Dijon, the capital of the rich region of Burgundy, is a perfect place for a short  break. It may be eclipsed by its more flamboyant and famous neighbour, Beaune, but Dijon is a gem of a place to discover.

Dijon has an old quarter with walking trails leading you down cobbled streets past medieval half-timbered buildings and gracious Renaissance stone mansions, a Fine Arts Museum with extraordinary medieval tombs you won’t see anywhere else, and an International Centre of Gastronomy which opened in 2022. To top it all, dynamic new bars and restaurants have a young staff determined to introduce you to the wines of Burgundy that will not break the bank.

Dijon is a city of surprises; it’s easy to get to from the UK or Paris, and it’s a city to discover on foot. A city perfect for a weekend or weekday short break.

Getting to Dijon

It’s an easy trip from either the UK or from Paris to this glorious corner of France. I boarded a Eurostar train at London St Pancras to Paris, then took the RER train from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de Lyon. The rapid TGV sped through the ever changing countryside to get to central Dijon in just 1 hr 35 minutes. The whole journey took a mere 4 ½ hours, though I had to be pretty quick crossing Paris from station to station.

Where to Stay in Dijon

The l’Hôtel Oceania Le Jura on the Avenue Maréchal Foch is a mere 5-minute walk from the train station. Just outside the historic centre and with a contemporary decor, spa and swimming pool, it’s a good 4-star choice. Rooms from €98.

Day 1 Short Break in Dijon

I was in the gastronomic city of Dijon; what better way to start than a guided Balade Gourmande tour, booked and organised by the tourist office. It was a rainy autumn day so the first stop was inside the long, lofty Saint Bénigne cathedral to avoid a short sharp rain shower. It’s a magnificent Gothic building rebuilt between 1280 and 1325 on a former monastery. The crypt and splendid rotunda at the east end are being restored, adding to sights to see in 2025.

Gourmet Tastings

Then it was on to less cerebral pleasures, starting with the delightful Mulot et Petitjean shop whose old-fashioned windows are full of pain d’épice (gingerbread) loaves, tempting packets and colourful tins of those sweet delicacies piled high. If you really get hooked, visit their factory for lessons in tasting and making.

A mustard lesson came next, at Edmond Fallot, one of the few manufacturers of genuine Burgundy mustard. Moutarde de Dijon might be a familiar name, but as it’s not officially protected geographically (like Camembert cheese, or Puy lentils), it can be produced anywhere in the world. However, keep your eyes open for mustard with the Burgundy label Moutarde de Bourgogne and you’re on to the real thing. 

The small Fallot shop at 16 rue de la Chouette; its shelves jammed with mustard pots, was full of people trying the different tastes at the mustard bar. Locals take along their own pots to get them filled with their favourite flavour.

Look out for the Owl

On the way we came across small plaques of a comic owl, one on the wall of Notre-Dame church, the others on the ground. Pick up the leaflet of the Owl Trail (Le Parcours de la Chouette) from the Tourist Office, then follow the plaques past all the major sights. It’s a good booklet giving you nuggets of odd information. The ornate Maison Millière in the cour de l’Hôtel de Vogüé appeared in the film, Cyrano de Bergerac; rue Verrerie may now be full of antique shops, but it’s been called other names after the professions that once occupied the ground floors: Pork Market Road; Cloth Street and Shearers Road. You can also take a Tourist Office guided walk for €4 per person.

Lunch

Time for lunch and my first real lesson in Burgundy wines from one of those young restaurateurs who know a thing or two about finding good, relatively inexpensive wines. Dr Wine is a bar/restaurant in the heart of the old town where you sit at tables surrounded by wines on open shelves and in glass cases that run from floor to ceiling.

I was looking forward to this; after all Burgundy wine is extremely expensive, and the top Grand Cru wines from Gevrey-Chambertin and particularly Romanée-Conti are beyond the reach of ordinary mortals. One hectare of vineyard in Burgundy today costs between three and four million euros. The most expensive wine ever sold was a 1945 Domaine de Romanée-Conti which fetched $558,000 at a Sotheby’s sale in 2018. It had been estimated at $32,000, so even the experts can get it wrong. This particular bottle was so expensive due to its rarity: it was the end of World War II; only 600 bottles were produced that year, and immediately after this the Domaine replanted all its vines. It begs the question: would there ever be an occasion when the proud owner dared to open and drink it?

