Hi, I'm James. And I'm Laurent.
And today we're in beautiful Burgundy, one of our favorite regions in France.
Burgundy is only a couple of hours, southeast of Paris.
And it's known all over the world for its wines. And let's not forget Dijon mustard.
And we'll cover both the wine and the mustard in this video.
But Burgundy also happens to be a beautiful region,
with lots of variety and tons of things to visit, like museums,
archaeological sites, monasteries, and also a charming countryside, full of quaint villages.
And in this video, we'll show you our top 10 favorite things to do in Burgundy. So let's go!
Number 1 is the wine route.
How could we make a video about Burgundy and not start with the wine route?
Burgundy produces some of the best wines in the world.
And although the region is mostly known for its red wines, we also love Burgundy whites.
But even if you're not a wine connoisseur, you should still start your trip with the wine route.
Just driving around, from village to village,
in-between all the vineyards, is absolutely spectacular.
Within Burgundy, there are five main wine making areas.
And if you don't want to do the entire wine route, you'll have to select one or two areas to visit.
Our favorite two are Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune.
They also happen to be the most convenient areas, because they're right around Dijon and Beaune.
And they're also very scenic areas, with rolling hills and quaint little villages, all along.
We visited a winery called Domaine Senard.
It's in the little village of Aloxe Corton, just 10 minutes outside of Beaune.
Aloxe Corton is one of the most prestigious names in Burgundy wines.
The owners at Domaine Senard took us through the vineyards and the 800-year old cellars.
He spent 20 years in California and speaks perfect English.
And they were kind enough to walk us through the winemaking process,
which is normally not open to the public.
James pitched in and it reminded us of the famous episode of I love Lucy.
And, of course, we were able to taste several of their best wines.
And let me tell you: We did not spit them back.
Aloxe Corton is home to some of the best wines in the world.
What a shame that would have been!
And number 2 is the Hospices of Beaune, also called Hotel Dieu.
The hospices of Beaune are probably the most iconic building in Burgundy,
with this colorful tiled roof.
It's Burgundo-Flemish architecture at its best.
Because at the time of its construction, in 1443,
the Dukes of Burgundy also owned Flanders and Holland.
The Hospices of Beaune were a hospital for the poor for more than 500 years.
The main room has 30 beds, which was enough for 60 patients.
Because at the time, there were two patients per bed.
If you think that's bad, it was actually considered luxury at the time,
because at other hospitals, they had up to 6 patients per bed.
And in the standard tour is a walk through the evolution of medicine,
from the early renaissance to today.
You can see all the medical devices, like this saw, used for amputations. Ouch!
In the middle ages, rich people were very worried about the afterlife.
And whether they'd be going to hell or to Heaven.
So, they donated tons of land and money to the hospital, to kind of buy their way to Heaven.
The hospice of Beaune was a trendsetter and really paved the way
for modern philanthropy and fundraising techniques.
As a result, the Hospice is now one of the biggest land owners in Burgundy,
with 60 hectares of some of the best vineyards in Burgundy. And also an amazing art collection.
Yes, rich people didn't donate the cheap stuff to buy their way to Heaven.
And we were fortunate enough to visit the cellars,
with the wine barrels that get auctioned off every November.
Anybody can attend the auction, but you can't buy individual bottles,
you have to buy an entire barrel.
And there's nothing selling for less than $20,000 a barrel.
Number 3: the Burgundy Canal.
Two of the biggest river systems in France are the Seine River, that runs through Paris,
and the Rhône River, that runs from Switzerland, all the way to the Mediterranean.
And the construction of the Burgundy Canal, which started in 1777,
was a way to link these two basins.
The canal is 242-km long, and runs through the beautiful Burgundy countryside.
You can walk or bike along the canal, because there's a trail along the entire way.
Back in the days, barges were pulled by horses, that walked along the canal.
But the best way to discover the canal is to rent a boat.
Boat rental company Les Canalous was kind enough to provide us a boat for a couple of days.
And we're so grateful, because it was an amazing experience.
Although maneuvering through the locks was a little bit daunting at first,
it was actually quite easy, once we got the hang of it.
Burgundy doesn't have real mountains, but the terrain is very hilly.
And because of that, there are 189 locks along the canal.
So if you don't have time to go through all these locks,
we recommend that you just stay on the Saône River, the main tributary to the Rhône River.
There's only a handful of locks on the river, just enough to keep them entertaining.
