Two days in Burgundy « Thread Started on Aug 2, 2011, 7:07am »
Last month I traveled with my husband and sister to Paris and we took a little side trip to Burgundy. We went to Beaune, the wine capital of Burgundy, located in the middle of the Cote d’Or (Golden Hillside). Beaune is a roughly dinner plate-shaped town surrounded by medieval ramparts and a ring road. It is small and walkable, with a population of only about 22, 000.
The TGV ride from Paris to Beaune took 2 1/2 hours. Our first stop was Ma Cuisine, a popular bistro run by a husband and wife team. It’s small and unassuming, housed in a renovated 15th century stable. It's located down this little cobblestoned passage.
We had three courses of delicious, traditional Burgundian fare washed down with the tasty and reasonably priced wine. It was one of the best meals of our entire trip.
Mmm, creme brulee is my favorite.
After stuffing ourselves, it was time to walk it off. We went for a leisurely stroll, occasionally stumbling upon a medieval half-timbered house.
We visited the Hospices de Beaune (also called Hotel Dieu), a charitable hospital founded in 1443. The Hundred Year’s War had left the majority of the people of Beaune destitute. Nicholas Rolin, Chancellor of the Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good, founded the hospital along with his wife to care for these impoverished ones.
The exterior of the building, with its slate grey roof, was not much to look at.
Entrance to the courtyard, however, revealed beautiful multi-colored glazed tile roofs. Even on this overcast day, they seemed to shine.
Here is a well with Gothic ironwork.
The Room of the Poor has rows of curtained beds where the sick or dying could lay in comfort.
The ceiling is in an upside-down boat shape.The beams are painted and carved to appear as if they are protruding from the mouths of strange creatures. The placement of the Chapel allowed the bedridden to attend Mass from their beds. The wife of Nicholas Rolin is buried somewhere in this room.
I took about a hundred photos before I was ready to leave. We walked around the city center. There were a lot of shops with tempting delicacies displayed.
With the approach of Father’s Day, it was a good time to purchase things like chocolate toolboxes.
Re: Two days in Burgundy « Reply #5 on Aug 3, 2011, 8:52am »
We visited Patriarche, the largest wine cellars in Burgundy. Patriarche, a major wine merchant and producer, was founded in 1730 in a former convent. Our self-guided tour cost 10 euros to taste 14 wines (not bad!) and we were given a little metal tastevin to keep.
We entered through the little chapel...
... into a three-mile labyrinth of vaulted cellars dating as far back as the 13th century. They contain about 3 million bottles of wine.
As we wandered around the dark, dusty corridors, I couldn't help but think of an Edgar Allen Poe story, "The Cask of Amontillado," in which a guy lures his friend into a cellar under the pretense of giving him a bottle of wine, and then proceeds to chain him up and bury him alive.
But enough morbidity... time to get down to business.
We helped ourselves from the bottles set up on barrels. There was no one hanging around to monitor our pouring. Guess Patriarche is on the honor system.
A lot of the wines available for purchase were very affordable. Others not so much.
The wines were delicious and it was a fun imbibing in the underground passages in the dim candlelight. I only regret that I lingered so long in the beginning because the best ones were toward the end.
My husband picked out some nice bottles to bring home. My sister did some last-minute double-fisting.
Another leisurely stroll through cobblestoned lanes...
... lead us to the Collegiale Notre Dame. The architecture is mostly Romanesque, with some Gothic additions. Construction of the church began in the mid-12th century, so it is about as old as the Notre Dame in Paris.
We visited one more cellar for the day, this time in the form of a restaurant. Caveau des Arches is located in a 17th century cellar built into the ramparts surrounding Beaune. The brightly lit room was very inviting and the encyclopediac wine menu was enough to make our heads spin. The traditional Burgundian food was tasty, though not quite as good as Ma Cuisine's.
Mmmm, cheese...
We got completely stuffed, especially since we had a late lunch. Tomorrow I would work it off while bicycling through the vineyards.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 34,431 Location: Paris, France
Re: Two days in Burgundy « Reply #7 on Aug 3, 2011, 5:04pm »
This is getting better and better, nycgirl, all the more so because Burgundy is one of the only holes in my wanderings in France -- for some reason I never stop there. Sure, I've driven through Beaune and Dijon but never to visit anything. Some friends even had a house on the fringes of Burgundy, in Avallon, where I went a few times, but I have never done the nice touristy things.