Dr Wine

The owner of Dr Wine, Simon Quiquerez, told us the philosophy behind the bar/restaurant:  “We go to vineyards just outside the AOC, which are the same, but far less expensive.” And with that, he poured us a 2020 Chardonnay from Paul Pallot, one of the top names in Chassagne-Montrachet which produces all the main categories: Village, Premier Cru and Grand Cru. It was delicious and a fraction of the Grand Cru equivalent. With a whole range of wines, and an excellent menu of 2 dishes at €18, or 3 at €23, Dr Wine is a real find. There’s a Dr Wine shop just around the corner.

An Afternoon with the Dead

Much happier, and with blue skies beckoning, I made my way to one of the blockbusters of Dijon, the Fine Arts Museum, opened in 1787. A major museum and one of the oldest in France, it’s housed in a corner of the grand-sounding, and grand-looking, former Palace of the Dukes and Estates of Burgundy. Construction began in 1366 under Philip the Bold, the first of the four immensely powerful and rich Dukes of the Valois family who transformed Burgundy into one of the powerhouses of medieval Europe. The gracious classical building you see today was the inspiration of the architect of Versailles, Jules Hardouin Mansart. The oldest part is the square tower that dominates the back of the palace. If you’re feeling energetic (and fit), it’s worth climbing the 316 steps in the tower for the panoramic view over the city and beyond into the countryside.

The Museum has 1,500 works of art from the Middle Ages to the 20th century but the most unusual and surprising room is the chapel with the tombs of Philip the Bold and his son John the Fearless and his wife Margaret. They lie in splendid state, protected by angels. Even more impressive are the ‘weepers’ who surround the bases; here you see the extraordinary life-like sculptures of mourners.  ‘A funeral march in stone’ is how the author of The Waning of the Middle Ages, Johan Huizanga, described the weepers.

Walk the Streets

Dijon is small and compact with great walks taking you into its rich past. Grand hôtels particuliers – private mansions built in the 17th and 18th centuries, lie behind the doors and gateways. I took in the symmetrical and gracious Hôtel built in the 1690s by Charles Legouz de Gerland, master of the Dauphin’s robes and others like the Hôtel Le Chambellan with its balconies, staircases and Renaissance windows packed into a small courtyard.

Another Wine Tasting and Dinner

It was approaching 6pm so obviously the time for more Burgundy wines. La Source des Vins, 6 bis Rue Michelet, offers a great tasting of three wines, with plates of charcuterie, cheeses and fruit for €20 or €25. The selection of wines to buy is wide: the most expensive bottles are between €1800 and €2000, but like all the wine shops in Dijon, there’s also a good selection from €12.

I walked back to the Place de la Libération for dinner at Le Pré aux Clercs, a restaurant owned by the 3-star Michelin starred Michel Guérard though independently run. With menus from €25 to €39, an imaginative selection of dishes and outdoor seating looking at the Palace, it’s a rightly popular place. Almost exclusively Burgundy wines range per bottle from around €30 to  €2,150 for those with impeccable tastes and deep pockets. (It’s a Montrachet Grand Cru 2018 from the Domaine des Comtes Lafon in the Côte de Beaune in case I have any rich readers).

Day Two – Short Break in Dijon

Into the Countryside on a Wine Tour

The second day began with a group tour in a minibus through the vineyards surrounding Dijon with Chemins de Bourgogne. Sébastien Maurin who founded the company knows his wines so sit back and enjoy the tour that takes you past vineyards, up hill and down dale. It turned into a ‘Did you know?’ kind of experience that was a revelation. 

So I will share some of these (great for a kind of Trivial Pursuit conversation).

