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Regions à la carte
Eastern France
Region at a glance |
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 Major city:
Dijon
Capital of the
Dukes of Burgundy with a rich history and former palaces
Distinctive architecture with colorful tiled roofs
Famous wine region
90 minutes from Paris on the TGV train
The center for wine making
in Burgundy is the medieval jewel of Beaune with
its distinctive Flemish polychrome roofs, checkerboard
patterns of gold and colors woven into a terra cotta
tapestry. The huge duchy of Burgundy once included most
of Holland and Belgium, so the Flemish influence is
striking in the architecture of the city's Hôtel-Dieu
(Hospices). Each November, the Trois Glorieuses
wine auction inside sells wines to raise money for
charity, and in so doing sets prices for the year's
vintage.
Those who want to know the
intimate details of Burgundy's wines can soak up the
facts in the nearby Wine Museum, or even better
- get a taste of them in the villages where they are
produced. Vacationers can also visit open-air markets
where the bounty of Burgundy's tables is spread out for
sale.
Chablis
is now practically synonymous with white wine itself, but
the town of Chablis is the northwest quadrant of the
region that has given the wine its name is only one of
many towns where Burgundy whites are the raison d'être,
including Pouilly-sur-Loire and the medieval
jewel called Auxerre.
Burgundy is not all eating and
drinking, and its rich history stretches back to Roman
Gaul. When most of Europe was still a collection of petty
towns and knights, Burgundy was synonymous with splendor,
power and grace. Dijon may be more well-known
now for its spicy mustards, but it was once the capital
of the Dukes of Burgundy. The Ducal palace that sprawls
over the better part of a mile housed Europe's most
powerful princes, including Charles the Bold. The Palace
has been transformed into a magnificent art museum that
houses not only the treasures of the dukes's past but a
splendid collection of paintings and statues.
Dijon is just under an hour and a half from Paris on the
TGV, and within easy reach are other jewels of burgundy's
glorious past, including the Romanesque Basilica of
Sainte-Madeleine in Vézelay, Fontenay's
Cistercian Abbey, and the remains of Cluny
near Mâcon. The Morvan Massif's lakes
and hills have also become a mecca for hikers, boaters
and mountain bikers.
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Places of interest |
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Autun |
12th century St Lazare Cathedral,
Rodin Museum |
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Auxerre |
St. Etienne Cathedral, St. Germain
Abbey, Carolingian crypts, Leblanc-Devernoy
Museum |
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Beaune |
Charming medieval town, its Hospices
are a masterpiece of Flemish-Burgundian
architecture, Museum of Burgundy Wine |
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Châlon-sur-Sâone |
Nicéphore Niepce Photography
Museum, Denon Museum |
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La
Charité-sur-Loire |
Notre Dame Church |
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Clos
de Vougeot |
Chateau of the Brotherhood of the
Knights of Tastevin |
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Cluny |
Europe's largest Benedictine abbey |
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Dijon |
Palace of the Dukes, States-General
of Burgundy, Fine Arts Museum, Burgundian
Folklore Museum |
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Fontenay |
Fontenay Abbey and cloister |
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Joigny |
Medieval town |
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Mâcon |
Lamartine Museum, Maison des Vins
(Wine center) |
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Nevers |
Cathedral, St. Gildard convent,
Frédéric Blandin Municipal Museum, ramparts,
ducal palace |
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Paray-le-Monial
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Romanesque basilica, pilgrimage
center |
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Sens |
Historic buildings: St. Stephen
Cathedral, Museum with fine Gallo-Roman
collections, Sens Museum |
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Tonnerre |
Hôtel Dieu, the tomb in the chapel
is a masterpiece |
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Tournus |
Abbey, Greuse Museum |
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Vézelay |
Fortified medieval hillside,
Magdalene Basilica |
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Technical
tourism and sports |
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Much of Burgundy's success in wine
producing comes from the exceptional quality of
its three distinct, traditional wines: Pinot
Noir, Gamay for the reds and Chardonnay for the
whites. The biggest wine-producing district of
Burgundy stretches form Dijon to Mâcon and is
home to some of the world's most famous wines,
named according to their place of origin: the
velvety Côtes de Nuits (such as
Gevrey-Chambertin, Chambolle-Musigny, Nuits St.
Georges), fruity Côtes de Beaune (Pommard,
Volnay, Savigny-les-Beaune, Aloxe Corton,
Puligny-Montrachet, Meursault), Châlon (Givry:
Henri IV's preferred, Mercurey, Santenay), and
Mâcon (Mâcon Villages, Pouilly Fuissé, Viré,
Saint-Véran).
From South Saône-et-Loire and Rhône comes
Beaujolais and Côte de Brouilly, whose short
fermentation makes it a tender, fruity wine - one
of the few reds which can be drunk at cool
temperatures. From the north, the "Golden
Gate" of Burgundy between Auxerre and
Tonnerre, comes Chablis, a dry white wine. On the
banks of the Loire to the west is Pouilly sur
Loire, which produces the wines of Côteaux du
Giennois and the Loire, among them the fruity and
soft Pouilly Fumé and Pouilly Fuissé.
Barging on the many canals
of Burgundy, ballooning, horseback riding,
hiking, biking, golf.
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Cuisine |
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The food in Burgundy is
what one might think of as more traditionally
"French", with dishes such as coq au
vin (chicken cooked in red wine sauce), beef
bourguignon (cooked in wine and mushrooms),
escargots, jambon persillé (parsleyed ham) and
pears Belle Dijonnaise. Although the name
Burgundy brings to mind its fine red wines,
exceptional whites rival any produced elsewhere:
Pouilly-Fumé, Chablis or Mâcon.
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