Re: Two days in Burgundy « Reply #10 on Aug 4, 2011, 7:36am »
The second day, my husband and I planned to bicycle and taste more wine in the nearby villages. (Sis had to take the train back to Paris for her flight home.) We rented bikes for the day from Bourgogne Randonnees, located near the train station. The owner was very helpful and gave us good directions and recommendations for tastings in the nearby villages.
First we biked to the supermarket and picked up bread, cheese, pate, olives, and artichoke hearts. Then we biked to a park and enjoyed our picnic by a lake. I shared my provisions with some of the local wildlife.
We biked the Veloroute, a route of vineyard paths used by wine vehicles. The ride was relatively flat and easy, and we were flanked by rows and rows of lush, green vines. We passed through the picturesque little villages of Volnay (pictured below) and Pommard, saving them for the ride back, and biked straight to Meursault.
Meursault (pop. about 1,600) has a lovely town hall with a yellow and green glazed tile roof. The building was featured in the popular 1966 French comedy La Grande Vadrouille (literally The Great Stroll; released in the United States as Don't Look Now... We're Being Shot At! I like the French title better.)
We did a wine tasting at a domaine near the town hall. I can't remember the name of the place, but the girl there was very friendly and knowledgeable.
The two main grapes in Burgundy are Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Meursault produces mostly whites. Burgundy is known as a complicated wine region. The concept of terroir was introduced here; that is, the idea that the geography, geology, and climate of a certain place bestows certain characteristics on the grape.
I "learned" a lot at the tasting, but unfortunately didn't retain it all. But I sipped some nice wine and had an enjoyable and interesting conversation there.
Back on the road.
Relaxing on a stone wall.
There were little tiny grapes on the vines. I was told that just a few days previously, they were only flower blossoms.
We biked around Pommard (pop. about 550) and looked at the Chateaux there. We went to a free wine tasting, but the guy there was a little hurried and distracted. I understood that he had better things to do than to shoot the breeze with us, so I just bought a bottle and got out of his way.
It was near 6, getting late, when we visited Domaine Albert Boillot in Volnay (pop. about 750). The owner seemed to be wrapping up when we walked in, but he very kindly took the time to give us a free tasting of three wines and also gave us a peek at his cellars. I bought a bottle there that I absolutely love.
With a couple of bottles rattling in our bike pack, we returned to Beaune. Altogether, we bicycled about 10.7 miles (17.2 km) from Beaune to Meursault and back. My husband would have liked to have seen Puligny-Montrachet, a few miles south of Meursault, but I was a bit too tired.
One last look at the vineyards.
Back in Beaune, I spotted some pretty houses on the way to returning the bikes.
Instead of another hearty, multi-course meal, we had a quick dinner at a creperie. It's a good thing, too, because I was so tired I briefly dozed off at the table, causing my husband and the server to chuckle.
We got back to the hotel and went to bed early. I was a little sorry our Burgundy adventure was at an end, but I still had a couple of more days in Paris to look forward to.
Re: Two days in Burgundy « Reply #11 on Aug 4, 2011, 11:59am »
I'm thoroughly enjoying your travels nycgirl17664 - Those buildings are wonderfully ornate aren't they?! Looking forward to your Paris adventures with more lovely photos!
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 34,431 Location: Paris, France
Re: Two days in Burgundy « Reply #12 on Aug 4, 2011, 5:01pm »
Great pictures out in the vineyards. That "wildlife" doesn't look all that wild to me, though.
Isn't it sort of a shame that the French are drinking less and less wine? (And also that most wine produced the world is stored in giant metal vats like a refinery instead of those magnificent barrels.)
Joined: Mar 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 235 Location: Michigan, USA
Re: Two days in Burgundy « Reply #17 on Aug 5, 2011, 12:12am »
Thank you. These photos remind me of my first trip to France. I have a friend who has a vineyard near Chablis and for my first meal in a French restaurant he took me for lunch at Caveau des Arches. I started the meal the same way as in your picture and then made a fool of myself by trying almost every cheese on the cheese cart. Being from the USA I had never seen a selection of cheese like that We then went to the Hospice de Beaune. Thank you again for reliving a great day.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 25,288 Location: Mexico
Re: Two days in Burgundy « Reply #18 on Aug 5, 2011, 3:45am »
Hello NYCGirl and thank you for this sumptuous post!
