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Are you planning an extended weekend journey to France and searching for concepts? On this weblog put up, I’ll share our itinerary for 3 days in Burgundy, visiting lovely villages and tasting wonderful wine.
If you’re new to this weblog, hello, my title is Liza! I really like planning advanced journey itineraries and escaping London not less than as soon as a month. In case you’re additionally working full-time and don’t have an excessive amount of annual go away, yow will discover a number of activity-packed itineraries on Tripsget!
Every time a financial institution vacation approaches, I panic. As somebody who runs a journey weblog, I really feel immense stress to journey at each alternative. Isn’t a financial institution vacation an ideal alternative for a weekend journey? Typically, I handle to grab actually well-priced tickets, and my associate simply flies off to a brand new vacation spot. Extra regularly, particularly in summer season, flights price like a brand new kidney, so we attempt to search for new locations round us. That’s precisely how the thought of spending 3 days in Burgundy was born!
Whereas Burgundy is just not across the nook from London, it’s positively reachable with an in a single day keep someplace on the best way, for instance, on the outskirts of Paris.
Right here is the brief overview of our 3-day itinerary for Burgundy:
Day 0: Departing London after work at 4pm, taking Eurotunnel to Calais, night time in Finest Western Paris Sud
Day 1: Driving to Dijon within the morning. Wine tasting close to Beaune at Santenay fortress, night time in Beaune at La Maison de Maurice
Day 2: Chateauneuf-en-Auxois, Semur-en-Auxois, night time at Noyers-sur-Serein at Cote Serein
Day 3: Chablis + Wine tasting, a cease in Troyes (Champagne), drive again to London
Overview of hyperlinks for the journey to Burgundy
I’m typically requested to summarise all of the advisable lodging and excursions in a single place so it’s simpler to seek out them, so I began including them to the beginning of the article.
Resorts for this journey: La Maison de Maurice, Cote Serein in Noyers-sur-Serein
Excursions: tour of Maison Champy cellar,
Wine tastings: Santenay Fort Tasting close to Beaune, Maison Regnard in Chablis
Do you want a automotive for exploring Burgundy?
By the best way, if you happen to’re questioning whether or not you want a automotive for exploring Burgundy, the reply is sure. Sadly, it’s very troublesome to get to most of those locations with out a automotive. In case you don’t have a automotive, I like to recommend both taking a Eurostar to Paris and hiring one there (we at all times use Rentalcars.com) or hiring a automotive in London and taking this route. Nonetheless, understand that not all automotive rental companies permit for automobiles to be taken outdoors the UK.
Our excellent itinerary for 3 days in Burgundy
Day 0: Driving to France
As we didn’t take any day off and simply departed London after work on Friday, I included at the present time as a day 0. Site visitors to the Folkestone Eurotunnel terminal was average. Relying on the place you’re primarily based, it will possibly take from 45 minutes to 2.5 hours to get to Folkestone from London, and also you additionally have to arrive not less than 50 minutes earlier than the departure time indicated in your ticket.
It takes round 3 hours to drive to Paris from Calais within the night when the site visitors isn’t too dangerous anymore. Since driving all the best way to Dijon would have been too tiring and we might have arrived too late at night time, we determined to cease in a single day simply outdoors Paris. One of the handy accommodations could be Finest Western Paris Sud.
Day 1: Dijon. Wine tasting at Santenay fortress, Beaune
Dijon is positioned greater than 3 hours away from Paris; nonetheless, staying outdoors Paris reduces this time to 2.5-2.45 hours, which is a lot better. There are tolls on the best way to Dijon, and I keep in mind paying one thing like 15 euros for them (this may be a bit inaccurate, but it surely positively wasn’t low cost).
Dijon
Dijon gives an ideal mix of historical past, meals, and tradition – it’s the most important metropolis in Burgundy and doubtless essentially the most touristy one. Dijon has an extended and storied historical past relationship again to Roman instances when it was referred to as Divio. It later grew to become the capital of the Duchy of Burgundy within the Center Ages. Due to that, town is fairly wealthy and has loads of spectacular architectural landmarks.
Even if you happen to’re not very conversant in French cities, the title “Dijon” at all times rings a bell due to the mustard. Dijon is known for its mustard, which is famend for its sharp and tangy taste, and you should buy it just about in every single place all over the world.
Additionally, Dijon is surrounded by vineyards! Nonetheless, Beaune is a greater metropolis to go to for wine tastings, and our subsequent vacation spot on this journey was Beaune, really!
