France's Most Beautiful Region? Discover Burgundy

Burgundy or Bourgogne as it's so called in French is a historic region to the southeast of Paris. Famed for its wines which have been produced in the region for over 2,000 years as well as its rich tapestry of medieval villages and ecclesiastical buildings. In this travel guide we're going to show you the best of Burgundy including some hidden gems. Versailles is a sleepy little town perched atop of a hill. It's so special that in 1979 it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites because it has this amazing basilica and the hill itself was also added due to both of their contributions to medieval Christianity. One of the most special parts of visiting Versailles today is that you actually get to see the historic ramparts. One of the most impressive features of this is of course the gate right behind me. This is the Port Neuve and it dates back to the 12th to 15th century which is when the whole of the town would have been fortified. If you're curious about various buildings in town then something that's really useful are these little plaques and what's more is that not only are they written in French but there's an English translation underneath. All around town you'll find these little shell symbols. Now often they're in bronze, obviously this one is just carved into the floor, and this represents the coquille Saint-Jacques which is of course the symbol for the Camino, the iconic pilgrimage route that goes to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. While there are lots of different starting points for the Camino, one of the four main ones in France can actually be found here which is why around almost every turn you'll see the coquille Saint-Jacques. There's even a hotel named the Compostela. This stunning basilica is the reason most people visit Versailles. It was built between 1120 and 1150 and now houses the relics of Mary Magdalene. It's open every day of the year and it's free. By 1840 the abbey was unfortunately close to ruin. As a result it was crumbling and it was unsafe to actually go inside. This all changed when one man that you might have heard of before came to work on the project. Violette Leduc is known for his restoration of Carcassonne, Mont Saint-Michel and of course Notre-Dame de Paris. But he also came here and restored the abbey here. It was actually his first great project. You can actually learn more about his restoration project by heading to a small museum above the cloisters. It's open most days during the summer months and inside you'll find all kinds of carvings from the church. It's pretty much impossible to get lost in Versailles because it's made up of just one main high street. There are a few meandering lanes off of it and if you head to the main street then you'll find lots of little souvenir shops selling local goodies such as honey, cheese and of course wine. Versailles wine has its own AOC and there's only 25 domains that produce it. Meaning that if you come here it's definitely worth trying some if you love wine. Saumur Onossois is a charming town with a medieval heart. It's best known for its historic fortifications which are really well preserved. If you're headed to Dijon then this makes for the perfect day trip because it's just half an hour away. However it's best if you have a car. I didn't get to visit on my last trip to Burgundy because of that reason. Rue Buffon is one street in town that you have to visit. It's completely pedestrianized, it's cobbled and here you'll find a great example of some of the local architecture which is the iconic roof tiling. Right at the end of Rue Buffon you'll come to these two incredible doorways. This is an ancient city gate. You have Porte Guilly which dates from the 13th century and Porte Sauvigny which dates from the beginning of the 14th. Today it really feels that you can still stroll through history here in Saumur Onossois. We then headed to Dijon where we spent the night. It's one of the largest towns in the region and makes for a great gateway from which to explore the rest of Burgundy. As Dijon is so large there's actually a great deal of dining opportunities. We headed to a little bistro by the name of Bistingo which serves up classic French dishes with a modern twist. The next morning we got up for a quintessentially French breakfast before heading out for the day. Dijon is one of the biggest cities in Burgundy. It's probably best known because this is the birthplace of Dijon mustard. Now it's a food and wine city thanks to its proximity to nearby vineyards. It's also full of timber-framed houses. Nowadays Dijon is home to around 160,000 people. Luckily though the city centre is where the heart of the medieval Dijon would have been. It's this section here and this is what we're going to be exploring this morning. One of the most unique things to see in Dijon can be found on the side of Notre Dame church is this little carving of an owl which dates all the way back to the 15th century. It's said that if you rub the owl with your left hand then you can make a wish. No one quite knows who made the sculpture or why they made it but one of the leading theories is that it was a symbol of the stonemason who carved the owl. There are also a number of other fascinating carvings on the