Beaune

It was time to go to Burgundy. When figuring out my France itinerary, I had to hit up some wine regions, and Burgundy, or Bourgogne, made the most sense geographically. So from Lyon to Beaune, I booked a Blabla car share. It was a little tricky to communicate in French, and it took a few tries to book something, but eventually I got something that was convenient to where I was, and where I was going. I had to meet the driver at the train station in Lyon, and he would then drop me off in Beaune. He was a bit late, which I actually expected since he was driving in a city. There were no other no hiccups, and it ended up being a nice way to travel. We had a full car, so I got to meet some new people. And I got to sing along to my favorite 90's boy bands. 

I booked an Airbnb in Beaune, and the couple was nice enough to let me in earlier than the check-in time. I had a room and my own bathroom on the top floor of their house, which was very close to the center of town. They were very sweet, even though they didn’t know much English. I got to work a little on my French, but less conversational, and more Frenglish. 

Airbnb welcome and decor.

I spent the rest of the day walking around town, and of course picked up some local wine in my wanderings. I was excited to try some Bourgogne, even though I wasn’t sure what was good, and I had no idea how to read the bottles. Yet. 

Nighttime carousel.

I decided to spend a few days in Beaune, so had one full day to explore town, and one full day to explore the region. I had to get a sneak peak of the vineyards though, and went for a run out of town the following morning. They were beautiful. The fall colors were definitely popping. I may have also tried a few grapes for energy.

Morning run in the vineyards.

For the afternoon, I packed a little lunch and explored the quiet streets throughout Beaune.

City walls.

Quiet streets.

Later in the afternoon I took a tour of Hospices de Beaune, an old hospital built for the poor. It is now a museum, but it was a working hospital from 1452 to 1970s. Pretty impressive. The architecture was also pretty impressive. 

Flemish influence.

Ancient medical tools.

After my self-guided tour, I walked across the street to visit the caves of Marché aux Vins to taste some local Bourgogne wines. This was also a self guided tour, which was kind of cool. I didn’t have someone telling me about the local wine, but I did get to pour my own tastes. I may or may not have been generous with them. The cellar was pretty cool and I learned about Burgundy wine. Mostly pinot noir is grown in this region, along with some chardonnay. Most of what I tried was red wine. All pretty good. 

Starting off with some rose.

The following day I intended to take a bike tour of the vineyards. However, everything was against me doing that. First I had googled bike rental places and only one kept coming up. Since it was off-season, I assumed I didn’t need to rent a bike ahead of time. Well since it was off-season, the bike shop was actually closed. I returned to my Airbnb to see about another bike rental place, but I couldn’t call them. Next up, was the tourist information office. I was in luck, there was another place to rent from. Of course I was worried they would be closed for lunch by the time I got there, and sure enough, they were. At this point, I almost gave up. But decided to wait until 2pm and return. In the meantime, I walked around and tasted a few more local wines.

Notre-Dame de Beaune.

Promptly at 2pm, I returned to the bike place and inquired about renting a bike. I don’t know whether the bikes were all actually rented, the guy lied to me, or if it was lost in translation, but I walked away with no bike. Even though I saw a ton in the back. My last ditch effort was the place my Airbnb recommended. It was outside of town though and I wasn’t optimistic. It was someone’s house, and even though it had the TripAdvisor sticker, no one was around to rent me a bike. I was really looking forward to biking through the vineyards of Côte de Beaune and it wasn’t going to happen. I was beyond frustrated.

So my plan to bike to the neighboring towns didn’t happen. It finally occurred to me to walk. So I did. I wouldn't get too far, but I could at least visit Pommard. Fortunately it wasn’t too far, and I had a nice walk through the vineyards. It was a really nice day, one of the reasons why I was bummed that my bike plan failed. I didn’t get to do too much, but did make it to the next village, and visited Château de Pommard, a beautiful estate from the 18th century.

Fall vines.

I walked around Pommard for a little bit before my own private tour. I got to visit the cellar, see an art exhibit, and taste a few wines from their vineyard.

Château de Pommard.

It was getting dark after my tour, so walked quickly back to Beaune. It was chilly and I was ready for a hot meal. 

The last thing I did before leaving, was get one last look at the vineyards. Even though it was freezing out, I pulled out my gloves and went for a run. 

Running.

My next stop was Colmar.