Not for wine lovers only. (Beaune)

Member Name: genmil

Product:	Beaune
Date:	15/02/09 (89 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good place for wine tasting, beautiful place.

Disadvantages: none

If you ever want to visit the wine region of Burgundy, Beaune is a good place to start.

We went on a camping holiday in France a couple of years ago and one of the places we camped at was Mersault which is a rural town in Beaune. Our campsite was situated amongst vineyards and every evening we will sit outside our tent and watch with awe as the orange red sun lower within the grape vines.

There are many historical monuments in Beaune. The centre is enclave within the medieval walls and it is pleasant to walk around the cobblestone street and admire Beaune historical treasures. One the well known treasure is the Hotel-Dieu, known in the past as Beaune Hospices and a place for the destitute and sick to take refuge in the 14th century. The gothic and external structure with glazed coloured tiles exudes a majestic presence in the square.

Other historical site includes the Collegiale Notre Dame Basilica, with daily masses for the locals and tourists and the wine museum. A novel way of exploring Beaune is by Visiotrain. The Visiotrain start from Hotel Dieu and it is a 45 minutes guided tour around the city, passing by historical buildings, cobbled side lane and some part of the vineyards. I often wonder how the driver manages to manoeuvre around narrow lane and making roundabout turns in small corner.

Beaune is known for its Burgundy wines and there are many wine cellars and vineyards offering wine tasting and tour around their premise. Usually, you have to pay for the wine tasting and tour though some wine cellar waived the charges if you buy wine at their premise. We visited Château de Pommard, a privately run vineyard with guided tours on the history of wine making, a French style rose garden and learning the art of wine tasting. I am captivated by the centuries old oak drums in the cellar and the mouldy wine bottles. It is difficult to believe that all these moulds have an effect on the quality of wine.

Beaune is situated near to the motorway, at the crossroads of A6, A31 towards Djion and Lille and A38 towards Besancon and the south. Travelling to Beaune on TGV high speed train via Paris is 2hrs and 1hr 40mins from Lyon.

Summary: A central location for exploring the burgundy wine region