Cruising along one of canals in Burgundy France is a wonderful experience. This region boasts some of the world’s finest wines with about 60,000 acres of sunlit vines and some of the prettiest canals in France.

The waterways wind through the heart of Burgundy’s renowned vineyards, medieval towns, elegant châteaux, magnificent cathedrals, picturesque villages and wonderful local markets. Burgundy guarantees a wealth of sightseeing opportunities.

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Saint-Léger-sur-Dheune | Château de Germolles | Chalon-sur-Saône | Beaune
Hospices de Beaune | Maison Joseph Drouhin | Saint-Jean-de-Losne | Domaine Ponsot
Clos de Vougeot | Domaine Drouhin-Laroze | Dijon | Palais des Ducs de Bourgogne
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti

Saint-Léger-sur-Dheune

Photo: Wikimedia Commons: PRA, CC-SA 3.0

Saint-Léger-sur-Dheune is a charming village in the Saône-et-Loire department of Burgundy-Franche-Comté, in eastern France. The town offers a picturesque vineyard landscape, a location on the Canal du Centre, and a popular base for canal boating and cycling. This village features historical architecture, including old winegrower houses and the Maison Perusson. The inhabitants of Saint-Léger-sur-Dheune are called Léodégariens. The 2023 population census was 1,553.

Château de Germolles

Photo: Wikimedia Commons: Christian Degrigny, CC0 1.0

The Château de Germolles, palace of the Dukes of Burgundy, is located in the commune of Mellecey, 10km from Chalon-sur-Saône. Philip the Bold (Philippe le Hardi), Duke of Burgundy, bought the stronghold of Germolles for his wife Margaret of Flanders (Marguerite de Flandre) in 1380. The Duchess transformed it into a luxurious home with the help of the finest sculptors and artists of the Burgundian School (Claus Sluter, Jean de Beaumetz).

Their tour includes the cellar, the lower chapel, the two towers guarding the entrance (the remains of the original fortress), the great reception room (salle d’honneur),the ducal chapel and apartments, as well as those of the court. Painted and sculptured décors, including the floor tiles, testify to the standing of the château. The hamlet adjoining the château and a 19th century park set out in the English style embellish the setting.

The French government listed the Château as a monument historique in 1989.

Chalon-sur-Saône

Photo: Wikimedia Commons: Benjamin Smith, CC-SA 4.0

Chalon-sur-Saône lies in the south of the Burgundy region of France with a population of 48,000 in 2006. An ancient civilization built it alongside the river Saône about 3000 years ago. During ancient times the town was a naval base, during the Middle Ages it was a large fairgrounds, and in modern times a trading center.

The French city of Chalon claims the title of photography’s birthplace. Nicéphore Niépce (1765-1833) was a French inventor and most noted as one of the inventors of photography (1816). Historians believe Niépce created the world’s first photogravure etching in 1822. The Musée Nicéphore Niépce houses over two million photographs, historic and modern equipment, and regular photography exhibitions

Dominique Vivant Denon (1747–1825), a famous resident of Chalon-sur-Saône, helped establish the Louvre in Paris by transforming its former royal palace into a museum after the French Revolution.

Every year in July, Chalon-sur-Saône hosts a 4-day international street artists festival, called Chalon dans la Rue (Chalon in the Street). Artists from across Europe and beyond come to the streets of Chalon to perform music, theatre, acrobatics, comedy, etc.

Beaune

Photo: Wikimedia Commons: Hedwig Storch, CC-SA 2.0

In the middle of the Côte d’Or, wine enthusiasts know Beaune as the capital of the wine region. It is one of the wine communes of the Côte de Beaune subregion of the Burgundy wine region. Although Beaune is lacking a Grand Cru vineyard within the commune, it is the hub of the region’s wine business, as most of Burgundy’s major négociants are located here.

Beaune is a walled city with about half of the battlements, ramparts, and the moat, remaining in good condition. Landmarks include the Halles, the Hospices, the Beffroi, and Notre Dame.

