Guide to Burgundy

Burgundy (la Bourgogne)

Famous wine and mustard-producing region, comprising:
Côte-d'Or (21)
Nièvre (58)
Saône-et-Loire (71)
Yonne (89).

Population: 1.6 million
Principal city: Dijon.
Tourist board

Bourgogne offers a mosaic of varied country; a million hectares of forest covers more than a third of the territory, principally in the Morvan massif. The region's numerous watercourses are popular with boating fans, and include the canal du Nivernais in the west, which passes through the tranquil countryside from Decize to Auxerre. The River Seine has its source on the plateau de Langres, north of Dijon, where the statue of the goddess of the river, Sequana, can be visited.

The dignified Burgundian capital of Dijon is a mixture of old and new: its modern TGV network and multi-national companies sit alongside the old city with its abbeys, churches and decorated roofs. Of particular interest is the Palais des Ducs and the Jacquemart clock.

Inevitably, there is also a Dijon mustard museum: the town's association with mustard can be traced back to the 14th century and many local dishes are prepared with the fiery stuff. Dijon carries on the tradition of fine food and wine, but names like Nuits-St-Georges, Beaune and Mâcon slip more easily off the tongue and down the throat. Every 22 January in the Côte d'Or département the festival of Saint-Vincent Tournante is celebrated. A different village is chosen each year to host the celebrations in honour of the patron saint of wine — hence the name Tournante.

The Beaujolais region, which Burgundy shares with Rhône-Alpes, is another famous centre of wine production. The 'Man with the Golden Nose', Georges Duboeuf, started his wine-merchanting business in 1964 and is now hailed as the 'King of Beaujolais'. He has a flair for selecting excellent wines, from Beaujolais Nouveau to the Grands Crus. In celebration of the industry, he created Le Hameau du Vin, a wine-museum-cum-visitor centre in Saône-et-Loire. Exhibits range from corkscrews to the history of wine-making.

Burgundy also produces eaux-de-vie and crèmes which are made from petits fruits such as blackcurrants, redcurrants, raspberries and strawberries. The apéritif kir, a mixture of white wine and blackcurrant juice, was made famous by this region.

Described as 'peasant cooking raised to greatness', Burgundian cuisine has its roots in the soil. One of the most famous of the products of the south of Burgundy is the blue-footed Poulet de Bresse. These are impresssive chickens that have been given an appellation d'origine contrôlée; if you purchase a Poulet de Bresse you can be sure that it has been fed only on maize and dairy products, that it is free-range and that it comes from Bresse.

The small Burgundian hilltop village of Taizé welcomes many thousands of young people all year round. They are drawn here to share for a short time in the religious life of an ecumenical community of monks, founded by Brother Roger in 1940. Another religious connection is St Bernard de Clairvaux, counsellor of kings and popes, and one of the region's most famous sons. His influence on both spiritual thought and ecclesiastical architecture was great (many abbeys stand as monuments to him, including Fontenay, Pontigny, Vézelay etc).

More than 2000 years ago the last, decisive act of the Roman conquest of Gaul was played out in Burgundy: the victory of Julius Caesar over the young Gaulish nobleman Vercingetorix in 52BC shaped the history of the entire French nation. Traces of Gallo-Roman Burgundy are to be found in a host of localities, most notably Alise-Ste-Reine (formerly known as Alésia, and the site of the battle) and Bibracte, a camp on mont Beuvray (many artefacts from the site can be seen in the museum of Autun).

Côte-d'Or (21)

Population: 494,000
Principal city: Dijon
Tourist board

Dijon is capital of Côte-d'Or and of the region Burgundy. And the Côte-d'Or is typical Burgundy: it is the Burgundy ripe with famous appellations like Beaune, Gevrey-Chambertin and Nuits-St-Georges; the Burgundy of esoteric wine festivals and brotherhoods; the Burgundy of crazily coloured tiled roofs. The name, incidentally, comes from the ochre soil under the département's corduroy blanket of vines.