Did you know that…

1. In Burgundy the soil changes every 70 metres
2. ‘Climats’ refers to small vineyard plots
3. Individuals pay 30% inheritance tax, but companies like LVMH pay no such tax
4. Burgundy bio wines are officially made by just 6% of producers. However that’s not a true figure; many produce bio wines but are reluctant to go through the complex and time-consuming classification. For instance each of the fields (which might be scattered across a wide area) carries a separate form. A fine example of French bureaucracy in all its glory 
5. Some producers still pick by hand using horses and carts rather than tractors (far less heavy therefore they don’t compact the soil so heavily), and use sheep to eat the grass between the rows of vines 
6. The Domaine de la Romanée Conti is still considered the most prestigious wine in the world
7. Climate change is having an impact. August harvests have been recorded more and more frequently. The first was in 1465, the second in 1836, third in 1976, then in 2003, 2009, 2015, 2019, 2020, 2022. 

But that’s enough; go on the tour for more surprising facts.

The tour finished with a wine tasting in Gevrey-Chambertin at the Domaine de Quivy. Its wine cellars are full of wooden barrels, while bottles covered in the dust of ages line the walls. Quivy produces between 10,000 and 12,000 bottles a year, and 600 to 900 Grand Crus. We tried a 2020 Les Journées, perfect to drink with beef or cheese; a 2021 Les Evocelles, a 2021 Les Corbeaux (a Premier Cru) produced on land very close to the prestigious Grand Crus, and called Corbeaux as crows follow the pickers, seeking out juicy insects to snack on. We finished with a Grand Cru, Charmes Chambertin of 2020. It was a superb wine tasting.

We bowled back to Dijon for lunch and another excellent wine tasting. It was at La Cave du Palais, in the cellar of the Hôtel du Palais…which is owned and run by the enterprising Sébastien Maurin and his wife, Eve.

A Gastronomic Afternoon

The Cité de la Gastronomie et du Vin (The International City of Gastronomy and Wine) opened in April 2022 to great fanfare. Not a surprise; in 2010 UNESCO declared the French gastronomic meal part of the world’s intangible heritage. Around £210 million was invested in turning a former hospital into a glorious exploration and celebration of French gastronomy. And why not; after all, isn’t a good meal one of the reasons we go to France for?

It’s fun and educational at the same time with plenty of machines to sniff, smell and try your knowledge. There are cartoons, photos of the world’s great and good sitting down with various Presidents of France at a banquet, film clips and more. A converted chapel takes you through the vineyards; shops offer you the chance to buy a wide variety of top cheeses, charcuterie and kitchen equipment (at a price, I have to warn you); there are regular events and tastings. 

Surprise, surprise…another wine tasting

What you choose to taste at the wine bar, La Cave de la Cité, is up to you. After walking around the three floors holding 3,000 bottles – mostly but not exclusively – from Burgundy, make your way to the tasting room. Buy a card for whatever you want to spend, then get your choice dispensed into your glass from a machine. There’s a choice of 250 wines varying from €2.50 to €9.50. Open Mon: 12-5.30pm; Sun, Tues-Thurs: 11am-7pm; Fri, Sat: 11am-8pm.

After that, book a meal at the excellent La Tables des Climats. They take the unusual path of helping you choose the wines in advance (from over 800), then letting the chef cook your dishes to complement them. Otherwise take one of the menus from €32 euros to €71 (with suggested wines adding to the price). Open Wed-Sat 12-1.30pm & 7pm-9pm; Sun lunch. Closed Sun eve, Mon and Tues.

Day 3: Short Break in Dijon

A Cookery Lesson

We had tasted; we had eaten; now it was the chance to cook. Salt & Pepper offers cookery lessons in a large professional kitchen.  Alexandre Vachon was about to teach us to cook goujères (small cheese puffs), oeufs en meurette (poached eggs in red wine sauce), and poached pears in brandy snap baskets.

It seemed an easy task, but it wasn’t. We got there in the end, sat down to eat and congratulated ourselves on a job well done. However (and it’s a big however), I have tried the goujères at home and they have fallen flat (literally). Where am I going wrong?

Farewell Dijon

I left Dijon vowing to return. There is so much to see in this city of medieval houses (painted red to repel insects), and ornate Renaissance houses, small museums and large churches. And of course there is a lot of Burgundy wine to drink (learn about, I mean).

More Places to Stay

There are a number of good, inexpensive chain hotels in Dijon.

Also recommended are the Grand Hôtel de la Cloche with its 88 rooms, spa, bar and a good restaurant in a pretty conservatory with outdoor seating. Rooms are large and comfortable with good bathrooms. From €149.

