Burgundy is located in the Mid-Eastern part of France and is a wealthy region with world famous wine, a basic, but excellent cuisine, grand architecture, interesting history and exciting cultural choices.
In Fontenay and Vézelay, you will find unique Roman architecture as well as some of the world’s most respected wine. A visit to Dijon is a must for the ones who appreciate art, architecture and food.

The landscape of Burgundy

Burgundy offers lush landscape with plantations, meadows and fields with plateaus as well as forests of oak, beech and coniferous trees. There are many small creeks, and Rivers Yonne, Cousin and Cure cross through the region and add their charm to the many beautiful and idyllic towns located directly towards the rivers.

Large cities in Burgundy: Dijon

The modern capital of Burgundy, Dijon, has a rich cultural life. The city centre is most famous for its architectural highlights such as the art museum Palais des Ducs as well as the churches Notre-Dame and St-Michel. The centre of Dijon also offers a variety of narrow streets with shops, cafes, restaurants as well as the inspiring market halls with 246 shops that will tempt you with delicious ingredients.

Tourist attractions in Burgundy

Visit the beautiful and peaceful abbey, Abbaye de Fontenay, from the 12th century which is the oldest Cistercian abbey and gives interesting insight into the lives of the Cistercian. The abbey church and the abbey yard are particularly interesting. Another interesting Roman building in Bourgogne is the former abbey church, Ste-Madeleine, in Vézelay.

If you are on holiday in Burgundy and wish to experience a wine trip beyond the usual, you must try ”Route des Grands Crus” on D122 which takes you through the wine towns with a view of the low mountains with the forests, the beautiful vine fields and the pretty vineyards in the background. The golden slope of Côte d’Or is a 50 km forest-covered mountain range where the world-famous Burgundy castles are located. Some of the most expensive red Burgundy wines come from the east-side of the golden slope, for instance, Fixin, Gevrey-Chambertin, Nuits-Saint Georges and Vosne Romanée.
Another possibility is to take a wine trek/wine bike trip and wine tasting on ”Circuit des Crêtes en Beaujolais” which goes through nine wine areas.

Sports activities in Burgundy

In Burgundy, you will find a lovely natural landscape which in many places encourages to outdoor activities, such as trekking, cycling, canoeing, climbing, golfing, fishing, skiing and horseback riding, for instance, in the forests of the La Puisaye, Morvan and Jura Mountains.

Gastronomic characteristics of Burgundy

In Burgundy, there are several famous regional dishes, such as ”Escargots à la Bourguignonne”, which are snails served with parsley and garlic butter, ”Minute beef Dijonnaise”, a beef served in cream and mustard sauce and ”Boeuf Bourguignon”, the famous, classic casserole of marinated meat which is cooked at a low temperature in Burgundy or Beaujolais wine until it is tender.

Other famous regional dishes are the Dijon mustard as well as the country’s richest selection of cheese, for instance, try the soft, sharp cognac cheese Epoisses, Pipo Crem’ or Bleu de Bresse.

Some of the best wine in the world comes from the wine areas of Burgundy and can be tasted in the many wine cellars.

The climate of Burgundy

Burgundy has mainland climate that varies a lot, but most often with cold winters and warm summers.

Some of the photos are kindly lent out from Maison de la France. Photographers: Hervé Le Gac and Alain Doire.