church such as one of a salamander. Not only has Dijon football club adopted the owl as their mascot but so have the tourism board and so if you want to see all of the sights of note in Dijon then you can head along the Parcours de Chouette which is the owl trail and you'll find these little plaques on the floor. I think there's around two dozen of them. There are lots of Notre Dame churches in France. Obviously the most famous is that which can be found in Paris but this one in Dijon is a fine 13th century example of gothic architecture. Head inside and you can see several highlights. One of my personal favorites is that once upon a time the whole of the church would have been covered in beautiful frescoes. Today some of these still survive which is quite rare. Dijon is home to Haussmannian architecture the kind that you'd find in Paris but one thing that you'll find mainly in Burgundy are these beautiful roof tiles. They first appeared in Burgundy in around the 14th century and they were a way of showing off one's wealth. This was literally a status symbol and the color of the glazed tiles would have originally been formed by using lead. They were actually originally seen in Ile de France but now they can be found mainly in Burgundy. As I mentioned Dijon is a massive food city and if you want to get a taste of the local foodie culture then one of the best ways to do this is to come to Les Halles. This was constructed between 1873 and 1875 inspired by plans made by the Eiffel Enterprise because yes Gustave Eiffel who designed the Eiffel Tower or his company did depending on who you ask hailed from Dijon. Something I really love about Dijon is that there's all kinds of modern art everywhere. This is one of my personal favorite pieces it's called Le Compteur du Temps which means the timekeeper. It's by Gloria Friedman who was born in 1950 and the message of it is to enjoy and use your time wisely. It shows clocks showing different cities all over the world. You may well recognize the design of the gate behind me because this is a triumphal arch the kind that you'll also find in Paris. This one dates back to the 18th century and is called Port Guillaume. It actually replaced a former medieval city gate on site which dated back to the 12th century. As the owl has since become a symbol of the city it can be found in the most unusual of places and one of them is definitely here. While the church of Notre-Dame seems like it might be grand enough to be the actual cathedral of Dijon that's not the case instead we're going to go and visit it now. Dijon has a few museums of note but one of the best has to be the Archaeological Museum as here you can learn all about Dijon's history and see some of its most important artifacts. It's completely free to visit and open most days of the week. Unfortunately we have a really packed itinerary again so we can't go inside this time but maybe next time. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Benegus and is also built on his final resting place. Again with this cathedral you can see a beautiful example of the glazed roof tiling that Burgundy is so famous for. Moutarde-Mai has become something of a French institution since it was founded by Antoine Mai in 1747 and while you can now find this mustard brand all over Europe you can come to the store here in Dijon where you can purchase unique flavours, unique goods and also other souvenirs from the shop. Dijon is pretty international and so as well as French food you can get food from all over the world. We got a drink at Mochi Mochi. Place de la Libération is probably the most important town square here in Dijon. It's actually made in the shape of a semi-circle and is overlooked by the Grand Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy which has now been transformed into Park Museum, Park Mayor's Office. Exceptionally today you can actually visit the Park Mayor's Office which is pretty cool. Otherwise you can come to Place de la Libération every day of the year where you can sit on one of the many terraces and even come here in the evening for a different ambiance. The Musée des Beaux-Arts is housed within part of the former palace. Now it's completely free entry to the permanent collections and there's one thing that I really want to see so let's go. My favourite room of all had to be the room of the Ducal Tombs. This space houses the tombs of the Dukes of Burgundy notably Philip the Bold and John the Fearless. These are masterpieces of late gothic sculpture and my favourite detail of all has to be the intricately carved mourners. Of course Burgundy is probably best known for its wine culture. In fact the Savoy Affair of the wine here is such that it's actually been listed in the UNESCO World Heritage listing. Vaux-en-Romanée is home to just under 350 residents meaning that the village itself is very small and you can explore it in a matter of minutes. However when you come here there are several winemakers that have their wares for sale and the unique thing about the vineyards here is that not only do they produce very expensive wine but the grapes here are mainly Pinot Noir. We can still see some of them on the vines which is very lovely. When you come to Vaux-en-Romanée there is one domain that you have to see and that is Romanée Conti. That's