The town is also famous for its Baroque Music Festival every weekend throughout July, the Festival Cours Eau Jardins throughout the summer, the Jazz Festival in September, the Hospice de Beaune Wine Auction in November, and the colorful Festival of Saint-Vincent, the patron saint of wine, each January.

Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune / Hospices de Beaune

Photo: Wikimedia Commons: Benjamin Smith, CC-SA 4.0

The Hospices de Beaune or Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune is a charitable institution in Beaune, France.

Nicolas Rolin, the Chancellor to the Duke Philippe-le-Bon (Philip the Good) who was the ruler of Burgundy at that time, founded the Hôtel-Dieu in 1443. Although the Treaty of Arras ended the Hundred Years War, marauding bands continued to pillage, causing widespread famine. Most of the people of Beaune were declared destitute. To help the poor, Nicolas Rolin and Guigone de Salins established a well-funded hospital and refuge, complete with its own income, vineyards, and salt works.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons: Velvet CC-SA 3.0

From the Middle Ages up until the 20th century, the Sisters of the Hospices de Beaune cared for the sick in this magnificent building. Its reputation spread far and wide and it became known as the “Palace of the Poor”. Grateful families and generous benefactors made many donations of farms, property, woods, works of art and, of course, vineyards. Hospitals in other communes, Pommard, Volnay and Meursault, joined forces to make up the Hospices, bringing with them donations of vineyards, which today total 53 hectares. This historic, philanthropic, and wine-producing estate is deeply woven into the economic and cultural fabric of Burgundy. The famous wine auction, a charity sale, held each November at the Hospices is still reaping the rewards.

The original hospital building, the Hôtel-Dieu, one of the finest examples of French fifteenth-century architecture, is now a museum.

Maison Joseph Drouhin

Joseph Drouhin founded Maison Joseph Drouhin, a French wine producer based in Burgundy, in 1880. The estate owns vineyards in Chablis, the Côte de Nuits, Côte de Beaune, and Côte Chalonnaise, as well as in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, USA.

Photo: Joseph Drouhin

Joseph Drouhin is also one of the major négociants of Burgundy, and produces wines made from purchased grapes grown in different parts of Burgundy. The great-grandchildren of Joseph Drouhin own and operate both Maison Joseph Drouhin and Domaine Drouhin Oregon today.

Visit the Drouhin website

Saint Jean de Losne

Saint Jean de Losne, with a population of 1,207 in 2007, is an important boating hub situated where the Canal de Bourgogne meets the River Saône, providing access to several major waterways in all directions.

The Dukes of Burgundy originally built the town in the 13th century when they bought the salt works of nearby Salins-les-Bains. To protect salt imports into Burgundy, they built a castle and fortified the town with battlements and turrets. The salt trade was based here and the town gradually prospered and grew in importance.

More recently, Saint Jean de Losne has become a “bargee’s” town as it provides a great deal of services to the barge industry. There are modern moorings with water and electricity, drydocks, cranes, chandleries, and other shops close to the water. It is now also an important inland boating center for tourism and pleasure boats with mooring for over 350 boats.

Domaine Ponsot

Photo: Domaine Ponsot

The following is text from www.bbr.com :

William Ponsot established this Domaine in 1772 and it has since developed into one of the finest in the Côte d’Or. There is history of innovation here with it being one of the first Domaines to practise estate bottling in the 1930s, and perhaps more significantly the Ponsots were among the first growers to understand the importance of clones and clonal selection – many of the most important Pinot Noir clones originate from their vineyards.

The average age of the vines across the Domaine is 50 years old and it is this, along with Laurent Ponsot’s expertise, that give these wines their power, concentration, and rich, exotic and spicy nuances.