In Dijon, we walked across the metropolis centre, purchased a set of miniature mustard jars with totally different flavours and took a number of pictures. We additionally had late breakfast in Dijon – a typical French breakfast is a pastry (croissant or pan au chocolat); nonetheless, in Burgundy, you too can attempt a well-known native savoury bun known as gougers. It has a pleasant tacky flavour, and it’s really empty inside! Its texture jogged my memory of profiteroles.
Wine tasting on the Santenay fortress close to Beaune
Our subsequent vacation spot was simply outdoors Beaune – it took us round 1 hour to drive there from Dijon. We determined to have a wine tasting in a surprising Santenay Fort that belongs to the Philippe Le Hardi group. You’ll be able to discover extra particulars concerning the fortress & the tasting right here – whereas it was completely empty after we visited, I nonetheless advocate reserving it prematurely as there may be massive teams arriving.
In complete, we tried 3 totally different wines, 2 purple wines and one white wine and all of them had been beautiful! The tasting was additionally very inexpensive – simply 10 EUR per particular person! There’s additionally somewhat store on the fortress the place you should buy the wines you tried (in addition to another wines they produce) and we really purchased a bottle there.
Beaune
After tasting wonderful wine, it was lastly time to move to Beaune. Beaune might be the second hottest metropolis in Burgundy and the primary vacation spot for winery excursions and tastings of purple wine. Beaune is specialising in producing famend wines akin to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
The town itself can also be very fairly. Its essential landmark and essentially the most well-known and iconic constructing is the Hôtel-Dieu Museum – Hospices de Beaune. It was based in 1443 as a hospital for the poor and it appears to be like completely beautiful – the tile-glazed roofs are distinctive to this area of Burgundy and are prominently featured on Lodge Dieu. Once we visited Beaune, the doorway charge there was 12 EUR, but it surely might need modified since then.
Beaune gives quite a few alternatives for wine tasting and cellar excursions. Many wineries and wine retailers have cellars on the town the place you possibly can pattern and buy Burgundy wines.
Some wine cellars are positioned within the coronary heart of Beaune. If you’re eager to attempt extra wines and be taught extra about wine manufacturing in Burgundy, I like to recommend this tour of Maison Champy cellar.
Beaune can also be the place I like to recommend staying in a single day – these two accommodations are the perfect choices: La Maison de Maurice or Lodge Belle Epoque.
Day 2: Chateauneuf-en-Auxois, Semur-en-Auxois, Noyers-sur-Serein
Our second day of this 3-day journey round Burgundy was jam-packed with lovely cities. Our first cease was only a brief, 40-minute drive away from Beaune.
Chateauneuf-en-Auxois
Chateauneuf-en-Auxois is a really small superbly preserved medieval village positioned on prime of a hill surrounded by lovely surroundings. It’s identified for its Twelfth-century hilltop château providing beautiful views. It’s open to guests as a museum. In addition to the château, there are many lovely cobblestone streets, photogenic homes and good boutiques.
Chateauneuf, surprisingly, had a pretty big parking zone simply outdoors the village centre, and we didn’t have any difficulties discovering a spot. Nonetheless, it’s at all times higher to reach early because the probabilities of discovering a parking spot are larger!
Semur-en-Auxois
Our subsequent cease, lovely Semur-en-Auxois, was positioned one other 40-minute drive away. Semur-en-Auxois appears to be like very spectacular from far-off when you find yourself approaching the city. Much like Châteauneuf-en-Auxois, it’s famend for its well-preserved historic structure. Nonetheless, the principle distinction between these two cities is that Semur is way bigger, and there may be additionally a lovely river, Armançon, that flows by way of town. Semur can also be very hilly – the picture-perfect views of the city may be seen from the bottom level of Semur, simply subsequent to the river.
Semur additionally has an fascinating historical past. Like many medieval cities in France, Semur-en-Auxois noticed its justifiable share of battle through the Hundred Years’ Battle between England and France. The village confronted a number of sieges and battles throughout this time, with the fortress (Thirteenth-century Château de Semur-en-Auxois) enjoying a essential function within the city’s defence.
Total, we felt like each nook in Semur was completely beautiful, and it was positively considered one of our favorite locations on this journey.
In case you’re hungry and eager on grabbing one thing for lunch, think about visiting the restaurant known as La Parenthese within the coronary heart of Semur. That’s the place we ate and beloved the expertise! Every little thing was very inexpensive and it was additionally the friendliest service we had on this journey!
Noyers-sur-Serein
Our last cease for as we speak was in one other charming city, Noyers-sur-Serein. Noyers is totally different from Chateauneuf-en-Auxois and Semur-en-Auxois, because it appears to be like like a film set of The Magnificence and the Beast. Once we arrived in Noyers-sur-Serein, we couldn’t consider how fairly the city was!
