Set right in the heart of Burgundy, Beaune is a wonderful place for a magical getaway. Let your taste buds experience new and exquisite flavours both with wine and food. Feel as though you are stepping back in time as you explore one of the many castles…
7 Insider Tips for a Magical Weekend in Beaune:
1) For the trip there:
Suggest you arrive on Friday evening as Saturday morning is not to be missed in Beaune!
Make sure you have your wallet within reach when driving to pay the road tolls along the way – suggest paying these with credit card instead of cash – especially if you are clumsy like me and manage to drop coins just where you have no chance of ever retrieving them – eek!
2) Where to stay:
Our favourite hotel is Hotel De La Poste, situated right on the Boulevard Clémenceau which circles the city centre and has good, covered onsite parking. Each room is different, I personally find the older ones much more charming. Our favourite is no. 107 – a junior suite with a little front room for our daughter.
3) Saturday Morning Market
The market in Beaune – 5 mins walk from the hotel – has to be one of the best I have ever seen – you can literally eat your way through it or try to restrain yourself for a cafe pit stop later on 😉
4) Shopping
Antique shops have got to be the best in Beaune – Walking into my favourite shop there was no indication of jewellery at all – however upon asking the owner led us to a side room where she showed us the most awesome collection! Vintage jewellery treasures from Chanel and Dior to name a few! There is absolutely no internet reference for this shop – the owner doesn’t even have an email address. If you wish to know more about this simply drop me a note on yvonne@funkyforty.com
5) A touch of history
A trip to Beaune / Burgundy would not be complete without a visit to at least one castle. Chateau de Cormatin, approx 30 mins drive from Beaune is a very pretty, well restored on with great tour! Note there is no cafe at the castle but a couple of cute restaurants across the road from it – perfect for lunch before the castle tour.
Pretending to be back in time and imagining what life was like – we had huge fun when we found out the Duchess of the castle was only 13 when she married her 35 year old husband Jaques Du Blé- made our daughter cringe – poor thing!
6) Wine tasting
Of course there are loads of different wine tours you can take but our favourite place for tasting and buying is Henri De Villamont in Savigney-les-Beaune. Make sure that you sample some of their wines and at the very least you go home with a couple of bottles of their Cremant – smile. Note they close at 6pm so plan your day carefully!
A favourite little tour – especially with children is at L’Imaginarium – set up a little like Disney with music playing in the carpark and a cute inside 3D tour showing the history of winemaking.
7) Where to have dinner
The hotel has a restaurant which of course is convenient and nice too but I do recommend you cross the main road in front of the hotel and then go down Rue Maufoux where you will find plenty of cute restaurants to suit every tastebud and budget!
If you are planning on visiting Beaune and would like more information: beaune-tourism.com.
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