Visit Domaine Ponsot’s website

Clos de Vougeot

Photo: Wikimedia Commons: Christophe Finot CC-SA 2.5

Clos de Vougeot is a wall-enclosed vineyard (“clos“) in the Burgundy wine region, and an Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) for red wine from this vineyard. It was named for the River Vouge. Clos de Vougeot consists of 50 hectares (125 acres) of vineyards with six soil types split beween 80+ owners. It is the largest single vineyard in Côte de Nuits entitled to the grand cru designation. However,Corton in Côte de Beaune is the largest grand cru in Burgundy as a whole.

Cistercian monks of Côteaux Abbey created the Clos de Vougeot vineyard. The Cistercians purchased or received donations of the land making up the vineyard from the 12th to the early 14th centuries. By 1336, the monks had completed the vineyard and built a wall around it. In 1551, they added the Château de Clos de Vougeot inside the wall by rebuilding and enlarging a small chapel and other previously existing buildings at the site.

The authorities officially classified the Clos de Vougeot as Grand Cru in 1937, granting the prestigious title to the whole Clos and delimiting it by the location of the Clos wall rather than the actual quality of the terroir.

The Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin moved into the Château du Clos de Vougeot in 1945. Devoted to defending Burgundy in grand style, the Order boasts a worldwide network of some 12,000 knights or Chevaliers.

Ever since its creation in 1934, the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin has set itself the task of promoting Burgundy, notably its wines and cuisine, preserving and reviving its traditional festivals, folklore and customs, and encouraging the development of tourism in the region.

Domaine Drouhin-Laroze

Photo: Domaine Drouhin-Laroze

Founded in 1850 by Jean-Baptiste Laroze, Domaine Drouhin-Laroze in Gevrey-Chambertin holds premier vineyards including Clos Vougeot, Musigny, and Bonnes Mares. When his granddaughter Suzanne married vineyard owner Alexandre Drouhin in 1919, she added the Drouhin side to the name.

Each successive generation has made its own contribution to developing and improving the estate, in terms of both the size and quality of its appellation. Phillipe and Christine Drouhin currently run it, and their natural approach to growing vines lets the terroir speak for itself. Phillipe limits yields, even in prolific years, and employs wine-making techniques which retain the maximum fruit quality.

Dijon

Photo: Wikimedia Commons – Pontauxchats

Dijon began as a Roman settlement (called Divio) located on the road from Lyon to Paris. This province was home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th through the late 15th centuries. Dijon was a place of tremendous wealth and power, and one of the great European centers of art, learning and science.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons: PRA CC-SA 2.5

This city has one of the best preserved medieval centers in France. It is easy to walk and see the sites, with lots of pedestrian walking streets.

Dijon boasts a large number of churches, notably Notre Dame de Dijon, St. Philibert, St. Michel Dijon Cathedral, the crypt of which, dedicated to Saint Benignus, dates from 1,000 years ago.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons: François de Dijon CC-SA 3.0

The city has retained varied architectural styles from many of the main periods of the past millennium, including Capetian, Gothic and Renaissance. Many still-inhabited town houses in the city’s central district date from the 18th century and earlier. Burgundian polychrome roofs (toits bourguignons) made of terracotta, green, yellow, and black glazed tiles arranged in eye-catching geometric patterns distinguish Dijon architecture.

CULTURE: Dijon holds its International and Gastronomic Fair every autumn. With over 500 exhibitors and 200,000 visitors every year, it is one of the ten most important fairs in France. Dijon is also home, every three years, to the international flower show Florissimo. It has numerous museums such as the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon, the Musée Archéologique, the Musée de la Vie Bourguignonne, the Musée d’Art Sacré, and the Musée Magnin. It also contains approximately 700 hectares of parks and green space, including the Jardin Botanique de l’Arquebuse.

MUSTARD: Dijon is famous for its mustard. The term Dijon mustard (moutarde de Dijon) designates a method of making a particularly strong mustard relish. The European Union does not cover Dijon mustard under a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) or a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). Therefore, while major mustard plants operate in and around Dijon, manufacturers produce most Dijon mustard outside the area.

