Visiting Beaune in 5 Days
I’m back on documenting our long trip through France. Today we’re talking about visiting Beaune, which is the heart of the Burgundy wine region in France. Tom and I both LOVED Beaune. Beaune was one of the destinations that he was most looking forward to visiting, so it made me very happy that it didn’t disappoint. I didn’t really have any expectations for it, so it surpassed everything for me. Not only was the wine good, but the food was outrageously delicious. Reservations were hard to come by, but we were able to make it work. If I had to choose one of the new-to-us destinations in France to go back to that we visited last summer, I absolutely would go back to Beaune.
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Is Beaune Worth Visiting?
Unequivocally, yes. We loved Beaune. It’s quaint and feels quintessentially French in many ways. There is NOT a lot to do in Beaune, and there aren’t many tours and very little information in travel guides. However, there are great restaurants, fantastic wine, and lovely ambiance. In a lot of ways, it reminded me of our trip to Bayeux last summer. I love the architecture. It has the rustic beauty of the Alsace with some of the more stately architecture of Paris and Bordeaux. Somehow, it all fit together beautifully.
For us, it was a great place to slow down for a few days. We loved meandering through the streets at all hours of the day, and especially for the light show at night. The diurnal shift made morning and evening walks extra enjoyable.
Getting to Beaune, France
We drove to Beaune from Annecy, which took a little over 3 hours. The Route des Grand Crus is probably one of the most beautiful drives we experienced during our trip through France. It’s exactly what you would expect it to be. Verdant vineyards, rolling hills, and stunning landscapes. It’s not quite as dramatic as the vineyards in Tuscany or Umbria. When we visited Piedmont in the spring, it reminded me of the vineyards in Burgundy. I highly recommend renting a car for your trip to Burgundy. To drive from Paris to Beaune would take a little over 3 hours depending on traffic.
However, if you don’t want to drive in France, the most efficient way to get to Beaune from Paris is to take the TGV train from Paris to Dijon and a regional train from Dijon to Beaune. The journey will take about 2.5 hours, with the longest stretch being 1.5 hours on the train between Paris and Dijon.
Where to Eat in Beaune
We were most excited to discover “real” beef bourguignon in Burgundy. It’s one of those classic French foods we’ve tried in Paris, and we were excited to try it “in situ.” It’s one of Tom’s favorite dishes, and I would say that it’s one of my favorites… except I met the escargot in Burgundy, and it quickly became one of my favorite foods. Yes, you read that right. I LOVE THE SNAILS. When we went to one of our favorite restaurants in Eguisheim a few days later, I ordered snails… and they were so sad compared to the Burgundy snails. I’ve had some decent snails in Paris, but Burgundy absolutely has the best snails. (There’s a reason the French named the snails after the region.)
If you are looking for picnic provisions, we purchased some fantastic cheese and charcuterie from Fruitière du Hérisson. While a little outside the old city center of Beaune, we thought Maison Liegeon Boulangerie and F. Peronne were the best boulangeries in Beaune.
Au Coq Bleu
Hands down, my favorite restaurant in Beaune was Au Coq Bleu. You need a reservation. They book out all their tables. When we couldn’t get a reservation, they made recommendations for other places with a similar menu and feel. Their recommendations did not disappoint, but they weren’t Au Coq Bleu. Au Coq Bleu was founded by 2 men who moved from Paris to Beaune to open this restaurant. We had the privilege to chat with both of them, and the passion they shared for Burgundy cuisine was contagious. (They also have a fantastic Burgundy wine list, both by the bottle and by the glass.)
If you follow me on instagram, not only did you see my joke about escargot, but you might have also seen that I fell in love with it in Burgundy. I am not ashamed to admit that we probably ate at least 108 escargot during our time in Burgundy. We ate ordered them as entrees, we ordered them as dessert, we were so excited about them, the chef came out to talk to us. Some of my favorite were at Au Coq Bleu. (That was the night we also ordered them as dessert.) We also very much enjoyed the Bœuf Bourguignon, which was served with fresh pasta (similar to Chez Dumonet in Paris, which we love.)