The upmarket bed and breakfast La Cour Berbisey has just 4 suites. It’s in a delightful Renaissance town house in the center of Dijon just ten minutes from the station. Well-sized and decorated rooms look onto a private courtyard, there’s an indoor pool and good breakfasts are included. From €129 (least expensive in low season) to €279 (most expensive in high season).

More about Burgundy

Food in Burgundy
Guédelon – Building a Medieval Castle in Burgundy

General Information

Regions of France

The post Guide to a Short Break in Dijon, Burgundy appeared first on Mary Anne's France.

In a forest in northern Burgundy, you’ll come across a unique project – the building of the medieval castle of Guédelon.  This is not a restoration project; it’s a castle built entirely according to the construction techniques of the Middle Ages. Not an electric drill, concrete mixer, rolled steel joist in sight. Just humans and natural materials.

Stones are cut by hand; materials are transported by horse and cart; tiles are made from local clay and fired in hand-made kilns; colors are created from plants and dyed in wooden buckets. And it’s all done by people dressed in medieval costume.

It’s not a cliche; at Guédelon you really do step into the past. This is no theme park. It’s a serious project discovering more about medieval building techniques as well as reviving old skills. Guédelon really is living history.

How Guédelon started

In the mid 1990s, a local resident, Michel Guyot, who already owned the nearby Château de Saint-Fargeau, bought a former quarry and 12 hectares of surrounding forest for 6,500 francs. It was an ideal place to acquire. There was sandstone for the castle walls; clay for tiles and sand for mortar, and the forest would provide wood for scaffolding, for beams for rooves and fuel for the kilns.

Work started in 1997 and the first visitors began arriving the following year. Today around 300,000 people visit annually, bringing in €5 million.

What you see

A small turning off the small D955 road takes you to the site. We visited just after lockdown ended in France and the extended grounds were satisfyingly busy. At first all you see are wooden buildings and a ticket office. Walk into a barn for a very quick introduction then walk out the other side. You’re to one side of the castle. The forest stretches out to the right, dotted with small buildings, paddocks and stables for the horses and a garden.

We were in the village where the craftsmen and women work. We walked down to a group of little sheds, the House of Colours, to watch dyers turning white cloth into colored fabrics which they then hang up to dry.

We saw tile makers turning clay into tiles for rooves, floors and wall decorations.

Blacksmiths work iron into tools, nails, hinges and more.

Wood cutters shape logs for the carpenters who will make the necessary tools and furniture.

Most importantly, skilled stone masons cut the huge sandstone blocks that make the walls, the doorways, and domestic buildings.

Then you walk up to the castle itself. It’s a hive of activity. When we were there, they were constructing a tower on the wall at the entrance. A huge treadmill, powered by two men walking slowly around the wheels, was attached to a wooden crane. Slowly and carefully it lifted a wooden palette full of dressed stone above the tower. A man pulled it over so it hung above the tower. The treadmill reversed and the palette with the stone was lowered onto the wall. It’s mesmerising.

Safety Measures

Make no mistake; this is dangerous, complicated work. But despite the medieval methods and materials, it is carefully supervised. If you look at some of the headgear you’ll spot the hard hats underneath. The workers wear steel toe capped boots, again disguised. And some of the materials, like the ropes, are made to modern specifications off site.

A Medieval Building Site

What strikes home is the noise, or lack of it. You’re looking at a building site, but it’s a medieval one. So instead of the shriek of heavy machinery, electric drills, endless lorries, and all the paraphernalia you associate with modern construction, you hear people shouting instructions, the creak of wagon wheels slowly going over the gritty paths and the squeak of wooden machinery.

Walk around Guédelon Castle

Walk into the castle’s courtyard through a side entrance (not via the gate yet) and you’ll find the master stone mason, one Florian Renucci, drawing in the sand. He trained in heritage restoration so he knows what he’s talking about. He’s explaining how the stone vaults are constructed according to medieval methods.

Visitors are encouraged to talk to the workers and ask them questions (don’t worry; most of them speak English, and some of them are English). It makes for a very real interactive experience.

The Lord’s Great Hall

The living quarters are in a large building opposite the gateway and butting up to the outside wall.

