Centre of the Wine World

In my lifetime I’ve been lucky enough to travel to many wonderful places across the globe. One place that particularly stands out for me is the small, yet incredibly charming French town of Beaune. Located just a few hours south-east of Paris and in the heart of the Burgundian wine country, this may not jump out to you as one’s dream destination, but I´m almost certain that if you ever have the chance to visit you’ll quickly be seduced. The fact that I spent 10 months living there probably does have something to do with the attachment I have developed with the town, however I would highly recommend visiting for anyone who happens to be in the area, especially wine-enthusiasts.

Beaune lives and breathes wine- making it, selling it, tasting it, but most of all drinking it. It has consequently become one of the best places in France for wine tasting. But Beaune has much more to offer than just wine: It is a bustling, wealthy, and charming place of pilgrimage for art lovers and gastronomes too. It is also home to one of the jewel’s of Burgundy: the magnificent Hôtel-Dieu, France’s grandest medieval charity hospital and one of the country’s most visited tourist spots.

For the typical tourist, Beaune is a half-day town. The historic town centre (with its narrow, cobbled streets and picturesque old square) is charming and a pleasant place to walk around. Clearly the Hotel-Dieu (or Hospices de Beaune) is a must-see, but doesn’t take too long to see. In contrast, there’ll never be enough to time to spend in and around the town for the food and wine lover. For this the region is like a wonderland. Almost every town in the Côte-d'Or (the “département” where Beaune is located) has a fabulous restaurant, where you can sample all the local delicacies (such as the famous “escargots”, or “snails” in English), as well as countless cellars to taste wine. Even though the wine appellations in the Côte-d'Or are geographically not far apart, the wines produced in relatively close appellations vary radically- this diversity is one of the major attractions of Burgundy wine, and is what makes it such a popular destination. You’ll find world-famous wines dotted all over the region.

Beaune makes the ideal base for exploring other small wine towns in the region. It is centrally located and well connected to other famous nearby wine towns like Montrachet, Pommard and Nuits-Saint-Georges, all just a short drive away.