Beaune is the Burgundy wines capital and is located in the Côte d’Or department in the heart of the famous wine road. The city is also listed as an “Art and historic city” and as one of the most flowery cities in France (it received a gold medal in 1990 and 2006).
Access
Beaune is located at 30km to Chalon-sur-Saone, 47km to Dijon, and 61km to Saulieu and 93km to Besancon. To reach Beaune you can travel by TGV (2h from Paris and 1h40 from Lyon), by plane to Dijon Bourgogne airport and by car (in A6, A31 and A38 motorways).
Activities
The Burgundy wine capital offers plenty of wine activities such as visits to wine cellars, tastings, wine tours, wine museum, oenology lessons, festivals (Hospice wine fair and Wine-bread-cheese exhibition) and also the famous wine road (60km) with 38 typical villages where you could discover several Burgundy wines (Nuits Saint George, Beaune, Pommard). It is possible to do it by car, by bike but you could also hire a driver if you prefer to enjoy your tasting without any drawback.
If you want to discover Burgundy gastronomy, you can visit also the mustard factory and cheese factories. Gaugry factory do guided tours, tastings, factory visits (casting, draining, salting and washing) and sell cheeses and Burgundy products.
In Beaune you can discover the old centre (sighting tours are a possibility) with typical streets, battlements, flowery squares, half-timbered houses, the Notre Dame Dieu Basilica, the Sainte Trinite Hospital (hospice), the Fontenay abbey, Sainte-Marguerite abbey, castles (D’Ancy le Franc, De Sully, Pommard…), the cassissium, the Theatre de Verdure park, the Bouzaize park, the Creusotte park and the motorcycle museum. You can also do hiking in mountains, countryside and discover the area by the river with cruises. Beaune has good sport facilities (water stadium, bowling, airdrome…) and cultural facilities (cinema, library, theatre…). There is also night clubs and a casino.
There are many music festivals (jazz, blues, opera, rock and tango), a summer picnic in June, the Beaune night market in July (handcraft and gastronomy), a flea market 6 times a year a covered market every day and a Saturday market.
Food and drinks
Beaune Food specialities are snails, Meurette eggs, ham sprinkled with chopped parsley, gingerbread and cheese (Epoisse, Delice de Pommard and Citeaux). Wine has an important place in Burgundy meals, you will enjoy it in Bourguignon Beef (with bacon, wine, mushrooms and carrots) and coq au vin (chicken with wine).
Restaurants
- Le Clos Carnot, 34 place Carnot, +33 (0)3 80 22 73 43, from €9.5
- Hotelerie du Vieux Moulin, 1 rue de la Forge, Bouilland, +33 (0)3 80 21 51 16
In the event that you fall in love with the region and intend to buy a property there, Sextant properties have bi-lingual agents in the area who known the available properties. They will be able to accompany you on visits, answer your queries and generally make finding and choosing your ideal property a pleasure – all of which will speed the day you walk into your new home in Beaune.