Our table was on the terrace on a slightly rainy evening, and the entire experience was exceptional. They offered to move us inside, but it was perfectly cozy and a bit romantic.
La Balena
When we couldn’t get into some of the restaurants we researched in Burgundy, one of the restauranteurs recommended La Balena. We ended up eating here twice.It’s where I first tried escargots de Bourgogne (and now I’m a monster). They have set menus that are a fantastic value, but they also allow you to order a la carte. Tom loved that they had so many menus where you could try a little bit of everything. I loved the snails and the desserts, but everything was tasty. They also had an extensive wine list that was very fairly priced. The staff was extraordinarily kind and very excited when we returned again.
Burgundy Wines We Bought and/or Tried
Since we had such a hard time scheduling wine tastings along the Burgundy wine route, I wanted to share some of the affordable Burgundy wines that we tried on our trip. There are a lot of wine bars in Beaune, but navigating what to try can be tough. Everyone’s taste is different, but we like trying to find smaller producers with a good price-to-quality ratio. (We recently tried a 2011 Grand Cru that was $500/bottle at a wine dinner and while it was good, that’s not a wine that we would be looking to try in Beaune!)
- Domaine Jean-Jacques Girard Pernand-Veregelesses Premier Cru, Pommard Vielles Vignes, Savigny-les-Beaune
- Domaine Matrot Maranges 1er Cru La Fussiere
- Edmond Chalmeau Chablis Les Monts Perriers
- Jean Fournier Cuvee Saint-Urbain Marsannay Rouge
- Jean-Paul & Benoit Droin Chabliss Grand Cru Les Clos (2014)
- Dampt Freres Vielleges Vignes Chablis
- Domaine Chevalier Ladoix Rouge
- Domaine Bourgogne Hautes-Cotes de Beaune Rouge Vielles Vignes
- Domaine Decelle Chorey les Beaune Les Beaumonts
- Domaine Montbarbon Les 3 Terroirs Vire-Clesse
- Vincent Dauviddsy Petit Chablis
- Domaine de l’Abbaye de Santenay 1er Cru Comme Rouge
Where to Stay in Beaune
One of the things that I found most surprising is that there are not a lot of hotels in Beaune. I was really hoping to find a wine resort like Villa Cordevigo, the Meneghetti in Istria, or Castiglion del Bosco. When I couldn’t find that, I hoped for a relaxing chateau hotel like the Grand Barrail in Bordeaux or Chateau d’Audrieu. (Fail.) When I couldn’t find that, I wanted to find a boutique hotel in the city center, similar to the hotels in Alsace we love. I found one option, but it was quite a bit more expensive than I wanted it to be. With so few hotel options, I decided to look at B&B style accommodations and found La Maison de Maurice.
La Maison de Maurice
Maison de Maurice offered everything we look for when staying in a small town in France. It’s centrally located with beautiful views of the cathedral nearby. The duplex apartment was comfortable and quiet with everything we needed. It’s very stylish and modern, which is an interesting contrast with the traditional buildings in Beaune. (The French do these types of dichotomy really well!) I found the bed to be comfortable enough to spend a few nights. The shower had good water pressure and plenty of hot water. And, the air conditioning and internet both worked really well.
One of the cool things about Maison de Maurice is that it is run by the wine shop below. You are welcome to go down for a glass of wine when the shop is open. The staff is very friendly and always wanted to know how they could help with our trip.
Free parking is included, but it is not in front of the building nor is it reserved. You will have to use a city lot near by. This isn’t a big deal because you can unload and load your car in front of the apartment. It’s just something to plan for – sometimes when we returned during lunch, it was difficult to find a parking spot. Again, it’s not bad. You just need to plan and be prepared.