You can see the Great Hall with its massive wooden vaulted ceiling, huge fireplace and tiled floor.

Just off this is the bed chamber for the castle’s owner. It’s decorated with a motif wall painting taken from 13^th century church in nearby Moutiers-en-Puisaye village.

The kitchen, chapel and guard rooms are all housed in this building.

The Lord’s Story

There was no castle here, so they have invented one that could certainly have been true. The castle was started in 1228 by Guilbert Courtney, a low-ranking local lord who received from his overlord a ‘licence to crenellate’.

So he can now build his castle, though a modest one as befits his position and his money. His fortified manor house is brand new, but follows the rules laid down by King Philip II Augustus (1165-1223). The King produced a standard building plan that ensured all castles, from the Louvre in Paris to modest Guédelon, were built in a similar style. They are polygonal (many sided) with high stone curtain walls, a dry ditch and round flanking towers with single arrow loops. One corner tower is higher and larger than the rest, the tour maîtresse. Twin towers  protect the gate.

Explore Further

We wandered around the rest of the site, past the potager (kitchen garden), neatly planted with vegetables that are now cooked and served in the restaurant. The carthorses were enjoying a well-earned rest but all the humans were still working hard.

We walked down a path to the newly constructed watermill. It’s very small but does the work of grinding corn for flour effectively. At least it does normally. We visited in the hot months of summer 2020 and the stream that powers the mill by a series of cunningly placed dams had run dry. But the miller was on hand to explain the techniques.

Opposite him, the wood turner worked the machinery with his foot to turn the lathe making exquisite small bowls and plates from what looked like unpromising lumps of wood.

The Future of Guédelon Castle

It’s hoped that the castle will be complete by 2030. If you want to see the progress from the first steps in 1997, check here.

There’s one exciting possibility. The CEO of the project, Maryline Martin, is hoping to create an artisan trades school at Guédelon with a diploma in historical renovation. Following the burning of Notre Dame in Paris, she hopes that such skills learned at Guédelon will become recognised as important.

Where to Stay

We stayed at Hôtel les Grands Chênes, just outside Saint Fargeau at Les Berthes Bailly. It’s a delightful hotel, run by Rachael, the English owner and her husband, Alain Savouré.

We stayed in a ground floor bedroom which opened onto a small private terrace. It was a good size, with traditional furnishings and a modern bathroom. There are more rooms on the first floor and accommodation in small buildings close to the hotel, some with two bedrooms and one with an extra bed. They’re ideal for families. There’s no bar or restaurant; breakfast is served in a cheerful lounge with an open fire at one end. There’s an extensive garden, badminton and a small heated swimming pool and free parking in the grounds.

Where to Eat

Saint Fargeau is just 4km from the hotel and offers some good options. We ate at the Restaurant de l’Ancienne Gare. As it suggests, it’s in a former railway station, on the opposite side of the town from the hotel. It still looks like a station, is friendly and offers good value menus from €20. No website; book (or get the hotel to do this for you) on +33  (03) 86 74 16 45.

For more about the area which is in the Yonne department in Burgundy, go to the Yonne website.

Read about Burgundy food which has always been rich and satisfying. The region is famous for its truffles, Bresse chicken, blackcurrants and more. And of course its great cheeses.

Declaration: I was a guest of Guédelon. And Yonne Tourism kindly provided our hotel.

The post Guédelon – Building a Medieval Castle in Burgundy appeared first on Mary Anne's France.

Food in Burgundy is part and parcel of life in this rich region. Burgundy has always been a gourmet destination, stretching back to the 14^th century when the extravagant, wealthy and powerful dukes of Burgundy ruled the land and the living was easy.

Burgundy is a glorious region to visit if you’re a foodie. It’s large, stretching from the fertile, gently rolling countryside of the north, just an hour’s drive south of Paris, to the land of Charolais beef and lush vineyards to the east and south.

What is Burgundy famous for?

Blackcurrants

These sweet, dark little gems are grown all over the region and are used in many dishes from sauces to sorbets.

Crème de cassis, the concentrated sweet, dark red liqueur made from blackcurrants, is added to white wine or Champagne to make the popular aperitif, Kir. Traditionally Aligoté is used, an AOC white Burgundy wine.