because this vineyard has produced the most expensive wine in the entire world. A single bottle of the 1945 Grand Cru sold for over five hundred thousand dollars. While you could explore Burgundy and more specifically the vineyards by car one of the more eco-friendly and popular ways to do it in the summer is to actually go on a cycle ride. It's really nice to cycle amongst all of the vines, soak up the ambiance and also you have more opportunity to stop when you actually want to take a photo. We've just arrived in Beaune. This city is known for all of its typical Burgundian architecture. It also happens to be the wine capital of Burgundy so you'll find lots of cabarets, lots of wine tasting places and even a museum dedicated to wine. The town hall here is simply stunning and I think a lot of people don't realise this but if you want to get married in France you're not allowed to get married anywhere but the Marais which is the town hall and so if you live in Beaune it would be here. One of the coolest things about visiting Beaune today is that it's actually still all pedestrianised and little cobbled lanes because this would have been once upon a time completely fortified and you can still see lots of those fortifications to this day. Most of the town now runs in concentric circles around a central basilica. The Notre Dame collegiate church dates back to the 12th century and is built at the Romanesque style though there were later additions in the Gothic style between the 13th and 16th centuries. If you go inside it is quite sombre but very beautiful. The wine museum is a great way to learn more about Burgundy wines but if you're more of a self-taught person then I have just the place for you. The wine museum is located right in the heart of town and here you can learn all about the history of vineyard growing and wine making. If you're curious about what Beaune would have looked like in the 15th century then you can actually see a 1 to 200 scale replica model in the museum of the wine. This is Atheneum and it's a bookshop dedicated entirely to wine. Honestly there are so many wine books. We've just come to the which is a former hospital that is known for this iconic roof. The details in person are just staggering. As soon as you step into the courtyard you're greeted with a beautiful tile roof and wandering through this feat of engineering feels like stepping back in time. Every angle of this space showcases Burgundian craftsmanship from the carved wooden balconies to the diamond pattern tiles. The Hospice de Beaune was founded in 1443 by Nicolas Roland, a chancellor of Burgundy. Constructed for the poor during the devastation of the hundred year war, care here focused predominantly on care for the soul as opposed to the body and Christian imagery could be found around every turn. The museum visit is actually quite comprehensive and you'll want a few hours to explore. You'll get to see all different facets of the hostel including the former kitchens. At the very end of the visit you'll be able to see the original triptych of the last judgment, a fine example of 15th century Flemish art. If you visit the ramparts today you might be a bit disappointed if you're looking for something that has more of a medieval look because they're actually just rows that are raised around the rest of the town. Cars can even go on them but it is a nice circle loop. Of course we wanted to learn more about Burgundy's most famous product, the local wine and so we headed to a winery which is best known for its white wines. We are really a small family business, a small team of four people. We work in a very traditional way, everything is handcrafted, the sales are manual. We are lucky to have typical Burgundian cellars, dug and buried in this building dating back to the 1850s. Here you have to imagine that we don't have any air conditioning at all, it's only ventilation and natural temperatures throughout the year. All the barricades you see here are already filled with the 2025 millesime. We harvested this year very early, we started on August 23rd to finish on September 1st. We don't use any chemical yeast, we do so-called natural fermentations and we still see very small gas bubbles that show that the fermentation is still going on, but also the clarification that begins and we see all this layer of sediment that starts to settle down here. In fact, what we call the beds are the dead yeast and so when we talk about breeding on beds, that's really it. Chassagne-Montrachet is also a great land for Pinot Noir. We have two names only in Pinot Noir, we have the Regional Burgundy and the Château de Chassagne-Montrachet-Village which is present here. The 2025 was inaugurated last week. It is made with the oldest vines in the field. These are old pinots that are between 60 and 80 years old. The beauty of Burgundy wines is also that the wine continues to evolve in bottles and is bonified. So in general, I advise you to wait for at least 5-6 years if possible. The white wines, already after 3-4 years, we start to have a nice aromatic palette that is drawn. When we talk about Burgundy, we talk about terroirs. What does a terroir mean? So a terroir, when we look at this map, each village is subdivided into lots of small plots and each has a name because each plot is identified by