Burgundy is the main foremost region of France. It is famous for its restaurants which offer traditional and modern French cuisine. Every town has its market making a colourful spectacle of fruit, vegetables, cheese and regional specialities.

        Beaune is the historic capital of the Burgundy wine trade and stands between the two famous wine producing areas of the Côtes de Beaune and the Côtes de Nuits.The Côtes de Beaune run south of the town towards Chalôn-sur-Saone and include the renowned wine villages of Volnay, Pommard, Meursault and Puligny Montrachet. The Côtes de Nuits lie north of Beaune, toward Dijon and include Gevrey-Chambertin, Nuits St.Georges and Aloxe-Corton. The cultural and historic towns of Dijon, Autun, Cluny, Tournus, and Vézelay are all within comfortable touring distance.

     The region is rich in Romanesque churches and chateaux ; near to Beaune are the chateaux of La Rochepot, Commarin, Chateauneuf-en-Auxois and other ancient buildings such as the renowned Hôtel Dieu in Beaune - location of the Ventes des Vins, the covered market in Nolay and the Clos de Vougeot. Further afield but still within easy touring distance are the international heritage sites of the Abbaye de Fontenay and the medieval hilltop town of Vézelay. In addition to the enormous wealth of beautiful old buildings in the towns, there are museums, art galleries, theatres and concert halls with a full and varied programme of events.

Beaune is in the middle of the wine making area of Burgundy and is surrounded by vineyards. Many of the major wine producers and many, smaller, family growers are based in the town. These and the specialist wine shops offer wine tasting in their cellars. Wine tours and cycling tours in the vineyards and, for the more energetic, into the hills above the vineyards, are locally available.

(Left: Aerial shot of Beaune)

Beaune is a medieval town built on the site of a Roman Castrum (camp). Much of the encircling town wall and bastions remain and many of the medieval houses have survived relatively intact. The most famous building is the 14th century Hôtel Dieu – part of the Hospices de Beaune, built as a hospital for the poor. Old buildings (many with the characteristic coloured roof tiles), narrow streets, and quiet courtyards are squeezed into the typical medieval concentric street pattern opening out into ‘places’ where visitors and locals can sit outside cafes watching the world go by. The town is full of interesting architectural detail, jumbled rooflines, chimneys and dormer windows. At street level, there is an interesting variety of shops selling a wide range of local items, eg. specialist food shops, the ubiquitous wine shops, chic clothing and shoe shops and some surviving shops which seem not to have changed since the middle of the last century.

- the annual wine auction (Vente des Vins) in the third weekend of November during the Trois Glorieuses (Saturday, Sunday and Monday), when the current year’s wine production of the Hospices de Beaune is sold to buyers from around the world in the market hall. Prices achieved at auction are a barometer of prices for Burgundy wines. There are parades, events, side shows and wine tastings of selected older vintages in all the major wine houses. There are superb floral displays around the town for the festival.

- the International Festival of Baroque Music held every July. Concerts take place in atmospheric venues such as the courtyard of the Hôtel Dieu and in the church of Notre Dame, in the town centre. The festival regularly includes artistes such as Andreas Scholl, Tom Koopman, James Bowman and William Christie.

- the International Cinematic Festival held every year and which draws actors and directors from all over the world to the town where the inventor of the cinematic camera was born.
 

In the countryside around Beaune there are many small towns and villages which have their own markets and fetes. One can enjoy wine tasting with vignerons in their own ‘caves’, visit potteries, jewellery makers and other local craftspeople, and buy local specialities.

(Right: Beaune market place)