The two inextricable associations made with Dijon are mustard — of which there is more than generous choice for shoppers — and the blackcurrant-and-wine apéritif kir. This latter was named after the mayor of the city, who used it to promote Burgundian produce. Dijon has some highly attractive medieval and Renaissance architecture, and several museums, including — inevitably — a mustard museum.

To the north-west of Dijon is the source of the Seine, and the picturesque region of Auxois. It was here that the Gaulish chief Vercingetorix took his last stand in 52 BC, at forteress Alésia (now Alise-Ste-Reine), and the Cistercian monks erected their most famous abbey: Fontenay. More antiquity is on display at Châtillon-sur-Seine, where the Vix Vase, the largest krater ever seen, was found buried with the skeleton of a 30-year-old Gaulish princess.

Nièvre (58)

Population: 233,000
Principal city: Nevers
Tourism

The departmental tourist board dubbed the Nivernais region as the "green land of running waters" — which, if it sounds like something Longfellow might have written about in The Song of Hiawatha, does reflect the fact that the rivers Loire, Allier and Yonne all run through Nièvre. Although hiking and biking are both popular ways of seeing the countryside, it is universally agreed that the best way of discovering this part of the world is by pleasure boat. There are hundreds upon hundreds of kilometres of waterways and canals linking the Loire, the Rhône and the Seine. Of greatest interest is the 170-kilometre canal du Nivernais, which passes through some very beautiful and tranquil countryside from Decize in the south of Nièvre to Auxerre in the Yonne département to the north. A second canal, the canal latéral de la Loire, cuts across the south-west corner of the département.

The Morvan Regional Natural Park, the north-easternmost tip of the Massif Central in the east of the département, has been called the 'lungs of Burgundy': its vast reserve of rivers, lakes and forest have enabled a wide variety of workers and craftsmen to earn a modest crust. Of particular interest, the museum at Clamecy relates the history of floating timber from the Morvan down-river to Paris. During the early 16th century, the capital went through a crisis when its surrounding forests were all but chopped down. Supplies of wood were dwindling, and the enormous resources of the Morvan were seen as the ideal solution, since its timber could be floated down the Yonne and thence to the Seine. To achieve this, engineer Charles Lecomte pioneered a raft system that would be used right up until the 20th century. Other crafts that can be learned about in the département include pottery and leatherwork.

Other interesting museums include that of St-Brisson, which recalls the activities of the Morvan Resistance, and — although it could never be termed local colour — the Musée du Septennat in François Mitterrand's home town of Château-Chinon, which displays the sumptuous gifts from heads of state all over the world that Mitterrand received during his two terms in office. The first section of the museum displays the full spectrum of ceremonial gifts from foreign states. The second section, the medals gallery, displays hundreds of medals and rare and ancient coins from many countries.

Perhaps the most interesting visit, however, is mont Beuvray in the south of the Morvan. The département is home to some very important Gaulish remains: mont Beuvray was the site of Bibracte, the former walled settlement of the Gaulish Aedui tribe (Éduen, in French) from 125 BC onwards. This was a vital and prosperous base for Vercingetorix, elected chief of the Gauls in 53 BC and head of the Gauls' resistance against Roman occupation. When Vercingetorix lost to Julius Caesar in 52BC, the Romans set up a new city nearby: Autun (Saône-et-Loire), in whose archaeological museum may be seen many artefacts dating from this period). Caesar would write part of his Gallic Wars here. In more recent times, Bibracte has been classified as one of the grand cultural projects in France, and is particularly worth visiting for the rare remains from before the Roman conquest.

Forestry and cattle-farming are the most important agricultural activities, with a little wine-growing around Pouilly-sur-Loire. Amongst the local specialities to look out for are the wide variety of fresh fish, the wines of Pouilly and Coteaux du Giennois, the nougatine de Nevers, and the Négus, a chocolate sweet named (long before the advent of political correctness) in honour of the King of Ethiopia, who visited the town in 1901.

