local market is on before you leave. One more slow walk up to the basilica in morning light (it's a completely different building with the sun coming through the nave), then retrace the route north — no charging stop needed, though Auxerre/Appoigny is there as an optional buffer stop before the final run back to Meudon-la-Forêt.
Bike loaded inside per the Car Camping, Food & Bike Guide — no range penalty, which helps keep the whole round trip comfortably within a single charge each way. The Vézelay–Saint-Père road is a gentle, short ride worth doing by bike rather than on foot if you want more range in the afternoon; the surrounding Morvan lanes (quiet D-roads and farm tracks feeding into the GR13 corridor) are good rolling terrain for an easy exploratory ride, though this isn't a dedicated mountain-biking destination the way Fontainebleau or the Morvan's lake district further south is.
| Category | Cost |
|---|---|
| Tolls (A6 has péage sections) | ≈ €15–20 each way |
| Charging (optional buffer top-ups at Auxerre, not required) | €0–20 |
| Lodging (2 nights: free/cheap Les Ruesses parking + campsite fallback) | €6–36 |
| Basilica entry | €0 (free, donation welcome) |
| Food (mostly self-cooked) | ≈ €20–25 |
| Treat-yourself dinner (Burgundy specialties) | ≈ €19–25 |
| Total | €90–130 |