a soil, a subsoil and a microclimate and in fact that is the terroir. It is an identity that is specific to each plot. The consumer will look for a terroir, an appellation and also the producer. But what is interesting to see is that what is really highlighted is the appellation. The name of the producer is always more minimal in fact. And how many bottles do you make per year? We will produce between 50 and 60,000 bottles for the best years. Saint-Aubin-Premier-Cru 2022. Then we will move on to the Chassagne-Montrachet appellation. We will taste two villages. Le Château, which is really the heart of our domain, with the vineyards all around the property. It is an appellation that will be more powerful, it is more opulent in the nose, a little sharper, drier in the mouth. These are really wines that I call gastronomy, which really calls for food. Then the selection by cellar in journobleau and finally a Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Morgeau millésime 2022. And for the reds, we will taste the same Château de Chassagne, but on two different millésimes. So it's a little vertical to really see the millésime effect on the same plot. 2022, which was a very hot year. 2021, a much fresher year. And how can people come to visit you? We have a tasting cellar that is generally open from mid-March to mid-November. We are open from Monday to Friday from 9am to noon and from 2pm to 6pm. And we offer cellar visits, commented tastings. For those who would be interested in our wines, we also do direct sales to the property. And you can also do visits in English? Yes, of course, in French and English. Perfect, thank you. We then headed to a bistro by the name of Le Staminé de Metz for a classic French lunch. We've come to Cluny, which is a charming medieval town filled with pastel-hued houses. It's also the medieval heart of Christendom in all of Europe. Once upon a time, the Abbey here was one of the most important sites in Christianity. Unfortunately, as you can see, the weather is definitely not on our side. The good news is that we have much of the town to ourselves as a result. The thing that you have to remember when you come to the Abbey is that a lot of it was actually taken away. It was kind of quarried away and used to build nearby buildings. So you really have to imagine how the Abbey would have been grandiose in the Middle Ages. You can still see a film depicting how it would have been, as well as several artefacts which were found during excavations in 2017. Right now, we're standing in the Mile Ecclesia, which means the biggest church in Latin. This was actually the biggest church in Christendom right until the 16th century when St. Peter's was built in Rome. This church was probably constructed between the late 11th and 12th centuries. There are several amazingly preserved chapels within the complex, including this one. This is one of Jean de Bourbon. During the 18th century, people actually found that medieval buildings were kind of impractical. They were kind of getting old, and so lots of the Abbey was actually rebuilt. These cloisters date back to the 18th century, and they're currently undergoing a bit of renovation. So hopefully by the time you visit, they'll be beautiful once more. There are a few other highlights of Cluny, and one of the top ones is the Tour des Fromages, which means the Tower of the Cheeses. Apparently, we can actually go up. The tower was originally built as a defensive tower for the nearby Abbey, but by the 13th century, it was changed in order to store grain and food, and was renamed the Tour des Feuves, which means the Bean Tower. Eventually, it came to be known as the Tower of the Cheeses, and while no one knows the origin of the name, it's a very fun one that stuck around. There's 120 steps to reach the top, so I hope the view is good. The view from the top is honestly spectacular, so I can only begin to imagine how beautiful it is on a day when you can see all of the surrounding hills. And the tourist office have truly thought of everything, because if you want to bring your professional camera, you can open these windows. Right outside of the Church of Notre Dame, you'll find the most delightful square. This is very charming, and it's also home to a medieval house called the Maison des Dragons, which means the Dragon House. Although we stumbled on the House of the Dragons close to closing time, a local very kindly gave us a short tour of the house. This house is destined to remain a place of scientific interpretation for a long time, to better understand the styles of life in the Middle Ages, to understand the evolutions of urbanism in the city of Cluny, and it contains a lot of very interesting things, such as this secret safe, in which they certainly didn't hide any money, but presumably documents, charts, in connection with the emergence of the civil power in Cluny, and the existence of the first echelons. And the frescoes on the walls are really well preserved. When do they date? The frescoes on the walls date from the house between its creation around 1215, until the end of the Middle Ages, with the representation of this soldier, during the medieval period of the house. Thank you so much for watching, and don't forget to like and subscribe for more France travel content. See you next week!