Bresse Chicken

This is known the world over for quality and unique taste. Bresse chicken is the only poultry given A.O.C. status.

Burgundy snails

Everybody should try Burgundy snails once in their lives. The French escargot (snail) is found all over France, but those from Burgundy are particularly prized as being larger and more flavorful than the farmed, petits gris (small grays).

Charolais Beef

Given an appellation contrôlée in 2010, the distinctive white cattle reign supreme. In the spring, summer and autumn months, the cattle feeds on the lush pastureland, particularly around Charolles which gave them their name. The beef is famed for its tender, succulent meat.

Mushrooms

There are some 150 different varieties of mushrooms in Burgundy. They grow in the forest of the Morvan and the limestone areas near Vézelay, in the Puisaye, Othe forest and the Châtillonais.

If you do find some, take them to the local chemist (pharamacie) to check they’re edible.  

Truffles

These ‘Black Diamonds’ produce pungent rich flavours. Growing just underground on tree roots, they were originally hunted by pigs. Today dogs are also used. It’s hard to farm them so they are very expensive. Around 50 metric tonnes are harvested in winter each year

Burgundy Cheeses

Burgundy’s notable cheeses date back to the medieval monasteries and their cheese-making monks.

Abbaye de la Pierre qui Vire

Located in the central  Burgundy Morvan forest in the village of St-Léger-Vauban, the Benedictine monks of the abbey first made this cheese from both goats’ and cows’ milk. It’s creamy and with a soft gentle flavor; you can buy it at the Abbey shop along with the pottery the monks make and in local shops as well. The monks no longer make the cheese which has been handed over to a local farmer, but it’s still produced organically.

The farm shop is open daily from 4.30-6pm; the Abbey shop is open Tues-Sun 11am-noon & 3-5pm. More information here.

Charolais is a cheese made from either cow’s or goat’s milk and sometimes a mix of both. The goat variety is nutty when fresh but can also be eaten when it is aged. It is at its best from April to December.

Chaource is made in both Burgundy and Champagne. It’s very pale in colour and is a creamy soft cheese with a white crust. It is in season in summer and autumn.

Chèvre Frais is fresh goat’s cheese. It’s best from spring to autumn when the goats feed outside on fresh herbs and grasses. Some of the best versions are the thick cylinders made in Burgundy, so ask in local cheese shops and in the various open air food markets for a good local goat’s cheese.

Cîteaux is made by the monks of Cîteaux Abbey in Côte d’Or but a small herd of cows means only 100,000 cheese are produced annually.

Epoisses is one of the best known cheeses. This pungent smelling cheese is so runny it’s often eaten with a spoon; it’s also used as a sauce on steak and in tarteflette. It’s called after the small Burgundian village directly east from Avallon though the cheese is made all over Burgundy. This raw cow’s milk cheese is aged slowly and washed daily with the local eau-de-vie known as marc de Bourgogne.

Epoisses

Its origins probably go back to the Cistercian monks at the Abbaye de Cîteaux in the 15^th century. It was called by the gastronome, Brillat-Savarin, as the ‘king of cheeses’.  Buy it locally for the best taste.

Other cheeses similar to Epoisses include Ami du Chambertin, Trou de Cru and Affiné au Chablis.

Montrachet is a goat cheese, wrapped with a chestnut or grape leaf and aged in cool cellars. The best Montrachet cheeses are made from raw goat’s milk.

Soumaintrain comes from the Yonne region. It’s a soft textured cow’s milk cheese with a reddish rind and has a strong smell and spicy flavour. Originating in Soumaintrain it, like Epoisses, gets runnier and smellier as it matures and can be eaten with a spoon. The richest version is made with lait cru (raw milk).

Other Burgundy cheeses to look out for include Saint-Florentin, Brillat-Savarin, and the Mâcon goats cheese, Bouton de Culotte.

Mustard

Dijon, a strategic city on the European spice route in the Middle Ages, is still well known for its mustard makers.

