Climate
Burgundy is dominated by the variations of western weather that characterise the whole of Western Europe. In winter, there are frequent spells of fine, cold weather. In the summer, it is hot with a few welcome showers. Autumn (grape harvests obligent!) is generally a pleasant, sunny season, probably one of our most beautiful times, in which the colours of nature blend harmoniously with the gentle blue of the sky. The first stirrings of the Mediterranean climate can already be felt in Saône et Loire. The Morvan is a typical mountainous area from 600 metres up.
Food & Drink
Savoury food
Boeuf Bourguignon, beef with bacon pieces, vegetables and red wine from Burgundy.
Pôchouse, Burgundian fish soup
Oeufs en Meurette, Poached eggs in red wine
Jambon Persillé, ham cooked in a terrine with fresh parsley and served cold
Snails, cooked with garlic butter and parsley
Crawfish, cooked with scent of fish and white wine
Dijon mustard
Sweet food
Pain d'épices, ginger cake
Nougatines, sweet deliquesces from Nevers
Anis de l'Abbaye de Flavigny sur Ozerain, aniseed candy, sweet and very aromatic
Cheeses
Epoisses, purgent unpasteurised cows-milk cheese
Chaource, cow's milk cheese with a soft cream in colour and slightly crumbly central pâte
Crottin de Chavignol, goat cheese
Alcohol
Kir, a mix of Crème de Cassis (blackcurrant liqueur produced in Dijon) and wine produced from Aligoté grape
Kir Royal, a mix of Crème de Cassis with Champagne, Crémant or sparkling wine.
Wines: Chablis, Côte de Beaune, Mâconnais, Chardonnay, Côte de Nuits, Côte chalonnaise, Pinot Noir, Aligoté
Beautiful cities & places of interest in Burgundy
Autun
This little town has preserved important vestiges of the Gallo Roman period.
Auxerre
Auxerre, a town of Art and History, has preserved an exceptional architectural heritage through the ages. Its historic centre, crisscrossed with narrow, winding streets, could have come straight out of an architecture book!
Beaune
In Beaune, everything is wine. In the cafés, restaurants and underground cellars, everyone talks wine. For centuries, this town of négociants and vignerons, set in the middle of the vineyard, lives by and for wine.
Its most beautiful buildingm the Hôtel Dieu is an old hospice built in the 15th century in Burgundian Flemish art for the seek end needy. It is famous for its multicoloured tiled roofs and the polyptych of the Last Judgement.
Châlon-sur-Sâone
Stretched along the Sâone, Chalon is a river port town and the birthplace of photography. The gothic cathedral, in the heart of the city, and the chapel and the pharmacy of the former hospital are also worth a visit.
Cluny
The Benedictine abbey casts its influence over the whole of Europe. The abbey church is a masterpiece of Romanesque art and was the largest in Western Christianity. Cluny was a spiritual, political and artistic capital in the Middle-Ages and today is the guardian of an exceptional inheritance: the ruins of the abbey church, the four cellars, paris churches and innumerable Romanesque houses.
Dijon
Dijon, the capital of Burgundy, stretches out between Paris to the north and Lyon to the south. The town situated at the centre of the "Land of Great Art and Good Living" faithfully reflects the thousand and one facets of the Burgundian landscape. It is a modern little town with a medieval feel. It is a great base from which to explore the region. Fans of medieval history, French cuisine and wine will not be disapointed.
Mâcon
Pleasantly stretched on the right bank of the river Saône, Mâcon is a busy city where brick-red "Roman" tiles already announce the Midi and Latin South. It is a very good starting point to the surrounding wine region and to the numerous Romanesque churches of Southern Burgundy.
Nevers
Nevers, capital of the historical region of the Nivernais and Burgundy's third city, is also one of the principal centres of artistic interest in the region. It is situated at the confluence of the Loire, Nièvre and Allier rivers and its historical centre lies in the upper town which includes both the Cathedral and the nearby Ducal Palace.
Paray-le-Monial
Located in the southern part of Burgundy, Paray-le-Monial is a pilgrimage centre. Its basilica is a masterpiece of Romanesque architecture. The old town has a number of half-timbered houses and interesting Renaissance buildings.
Vézelay
Now classified as a world heritage site by UNESCO, Vézelay was the starting point of the crusades. Perfect medieval village, it attracts many visitors who climb its arrow to the stunning abbey Basilica of Saint Madeleine, universally considered to be a masterpiece of Romanesque art.
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