In Burgundy, France
If you’re looking for your next sweet escape in Burgundy, France, then I suggest to skip the big city of Dijon and head out to le grande petite ville of Beaune. Don’t get me wrong. Dijon is great. Dijon is awesome. BUT! If it’s a —let’s hit as many caves à vins we can, hit the market on Saturday and eat where the locals eat—kind of weekend, then Beaune is the little town you’re looking for.
THE HOTEL
We stayed at L’Hotel de la Cloche. It can accommodate 4 people comfortably in the room. The building is old, but it’s very clean. The bathrooms are modern and they have great parking. One problem. No elevator. For us it was fine, but for others, this may be a great concern.
Also, I would skip the breakfast. Seriously, skip it. You’ll be thrilled to eat at the many many Patisseries/Brasseries Beaune has to offer. We actually did this and it paid off. I got a nice cappuccino with fresh-out-of-the-oven quiche while the rest of the group ate pizzas, (ok, so it was more like brunch time).
To finalize our little brunch time, I had to have one of these sinfully delightful desserts (I had 2!) you see here…
THE WINES
For a much needed dégustation du vin, we opted for the most appealing boutique for such occasion; for us it was at Marché aux Vins.
Here you can take a tour of their wine cellar as well as tasting some of the great wines the region has to offer. Each of us paid, (except the children), 11 euros for the tour which included the tasting of about 6 wines, aaaannnnd, we got to keep the wine glasses as a souvenir! Not bad.
L’HÔTEL-DIEU
Founded in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin (chancellor of Burgundy), built the hospital as an almshouse to serve the destitute of the city of Beaune. These were desperate times in France. The Hundred Year’s War ended, but the aftermath left the town and its people afflicted by diseases and poverty. Pure misery. I’m pretty sure this guy and his wife were very much beloved by all of the people of Beaune for providing such hospitable refuge.
Farmer’s Market
In Beaune, there’s a farmer’s market, every Saturday. It’s pretty extensive as well. They sell antiques, leather goods, textiles of all sorts, but the most comprehensive item was of course the food: cheeses, sausages, vegetables, fruits, meat and poultry.
We bought cheese, wine, sausages, soap and honey! FYI-ninety percent of the products sold are made in Beaune. Even better. Because we were on our way to Paris (Disneyland Paris), we only stayed for 2 days. It’s enough time to see the most important parts of the city. Just make sure you come on a weekend. That way, you won’t miss the Saturday Farmer’s Market. This is a must see town. The food was great, the people were kind, and we had beaucoup beaucoup de vin.
No complaints here!
To learn more about the city of Beaune, go to www.burgundytoday.com. It has a list of all the cities pertaining to the region of Burgundy.
I heard this song on our way to Beaune. It reminded me of some epic movie. Wait, it’s at the tip of my tongue. What was it? Oh well.
