Beaune Off The Beaten Path

Beaune is a marvelous base for exploring Burgundy and, believe it or not, there is a lot to do besides taste wine in Burgundy. There are chateaus, quaint villages, farms, museums of various kinds. One of the things we love to do is find any of the Plus Beaux Villages or Villes & Villages de Character near where we are staying and spend at least a half day wandering through them. There are flowers in all the windows, a lovely Old Town (often the entire town), some tourist attractions and nearly always a very nice restaurant or two. Many are built on a hill so the views are fabulous.

I've created Travel Pages for many of the small villages near Beaune and here is the VT address for Montreal so you can explore the village. Montreal by Beausoleil

It's quite a drive from Beaune but it was something I'd always wanted to see so we took a day to drive to Ronchamp to see the marvelous Corbusier Chapel. The drive is lovely and the chapel was all I'd dreamed it would be. The views from the chapel were stunning and we found a terrific restaurant nearby so it was a day well spent. I highly recommend it.

I put a lot of information on my Ronchamp Travel Page so you can see photos and Tips, including the restaurant, there.

Here's the link to my Ronchamp Travel Page with links and phone numbers. Ronchamp by Beausoleil

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Bibracte is a marvelous, open museum of Gaulish life set in a hillside that holds an archeological dig you may tour. Bibracte is near St. Leger however the museum is not in the town but on Mont Beuvray a few kilometers from the town.

The walls are all glass on the valley side of the building so as you walk through it, you can look out at the countryside where the people being depicted lived. There is also a very nice gift shop and in summer there is a cafe on the site. Off season you must bring a picnic or drive into town for lunch.

In the 2nd and 1st centuries BC at the end of the Iron Age, a large Gaulish town stood on Mont Beuvray. Surrounded by ramparts, Bibracte was the capital of one of the most powerful peoples in Gaul, the Aedui. It is here that Vercingetorix was proclaimed head of the Gaulish coalition in the year 52 BC. It is also at Bibracte that Julius Caesar, the victor of Alesia, completed the writing of his "Gallic wars" that you probably read in Latin class.

Click on the photo to see more pictures inside the museum.

If you like, you can look at my Virtual Tourist page on Bibracte under St. Leger at Bibracte by Beausoleil

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Another interesting chateau in Burgundy is in Chateauneuf southwest of Dijon. Drive north out of Beaune on the D970 and then the D2. It's very hilly and beautiful. You quickly leave wine country and have huge vistas. Next you come to the Canal de Bourgogne and drive along beside it passing several locks. We followed signs for Pont-d'Ouche and then Chateauneuf-en-Auxois. When we got to Chateauneuf, we followed signs through the tiny narrow very hilly streets to parking . . . above the town in a shaded meadow with signs to walking trails. You can hike through the wooded countryside or go down into the town and visit the chateau that is only partly renovated but nevertheless interesting and eat lunch at Au Marronnier Restaurant. (see my Beaune restaurant tips)

The town sits on top of a very high hill and can be spotted miles away. The buildings are all of native stone and incredibly picturesque and during summer the flowers grow from every possible inch of ground. It's lovely.

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Take a day off from wine tasting, rent a car and search out the chateaus of Burgundy. Most are open to the public and often on weekends there will be festivals with fun and food. There will not be many foreign tourists, only French tourists, so you can meet the French having an outing . . . always great fun.

We spent a day searching near Beane and found: (click on photo for all chateaus)
Chateau de Rully, open by appt. all year except Mondays; call (0)3 8587-2089 or check the web site at http://www.chateau-rully-bourgogne.com/

Chateau de Germolles, open varying hours except Mondays; call +33 (0)3 8598-0124 and check the web site for hours and shows at http://www.chateaudegermolles.fr/

Chateau de Couches, (0)3 8545-5799 with more info at http://www.chateau-de-couches.abcsalles.com/prive/en

Chateau de Sully, (0)3 8582-0986, varying open hours and interesting activities, check the web site at http://www.chateaudesully.com/