Beaune

Understand

Beaune succeeded Dijon as capital of the Duchy of Burgundy in its glory days. Today, Dijon is again the capital of Burgundy, a much bigger city, and an important site of industry as well as culture.

For the typical tourist, Beaune is a half-day town. The historic centre is charming and a pleasant place to walk around. The Hôtel-Dieu is a must-see but takes only about an hour or so. For the food and wine lover, there is not enough to time to spend in and around Beaune. Nearly every town along the Côte-d'Or has a fabulous restaurant and multiple places to taste wine. Even though the wine appellations in the Côte-d'Or are not far apart, the wines produced in relatively close appellations vary dramatically. The vineyards around Beaune form together with the historical centre of Dijon the world heritage site "Climats, terroirs of Burgundy".

Beaune makes a good base for exploring other small wine towns in the Côte-d'Or. It is centrally located about halfway along the wine route, and other famous nearby wine towns like Montrachet, Pommard, and Nuits-Saint-Georges are all a short drive from Beaune.

thumb|Hôtel-Dieu

Get around

Beaune is a good city for walking. The old centre of town is compact and is surrounded by a ring street that follows the old city walls. Park in the old center of town and walk in. There are a number of parking lots on the ring roads.

A car is required to explore the surrounding wine towns in the Côte-d'Or.

See

thumb|upright 2.0|Polyptych of the Apocalypse

Do

Visit some of the local wineries, and indulge in a tasting.

Buy

There is an outdoor market every Saturday morning. A wide variety of goods, including food, is available at this market. Note that the city is very crowded on market days. There is a Leclerc hypermarket on the outskirts of town, close to the exit of the A6.

Eat

There are many good restaurants in Beaune. Classic Burgundian dishes include beef bourguignon, coq au vin, oeufs meurette, escargot, and Époisses cheese.

Drink

The local wines: the reds are all pinot noir and the whites are almost all chardonnay (the exception is Aligote, which is usually mixed with crème de cassis to make a kir).