Sorry for only now chiming in, but I don't have regular internet access at the moment. But what a wonderful thread, with so much fascinating information & beautiful photos, some of which seem almost 3-D!
The Room of the Poor is quite a surprise, as the accommodations seem so luxurious -- the kind of thing that I assumed was only for the rich of the time.
I'm so glad you all got out of the Patriarche cellars alive, & that you made your time down there count.
The photo of your husband on the bike, with the vineyards & sky spreading behind him surely convinced many people they'd love to take such a trip, although the subsequent picture of you convinced me I'd never look so great after a day on the road.
Re: Two days in Burgundy « Reply #20 on Aug 5, 2011, 4:15pm »
louisxiv, I've seen some photos of Chablis and it looks really pretty. It must have been nice staying there. I know what you mean about the cheese, when the server wheeled the cart in front of us and asked which ones we wanted to try, I was thinking, "Ummm, all of them?"
bixaorellana, you're so sweet! I look about the same after my ride because my hair is always so wild that whipping it around for hours doesn't make much of a difference.
Thanks, everyone, for the nice remarks. Although I've just recently began posting, I've been really enjoying reading all of your threads for the past couple of months. Looking at your fun and interesting travels (or your everyday lives) finally prompted me to post something of my own.
Although I've just recently began posting, I've been really enjoying reading all of your threads for the past couple of months. Looking at your fun and interesting travels (or your everyday lives) finally prompted me to post something of my own.
Joined: Mar 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 235 Location: Michigan, USA
Re: Two days in Burgundy « Reply #22 on Aug 6, 2011, 5:37pm »
My friend lives in Maligny and his vineyard is Domaine Seguinot Bordet ( http://www.seguinot-bordet.fr/ ). I visited him last about six years ago after he had just made a large expensive enlargement to his facility. He makes a fine Chablis and can be purchased in New York and Chicago area.
"I was thinking, "Ummm, all of them?" I didn't think, I did.
Joined: Jan 2013 Gender: Female Posts: 373 Location: NOLA,USA
Re: Two days in Burgundy « Reply #23 on Aug 7, 2011, 3:20pm »
This is so ,so special NYC girl.!!! I have been savouring each and every pic, beautifully presented. Thank you so much for taking the time to give us this treat and welcome aboard. It's nice to have another Yankee with us. I hail from NY as well.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 3,224 Location: Greenest UK
Re: Two days in Burgundy « Reply #25 on Aug 12, 2011, 9:55pm »
oh, wow! I had visited Beaune a few years ago, but your pics have informed me I need to return and cycle along the vineyards. This looks like you had an almost perfect trip! so glad for you, NYCgirl!
Re: Two days in Burgundy « Reply #29 on Jan 5, 2012, 4:02pm »
Thanks, Vicky! You're going to love it there.
We stayed at a hotel called Premiere Classe. I don't know what your budget is, but we wanted something dirt cheap (so we'd have more money for wine ) and at 39 E for a triple, it certainly fit the bill. It was clean and the staff was very friendly. The room was small and charmless, with a bunk bed for three, but for what I paid I obviously was ok with this. However, it was much, much farther from the city than I expected (my own fault). We took a 10 minute taxi ride to and from the train station. We had no problem making the lengthy stroll to the city on foot without our luggage. However, for what we paid in taxis, I could have spent a bit more for a closer hotel. I feel bad saying this because I really liked the staff, but I wouldn't recommend this place unless you're renting a car.
FYI, here are a couple of other places I researched:
Hotel Rosseau- small budget hotel run by an elderly lady. I don't believe she speaks English, but she kindly replied to my inquiries via email and I used google to translate her response. In photos the place looks antique and run-down, but quaint. It's just outside the city walls, a short walk from the train station and to the city center.
Hotel le Foch- budget hotel right in the city centre. Great prices, but got a few negative reviews.
By the way, here is an article I came across in the NY Times about the area. It was an enjoyable read, so just passing it along.
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