We love river cruises, because there's always something to see on the river.
We saw tons of swans and herons along the river.
And, although we were a tad bit too early for the fall colors,
the trees along the river were just beautiful.
And, by the way, if you want to learn more about each attraction featured in this video,
we'll put links, in the description box below, to additional videos,
that include extended footage and behind the scenes pictures.
That's a great way to learn more about each individual destination,
since we only have one minute for each, in this video.
Number 4: the Cluny Abbey.
Cluny is at the southernmost end of Burgundy.
And for 300 years, it was home to the largest church in the world,
until St Peter's was built in Rome, in 1506.
Just like the Hospice of Beaune,
Cluny received a lot of money from rich donors, worried about the afterlife.
It was such a powerful institution, that it was destroyed during the French Revolution.
And all the stones were sold off to the villagers around the abbey.
Luckily, a small part of the church is still standing today,
because the cloister was turned into a market,
and one of the wings of the church was too close to be blown up safely.
There are 3D models, that show in different colors, the parts that are still standing,
and the parts that were destroyed during the revolution.
When you see the huge size of what is left,
and you know it only represents 8% of what it used to be,
it's just hard to fathom the magnitude of the abbey, in its heyday.
But they have great augmented reality displays,
that help you picture what the church used to look like.
And if you like horses, Cluny is also home to a national stud farm.
Napoleon created the stud farm in Cluny, to breed horses for his armies.
And the stud farm is still here today,
and organizes many events and competitions, that are open to the public.
Number 5 is the Rock of Solutré.
Solutré is right next to Cluny. And it's easy to combine the two in one day.
Solutré is a big limestone cliff, overlooking the vineyards.
And not just any vineyard! It's the vineyards of Pouilly Fuissé,
one of the best white wines in Burgundy.
You can admire the rock from down below.
And it really stands out, in the middle of all the rolling hills around.
Or, if you're braver, you can hike to the top of the rock.
When you face the rock from the south,
it really looks like you need to be a serious rock climber to get to the top.
But the back of the rock is not nearly as steep.
And the trail that goes to the top is paved most of the way.
It's a much easier climb than it looks at first.
And you don't even need hiking boots. But some of the rocks can be slippery, when it's wet.
And from the top, you have this great 360-degree view, of the entire countryside.
And the weather was so clear, when we filmed this video,
that we were able to see the Mont Blanc, in the Alps, 150 km away. Amazing!
And on the other side, you can see the Rock of Vergisson,
another limestone cliff, somewhat similar to Solutré
Humans have lived around Solutré for more than 50,000 years.
And there is also a Prehistoric Museum, that you can visit, at the bottom of the rock.
And if you're enjoying this video, don't forget to give us a big like!
Likes help us a lot, with YouTube recommending our videos to other viewers like you.
And number 6 is the Abbey of Fontenay.
Although it's at the complete northern end of the region,
Fontenay has a loose connection to Cluny, at the southern end.
Over the years, Cluny became so rich, that some people started questioning
whether it had deviated from the Benedictine rules, of prayer and poverty.
And the Cistercian order expanded, partially as a response to Cluny's wealth.
It was kind of a back-to-basics reaction.
As a result, Fontenay is very sober and minimalist.
You won't find any magnificent sculptures or golden statues anywhere.
But the harmony of the site and the peacefulness is what makes Fontenay so beautiful.
It's Romanesque architecture at its best.
Although you can already see early signs of Gothic architecture,
with arches that are not completely round anymore, but not yet pointy either.
Fontenay followed the Cistercian rules of poverty, prayer, and hard work.
And the monks built the first industrial forge in the world.
It was so cool, to see the water mill, and all the mechanisms that the monks invented,
more than 800 years ago.
Another funny anecdote, is that Cistercian abbeys have a connection to Coco Chanel.
Coco Chanel was raised in the orphanage of another Cistercian abbey.
And it's believed that she was inspired by the shape of the stained glass windows,
To create her famous logo, with two C's intertwined.
Number 7 is the Dijon Museum of Fine Arts, inside the Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy.
In the 14th and 15th century, Burgundy was basically an independent state.
And the Dukes of Burgundy had both wealth and power.
Dijon being the capital of Burgundy, this is where the Dukes of Burgundy built their palace.
The palace is a massive structure, of the size of a city block.
And you can see its classical style façade from the Place de la Libération.
And today, the palace is home to both the Dijon city hall, and the Museum of Fine Arts.