Saône-et-Loire (71)

Population: 559,000
Principal city: Mâcon
Tourist board

Saône-et-Loire is the largely rural, southernmost département of Burgundy. It is an attractive landscape, dotted with fascinating visits like the ruined abbey of Cluny, where the religious teacher Peter Abélard lived after his love affair with Héloïse was cut short by an overprotective uncle. Although it was largely dismantled during the 19th century for its building stone, the site is still is well worth a visit: to take a guided tour amongst the ruins is to take a step back in time and to feel to feel the piety and dedication of the master builders, and the centuries of work that went into glorification of God.

After a visit to Cluny, nearby Mâcon makes a good stopping-off point for a meal and a bed; there are plenty of restaurants and cafés along the riverside, and there is a good selection of concerts and other events. La Salle, a golf course with a difference is situated not far from Mâcon: the greens and fairways seen from the air resemble various parts of a female body, from feet to a head and everything else in between!

Cluny is far from being the only famous religious site in the département: to the north, the small hilltop village of Taizé welcomes many thousands of young people all year round. They are drawn here to share for a short time in the religious life of an ecumenical community of monks, founded by Brother Roger in 1940.

To many, Chalon-sur-Saône was the birthplace of photography: it was here that Nicéphore Niepce (1765–1833) pioneered its development, and a statue to its most famous son stands on the quai Gambetta. Accordingly, there is also photography museum in the town. The Aire de Jugy near Chalon-sur-Saône is yet another example of local inventiveness. The theme is mushrooms; the aim is to provide a stimulating environment and a reason for both motorists and younger travellers to take a break.

Burgundy is renowned for its fine wines, but it also produces eaux-de-vie and crèmes which are made from petits fruits such as blackcurrants, redcurrants raspberries and strawberries. It is from blackcurrants (cassis) that the regional speciality kir was born, taking its name from the the mayor of Dijon who was particularly fond of the apéritif.

Apart from wine (68 million bottles of wine are produced from the appellation contrôlée areas of the département), the area's specialities are oeufs en Meurette (eggs poached in red wine), frogs' legs, snails and Charolais boeuf bourguignon (cooked with onions and red wine). If you purchase a 'Poulet de Bresse' you can be sure that it has been fed only on maize and dairy products, that it is free range and that it comes from Bresse. These blue-footed, free-range chickens have been given an appellation d'origine contrôlée; the Monday morning market in Louhans acts as a focus for the farmers of the region who come to sell their produce.

Oddly enough, if the wines of Beaujolais are known as Burgundies, most of the wine-producing villages whose names are universally known, including Villié-Morgon, Fleurie and Juliénas, lie in the Rhône département. Nevertheless, of particular interest to Beaujolais-lovers is the Hameau du Vin, in Romanèche-Thorins, right on the border of the two regions, which was set up by the wine entrepreneur extraordinaire Georges Duboeuf. It was he who made the concept of Beaujolais Nouveau what it is today. Duboeuf started his wine-merchanting business in 1964, and is now hailed as 'the King of Beaujolais'. He has a flair for selecting excellent wines from Beaujolais Nouveau to the Grands Crus. Whilst your chances of seeing Duboeuf himself are slim — he is a busy man — this exhibition at least allows the Beaujolais faithful to come away with a lasting memory of the region. Exhibits range from corkscrews to the history of wine-making to an animatronic village.

Another stunning sight, amidst the vineyards of Pouilly, is the mesa-like roche de Solutré: a sudden burst of rock from the otherwise rolling hills of the Mâconnais. Around its base have been found a very large deposit of prehistoric animal bones — some of the most important prehistoric remains in Europe: the rock was used by primitive man to ambush mammoth, bison, reindeer and horses. A museum at the base of the rock displays some of the remains. The rock even gave its name to the upper Palaeolithic civilisation after the Aurignacian and preceding the Magdalenian, 20,000 to 16,000 years before Christ (Solutrean).

A less ancient site, but equally fascinating, is that of Mont-Beuvray, the remains of the Gaulish township of Bibracte west of Autun. Designated a European Archaeology Centre, Mont-Beuvray lies in the south of the Morvan Park. Today covered by a beautiful forest, it is the site of the ancient oppidum Bibracte, capital of the Eduen tribe from 125 BC onwards. It was in this prosperous Gaulish town that Vercingetorix was elected chief of the Gauls in 53 BC. Later, Julius Caesar would write part of his Gallic Wars here. In more recent times, Bibracte has been classified as one of the grand cultural projects in France, and is particularly worth visiting for the rare remains from before the Roman conquest.