Noyers is thought for its half-timbered homes with vibrant facades. The city’s historical past dates again to the eleventh century, and there may be additionally an outdated chateau that, sadly, didn’t survive till our days, and all you possibly can see as a substitute are the ruins of the outdated fortress. The fortress stands on a hill above Noyers, and in an effort to get to the ruins, you want to exit the village, stroll for a couple of minutes and climb a small hill. There are many indicators indicating the place you want to flip and begin mountaineering, and there may be additionally loads of details about the historical past of Château and the city on the highest of the hill.
Regardless that Noyers-sur-Serein is tiny, you possibly can simply spend just a few hours within the city, particularly if you happen to determine to hike as much as the chateau as properly! I like to recommend staying in Noyers in a single day at a surprising resort known as Cote Serein – it actually appears to be like like a fortress!
For dinner, there usually are not that many choices, so your finest guess might be – Restaurant de la Vieille Tour. As with most eating places in France, I like to recommend reserving it prematurely!
Day 3: Chablis + Wine tasting, a cease in Troyes (Champagne), drive again to London
Our last day in Burgundy began with a brief, 30-minute drive to Chablis.
Chablis
Chablis is a captivating city positioned within the Northern a part of Burgundy, surrounded by numerous vineyards. It serves as the center of the famend Chablis wine-producing area. The city itself can also be very fairly – it has a country appeal, totally different from all the opposite cities and locations on this journey. Chablis has wine estates and wine cellars round each nook – and it’s in all probability top-of-the-line locations on the earth to attempt white wine.
After all, everybody has totally different tastes in white wines, however to me, wines from Chablis are superior. Chablis has fairly distinctive soil – Kimmeridgian limestone, wealthy in marine fossils and minerals. It gives glorious drainage, imparts minerality to the grapes, and contributes to the wines’ distinctive flavours of flint and moist stones.
After I attempted a tremendous wine from Chablis in a wine bar in London, I needed to come back to Chablis ever since and take a look at different wines. Actually, I ended up liking just about each white wine from Chablis that I attempted!
Sadly, on Sunday, numerous wine estates had been closed, however we managed to seek out just a few that had been open and picked Maison Regnard for our wine tasting. The tasting was fairly inexpensive, we paid 15 EUR per particular person to attempt 5 totally different wines, together with a Gran Cru, which was wonderful!
Troyes
Our subsequent and last cease for the final day of this 3-day Burgundy street journey was Troyes. Troyes is just not a part of Burgundy anymore; it’s really positioned in Champagne, however we needed to cease elsewhere on the best way to London, which appeared like a really lovely metropolis. Troyes is positioned 1 hour away from Chablis and on the best way again to the UK.
Troyes is a historic metropolis identified for its well-preserved medieval structure and wealthy cultural heritage. Troyes appears to be like like outsized Noyers! I’ve by no means seen as many half-timbered homes in my life as I’ve seen in Troyes (not even in Colmar and Strasbourg)!
Troyes is commonly known as the “Metropolis of Artwork and Historical past” because of its quite a few medieval buildings and Gothic church buildings. Troyes performed a major function within the Center Ages as a buying and selling hub, and its charming outdated city displays this historical past. Moreover, Troyes is known for its manufacturing facility outlet shops (there are a few massive retailers), making it a well-liked procuring vacation spot.
Driving again to London
The drive from Troyes to Calais takes round 4 hours if there may be not a lot site visitors on the best way, and it passes by way of Reims, the capital of Champagne. If you wish to break up the drive in two and you continue to have a little bit of time, you too can cease in Reims! Reims is known for its beautiful cathedral, which was the place of coronation for nearly all of the French monarchs because the 14th century!
The town itself is just not as spectacular as different locations on this itinerary, nonetheless, Reims is surrounded by vineyards and you too can attempt some nice champagne there if you happen to nonetheless have time left!
The place I’d advocate for making an attempt champagne is Mailly! We had an exquisite expertise there.
Abstract of the 3-day itinerary for Burgundy
I hope you discovered this 3-day itinerary for Burgundy helpful and located some inspiration to your potential journey to France. After all, if you happen to can keep in Burgundy for longer than 3 days, I might completely advocate it, as there are extra wonderful locations you could go to. Nonetheless, if you happen to’re trying to spend an extended weekend in Burgundy, this could possibly be simply the itinerary!
As I discussed earlier than, if you happen to don’t have a automotive or wouldn’t take pleasure in driving that a lot, you possibly can both take a Eurostar to Paris and rent a automotive there or, alternatively, you possibly can fly to Besancon and rent a automotive there!
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