Dijon mustard originated in 1856, when Jean Naigeon of Dijon substituted verjuice, the acidic “green” juice of not-quite-ripe grapes, for vinegar in the traditional mustard recipe. Mustards from Dijon today generally contain both white wine and burgundy wine. Mustards marketed as Dijon style may contain one or both of these wines or may substitute vinegar or another acid in order to conform to local laws. Dijon mustard shops also feature exotic or unusually-flavored mustard (fruit-flavoured, for example), often sold in decorative hand-painted faience (china) pots.

WINE & LIQUEURS: As the capital of the Burgundy region, Dijon reigns over some of the best wine country in the world. Many superb vineyards producing vins d’appellation contrôlée (AOC), such as Vosne-Romanée and Gevrey-Chambertin, are within 20 minutes of the city center. The town’s university boasts a renowned oenology institute. The road from Santenay to Dijon, known as the route des Grands Crus, passes through an idyllic countryside of vineyards, rivers, villages, forests, and 12th century churches. The city proudly produces crème de cassis, which locals mix with white wine to create the ‘Kir’ cocktail, named after former mayor Canon Félix Kir.

CUISINE: Dijon is home to some of the finest French cuisine. Well-known regional dishes include Boeuf Bourguignon, Coq au Vin, Escargot, Gougère and pain d’épices (the local form of gingerbread). The tradition of pain d’épices de Dijon dates back to the 14th century. Today, bakers predominantly make it with rye flour, honey, and spices like clove, ginger, cinnamon, and sometimes anise, often garnishing it with candied fruits. It is much different to gingerbread cookies.

Dijon’s Palais des Ducs de Bourgogne

Dijon’s Palais des Ducs et des États de Bourgogne was home to the Dukes of Burgundy. It is a remarkably well-preserved. The oldest part is the 14th and 15th century Gothic ducal palace and seat of the Dukes of Burgundy, made up of a logis still visible on Place des Ducs, the ducal kitchens on Cour de Bar, the tour de la terrasse (or tour Philippe le Bon, a “guette” overlooking the whole city) and tour de Bar. The 17th and especially the 18th centuries produced most of what can be seen today, built in a classical style.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons: Christophe.Finot CC-SA 2.5

Be sure to visit its Musée des Beaux-Arts and climb the Tour de Philippe le Bon for an impressive view of Dijon. The wonderful Place de la Liberation is across from the palace, where you can sit in a restaurant, wine bar or cafe to leisurely view the palace and the interesting fountains with their undulating shafts of water that light up at night.

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, often abbreviated to DRC, is an estate in Burgundy, France that produces white and red wine. Wine experts widely consider the estate one of the world’s greatest producers, and DRC bottles are among the world’s most expensive. It takes its name from the domaine’s most famous vineyard, Romanée-Conti.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons: Wikipedro CC-SA 4.0

The following text is from http://www.bbr.com

Domaine de la Romanée Conti (DRC)

The de Villaine and Leroy/Roch families have co-owned Domaine de la Romanée-Conti since 1942, tracing their lineage back to Jacques-Marie Duvault-Blochet, who purchased the vineyard in 1869. Aubert de Villaine and Henri-Frederic Roch run the Domain today.. Many people in Burgundy just refer to `DRC’ as “the Domaine”.

The domaine has 25 hectares of vineyards, all Grand Crus. The Domaine acquired its monopoly La Tâche in 1933 and its 1.8-hectare monopoly La Romanée-Conti, adding extensive grand cru holdings across the 19th and 20th centuries. The Domaine is the largest owners of each of the red wine grand crus.

Bernard Noblet makes the wines, succeeding his father, André Noblet. Winemakers use whole clusters (without destemming) with a long vatting time, while avoiding excess heat.Yields are mind numbingly low and the winemaking is traditional and perfectionist. These are not merely among the most sumptuous wines of Burgundy but certainly the most stylish. His descendants adhere today to the philosophy of their ancestor, Jacques-Marie Duvault Blochet, who advocated for late harvesting to ensure optimum ripeness.

Visit the Romanée-Conti website

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