Beaune
If there is one town in Burgundy whose infinite charm can be summed up in the harmonious blend of two colours, that town is Beaune. Gold and ruby are the characteristic shimmering colours of the great wines of Burgundy of which Beaune is the undisputed capital. The same colours are to be found on the rooftops of the Hôtel-Dieu, a veritable "paupers’ palace" and the most eloquent example of that Flemish and Flamboyant architecture to which the term Burgundian was added in the midst of the turmoil of the Hundred Years War.
Gold and ruby colours add their lustre to Roger van der Weyden’s extraordinary polyptych of The Last Judgement, the most sumptuous of the many treasures contained in this charitable institution, and are also in evidence in the series of tapestries tracing the Life of the Virgin which were woven in Tournai in about 1500 and which now adorn the Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame.
In addition to the pleasure to be derived from the contemplation of monuments and works of art, wine lovers will find countless occasions to indulge in the pleasures of the palate as they explore the vaulted cellars stretching out beneath the streets of a town set like a jewel in the ring of its mediaeval ramparts.
The gaily coloured roofs of the Hôtel-Dieu in Beaune have come to symbolise Burgundy in the eyes of many throughout the world.
Quite clearly no expense was spared in the building of this monument dating from a time when the power of the Dukes of Burgundy extended as far afield as Flanders and the present-day Netherlands.
The architecture and decoration of the edifice owe much to the Flemish artists who flocked to the Burgundian court at this time, and the result is a unique example of mediaeval civil architecture, lovingly maintained and protected down the ages.
Close to the collegiate church, the former mansion of the Dukes of Burgundy (14C-16C) is now home to the Burgundy Wine Museum (Musée du Vin de Bourgogne). Designed in 1946 as a precursor of the modern heritage museums, it traces the history of vine and wine from antiquity to the present day, relates the traditional way of life of Burgundian wine-growers and presents the crafts and symbolism associated with wine. The former wine cellar, contains a remarkable array of winepresses and serves to remind us of its crucial role as headquarters of the ducal vineyards at the end of the Middle Ages.
These major sites are surrounded by the maze of little streets making up the old town. Many a surprise lies in store for the visitor as he strolls through the delightful streets of mediaeval Beaune.
Next to the Town Hall, the former convent of the Ursulines (17C) contains two museums: the Fine Arts Museum (Musée des Beaux-Arts) with its very fine collection of paintings by Félix Ziem, the artist obsessed by Venice and its light, and the Marey Museum, named after Etienne-Jules Marey, inventor of chronophotography, the forerunner of the cinema. A little further on stands the Hospice de la Charité (17C-18C).
But no visit to Beaune would be complete without a visit to the town’s wine cellars. These are in many cases very impressive affairs, for the wine houses of Beaune, having bought up countless former convents and monasteries, jealously guard millions of bottles of fabled Burgundy wine beneath the surface of the town.
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Semur En Auxois | The Burgundy Canal | Chateau de Commarin | Alise Saint Reine | Abbey de Fontenay | Beaune | Dijon | Flavigny Chateau de Bussey Rabutin | La Source de La Seine | Vezelay | Chateauneuf-en-Auxois | Burgundy Vineyards