And the Museum of Fine Arts is free, for everybody, all the time.
The palace has been home to the Museum of Fine Arts for more than 200 years.
But the museum underwent a huge renovation in 2019.
It's one of the most beautiful art museums outside of Paris.
And it has an extensive collection, that spans all the way from Egyptian antiquities to modern art.
But the largest part of the collection is made of medieval and renaissance art.
Some of our favorites were the room with the tombs of the Dukes of Burgundy.
They are massive tombs, with lots of intricate details.
And we also like the hall of classical sculptures.
It had several impressive sculptures. And it was very well displayed.
And if you like religious art, the museum has some amazing altar pieces.
And, even though the museum only has a small impressionist collection,
the one Monet painting was really beautiful.
We spent almost three hours there. And it still feels like we rushed through the collection.
And number 8: the Bibracte archaeological site.
I'm glad you did that one, because that's a hard one to pronounce: Bibracte.
Bibracte is in the Morvan Regional Park, a hilly area at the southwestern corner of Burgundy.
At the time when present France became part of the Roman empire, 2000 years ago,
some of the Gallic tribes adopted the Roman way of life.
Bibracte was the capital city of the Eduen tribe and became a big trading center.
And it's believed that the city grew to 10,000 inhabitants, at its peak.
But strangely, the Gallo-Roman city was only in existence for 200 years.
And the forest eventually took over.
The large-scale archaeological excavations only began in the 80's.
And only 10% of the city has been dug out, to date.
It's clearly a work in progress, with several active digging sites throughout.
But you can already see the ruins of some of the huge villas
that rich Gallo- Romans built for themselves.
Bibracte is on the slopes of Mount Beuvrey, one of the tallest hills in Burgundy.
The view from the top of the hill is worth the climb.
And the dense forest makes the whole place feel very mystical.
It has a bit of a Lord of the Rings feel to it.
And there's also a museum, that displays tools, and coins, and wine bottles, from 2000 years ago.
And the building itself is just as beautiful as the collection inside.
Number 9 is the Fallot mustard factory, in Beaune.
Just like it's famous for its wines, Burgundy is also famous for his Dijon mustard.
But Dijon mustard means that it follows the Dijon recipe, not that it's made in Dijon.
And anybody, anywhere in the world, can make this mustard and call it Dijon mustard,
as long as they follow that recipe.
And the best mustard factory to visit is not in Dijon, but in Beaune, a 1/2-hour south of Dijon.
The Fallot company has been around for almost 200 years.
And it's the last family-owned mustard maker in Burgundy.
And if you follow our channel, you know we love family businesses.
They have a beautiful store, right in downtown Beaune,
where you can buy all kinds of different flavored mustards,
as well as other artisan products, like vinegar or pickles.
But our favorite part was the visit to the actual factory.
You go through the whole process, that the tiny mustard seeds go through,
to end up in the mustard jars in the store, and eventually in your hot dogs.
We also liked all the history, with lots of old equipment throughout,
like this old Peugeot, that was used back in the days, to distribute mustard.
And number 10 is the village of Vézelay.
Vézelay is a beautiful medieval village, nested on top of a hill.
Because it's in the northeastern corner of Burgundy, and right off the highway,
it's only about a 2-hour drive from Paris and can be done as a day trip.
The main street in Vézelay has tons of quaint little stores and art galleries.
But the main reason to come to Vézelay is to visit Basilica Sainte Marie Magdalene, on top of the hill.
In the middle age, Vézelay was one of the four main starting points
of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, in Spain.
The basilica was built between 1120 and 1150.
And it's one of the best preserved Romanesque churches in France,
although the choir of the church was built in the Gothic style.
And the basilica is most famous for its distinctive red and white arches.
And if you happen to be in Vézelay, at noon, on the summer solstice,
the church was angled in such a way, that the southern windows
cast a series of luminous spots, exactly in the middle of the floor.
We were lucky enough to visit Vézelay on a somewhat sunny day,
although not on the summer solstice.
But a lot of people we talked to, said they like to visit Vézelay on a dark day.
There is a somber aspect to the church that is somewhat unique.
And like lots of villages in Burgundy,
the countryside around the village is absolutely beautiful.
And there are great viewpoints, right behind the church.
So, if you want to subscribe to our channel, we're going to put a link right here.
If you want to watch our other videos, we're going to put one right here,
and another one right there.
Bye. Bye.