Concierge.com's insider take:

At the Abbaye de Flavigny, candy-maker Catherine Troubat and her staff of specialists carry on the centuries-old tradition of making aniseed bonbons. As the aniseeds, sourced from Spain, Turkey, and Syria, are tumbled in copper basins, they slowly pick up a sugary coating—the process takes 15 days. The smooth spherical candies come in anise, black currant, lemon, orange-flower, ginger, mandarin, mint, licorice, rose, and violet flavors and are sold in attractive little metal boxes that make great souvenirs. Free tours of the sugar-coating workshop take about ten minutes; call for a reservation.—David Downie

Boutique open Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays through Sundays 9:30 to noon and 2 to 6 pm, February 7 through March; Mondays through Fridays 9 am to 12:30 pm and 1:30 to 7 pm, Saturdays and Sundays 10 am to 12:30 pm and 1:30 to 7 pm, April through November 11.

Factory visits and abbey tours Mondays through Fridays 9 to 11 am, except holidays, the first three weeks in August, and Christmas through New Year's Day.