Things to Do in Beaune
Beaune is a big small town in the one of the famous wine regions in France. We thought it would be the best home base for wine tourism in the area. While we weren’t able to visit many wineries, we did enjoy the beauty of Beaune. We enjoyed walking the ramparts daily, exploring various wine bars, and driving through the soft, rolling vineyards of Burgundy. It’s not a hub of activity. If you don’t enjoy taking things slow, you probably will not enjoy Beaune. However, for us, it was perfect.
Burgundy Wine Tastings
If I thought it was hard to get wine tastings in Bordeaux, Beaune was next to impossible. Even with a French sommelier in our pocket, we had a hard time finding wine tastings in Burgundy. In many cases, basic wine tastings felt far too expensive for what we knew about Burgundy wines at the time. And, many tastings were booked far in advance. You need appointments everywhere and emailing a couple weeks early isn’t going to cut it.
I was finally able to find a Burgundy wine tasting in one of the villages outside of Beaune. We tried six wines (white and red), and I ended up buying a few bottles to bring home. Burgundy wines are very much about the appellation, and while we liked them, I think we still prefer Bordeaux wines. We purchased the Mercurey, Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Les Murgers des Dentes de Chien, and the Pernand-Vergelesses Sous Les Clous.
If you don’t have a car or don’t want to leave Beaune, you can do a Burgundy wine cellar tasting and visit that is housed alongside an expo of a French movie star, Louis de Funes. This is not someone who was familiar to us, but our sommeliers were quite enthusiastic and also provided a memorable and enjoyable visit to their cellar.
When we go back to Beaune, we will book a tasting at Maison Champy, as that ended up being one of Tom’s favorite Burgundy wines during our time there that we ordered at a restaurant. (We liked the Beaune Vieilles Vignes specifically.) It definitely had the best price to quality ratio of all the Burgundy wines we purchased in restaurants.
Les Chemins de Lumières Beaune
The “trail of lights” in Beaune is probably one of the most unexpected and coolest things we discovered in Beaune. Since the days in France are so long in the summer, you have to be willing to stay up late to experience it. What I loved most about the lights in Beaune is that they take place all over the city. You can walk from square to monument and everywhere in between and experience something different. And, the lights are ever-evolving and not static, so when you come back through, they may be different! It was mesmerizing.
Hôtel-Dieu Hospices de Beaune
One of the most iconic and famous landmarks in Beaune is the 15th century gothic hospital, Hotel Dieu. Easily recognizable by its patterned, tiled roof, it is an architectural jewel. Unfortunately for us, there were no tours available while we were visiting Beaune, so it’s hard to say much about it. One of the things that I think is interesting, however, is that they still produce and host a famous charity wine auction every November. The proceeds are used to finance healthcare at the modern hospital in Beaune. This has been a tradition since the French Revolution, which I think is interesting!
Be aware that the hospital does close during the middle of the day, so if you are planning to visit Beaune as a day trip, you’ll want to plan accordingly.
Our France Road Trip Itinerary
Since it’s been awhile since I blogged about our summer trip through France, I thought it might be helpful to remind you of our itinerary. Our trip to Beaune was part of a long road trip around France that started and ended in Paris. I’ve detailed everything and linked the appropriate posts below. As always, there’s plenty on the blog to help you plan your trip, and I’m always happy to answer questions as well.
- 2 nights in the 8th arrondissement at Hotel de Seze to enjoy dinner at 2 of our favorite restaurants in Paris
- One week in Mont St Michel (Normandy)
- 4 nights in Bordeaux for our third stay at Hotel FirstName
- 3 nights in the medieval castle town of Carcassonne
- 4 nights at Auberge de Cassagne & Spa in Avignon
- 3 nights at an apartment near Lake Annecy
- 4 nights in Beaune at Maison de Maurice in the old town
- 2 nights in Reims at La Caserne Chanzy Hotel and Spa
- 4 nights on the Alsace Route du Vin
- 4 nights in Paris to take another pastry class at the Ritz Paris Escoffier and enjoy a few more of our favorite restaurants