Autun was once known as 'the sister and rival of Rome': it was founded as Augustodunum around the time of Christ and was actually larger than it is today. The town is known today for the beautiful cathédrale St-Lazare and its spire, and for being the home of DIM lingerie, which in turn is noted for its titillating advertising campaigns.

Yonne (89)

Population: 323,000
Principal city: Auxerre
Tourist board

Boating holidays are particularly popular here: the inland waterways are numerous, and include the River Yonne, the canal de Bourgogne, the canal du Nivernais, the canal du Centre, the canal de Briare, the canal du Loing, the canal latéral à la Loire, the canal de Roanne, the River Saône and the River Seille. The intricate network of waterways arose because Burgundy is the watershed between the Seine, the Loire and the Rhône. In the 18th and 19th centuries canals were dug to join these valleys, and those of the Yonne, Saône and Seille. The canals were formerly used for transporting firewood to Paris, a trip that took ten days.

The lakes and woods of la Puisaye, in the south-west of the département, are famous for their connection with the writer Colette, who lived in the area. Despite its proximity to the Île-de-France, it remains a relatively little-known backwater for foreign tourists. The best-known works of Colette tell of the innocent country existence of her childhood days, but she went on to produce some considerably racier works. There is a museum to Colette in the town of St-Sauveur-en-Puisaye.

There are many noteworthy towns and villages in the Yonne: starting with Auxerre (the -x- in Auxerre is pronounced the medieval way, as Ausserre), its charming principal city. The Auxerrois region is renowned for its beautiful churches, and Auxerre itself has two gems built not far apart on the left bank of the River Yonne. The abbey church of St-Germain was founded by Queen Clotilde, wife of Clovis, and has been a great shrine down the centuries. The Gothic cathedral of St-Étienne is famous for its 13th-century stained glass windows. Discovering the back streets of the old quarter, dominated by the cathedral, is particularly pleasant. The old town is further enhanced by its riverside aspect.

There are many pretty villages nestled amongst the hillsides along the Yonne Valley: towns such as Irancy, set amongst vineyards and cherry trees, whose typical vignerons' houses have their stairways outside. Standing on a tributary of the Yonne, the town of Chablis is renowned throughout the world for its unique dry white wine, which is set apart by its golden and greenish hues. Pleasant to drink while still young, Chablis reaches its peak after 3 to 5 years, although certain vintages may mature from 15 to 20 years. In many parts of the world the term 'Chablis' is used as shorthand for any old kind of dry, white wine (just as Americans speak of 'Californian champagne') but the name is, unsurprisingly, an appellation contrôllée.

Arcy-sur-Cure, between Auxerre and Avallon, is the site of a fifth of a kilometre of caves, two underground lakes and 18,000-year-old cave art. Avallon is an old, golden-stoned town on a panoramic granite spur over the River Cousin. Its cobbled streets are justifiably popular with guidebook writers, and the Romanesque église St-Lazare has an attractive and intricate façade.

Sens in the north-west of the département, is home to a world-famous Gothic cathedral: started in 1130, it is one of the earliest such examples. Even in Roman times, before it attained its importance for Christians, this was a major settlement, surrounded by thick walls.

Amongst the many historic sites in the Yonne, Vézelay is considered the pinnacle of Burgundian Romanesque architecture: the Michelin Green Guide consecrates several pages to it. Saint Bernard preached the Second Crusade here in 1146, and it was comphrehensively renovated and preserved in the mid-19th century by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. The Cistercian abbey of Pontigny is also remarkable for its huge, squat chevet; and another interesting visit is Avallon and the église St-Lazare, which purports to have received the head of Saint Lazarus, and which received so many pilgrims that it had to be enlarged in the 11th century. Also remarkable for its medieval heart is Joigny.