The best known company, Maille, was started by the vinegar maker, Antoine-Claude Maille in 1720. He opened in Dijon a year later and in 1747 opened another one in Paris. Today the old-fashioned shop sells mustards in a bewildering variety of tastes in both jars and from hand pumps. You buy your particular pot and go along to get it filled up.
32 Rue de la Liberté
Tel: +33 3 80 30 41 02
Website

My favorite mustard is Edmond Fallot. It comes in all sorts of unusual and delicious tastes and is more rounded than Maille. Founded in 1840, Fallot is still family owned and uses traditional methods to make its products. If you want to understand the secrets of mustard making, visit the mustard factory in Beaune for a tour.
31 Rue du Faubourg Bretonnièr
Tel: +33 3 80 22 10 02
Website

Burgundy Dishes to Try

Food in Burgundy is taken seriously. You’ll find the following in many local restaurants, so give them a try.

Boeuf Bourguignon is a rich, slow-cooked beef stew braised in red wine (which should be a Burgundy wine). It’s got onions, carrots, garlic and a bouquet garni. It comes garnished with pearl onions, mushrooms and bacons. Great for a winter’s day.

Coq au vin is a dish found all over France. It’s best made in Burgundy from Bresse chicken and cooked in Burgundy wine, then flamed with a splash of Burgundian marc.

Gougères are cheese puffs served with an aperitif before a meal.

Jambon persilleé: (potted ham with parsley) was originally a traditional Easter dish.

Les oeufs en meurette: Eggs poached in a red wine sauce, served with pickled onions, bacon and toast.

La Pôchouse is a dish like Bouillabaisse, made with fresh water fish caught locally. But it’s difficult to find.

Top Burgundy Food Markets

There are markets in every city and town in Burgundy, so ask at the local tourist office for dates and times. Here’s a list of the best food markets in the region by town in the various departments in Burgundy. For more about departments in France, check here.

Autun, Saône-et-Loire:  Wednesdays 7am-1pm in the City Hall and on the forecourt. Also large general market with food on Fridays

Auxerre, Yonne: Tuesday & Friday mornings at Arquebuse market hall
Wednesday morning : rue de la Draperie (greengrocers)
Saturdays morning : place de l’Hôtel de Ville (greengrocers)
Sunday morning : place Degas – ZUP (fruit, vegetables and clothes)

Beaune, Côte d’Or: Wednesday and Saturday mornings in and around the covered Les Halles, opposite the magnificent Hôtel Dieu, of Hospice de Beaune. Saturdays from March to November, there’s a small antiques market on neighbouring place Carnot

Chablis, Yonne: Saturday mornings in rue Auxerrois

Dijon, Côte-d’Or: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings in and around the covered market, Place du Marché

Chalon-sur- Saône, Saône-et-Loire: Friday and Sunday mornings in Place Saint-Vincent, opposite the cathedral

Joigny, Yonne: Saturday morning in Les halles

Mâcon, Saône-et-Loire: Tuesday to Saturday mornings in the Place aux Herbes, next to the Maison de Bois

Specialty markets and Special Events

Saint-Christophe-en-Brionnais, Saône-et-Loire: Charolais cattle market, held here since 1488, on Wednesday mornings

Noyers-sur-Serein, Yonne: Truffle market on two Sundays in November from local truffle growers. The truffles are first of all checked for quality, then a bell is rung to declare the market open

Gourmet Markets and Events

November 2023: International Gastronomic Fair in Dijon. Food in Burgundy doesn’t get much more serious, and exciting than at this annual festival.

November 17, 2023: Nouveau Beaujolais is released. The wine is produced mostly in Beaujolais, north of Lyons in the Rhone-Alpes region, with a lesser amount produced in the Saône-et-Loire department.

November 19 2023: The Great Wine Auction at Beaune takes place. This is one of the most spectacular charity wine auctions in the world and is conducted by Christie’s auctioneers in the Hospice de Beaune. Collectors taste some rare treasures and all the proceeds go to maintaining the Hospice de Beaune.

More about French Food

The intriguing story of Food in France from Gauls to vegans
Discover the top Food Festivals in France throughout the year
Best Regional French Food
French Christmas Food
Surprisingly, the artist Toulouse-Lautrec was a great cook. He followed the seasons and local produce. More about this unexpected gourmet and the Art of Cuisine.
Compare Burgundy with Food in Provence

The post Food in Burgundy appeared first on Mary Anne's France.