Burgundy Travel Guide: Where to Stay, Eat & Drink in French Wine Country

Beautiful hotels, extraordinary food, tiny wine villages, long tastings and a car that somehow always comes home filled with wine, cheese, mustard and flowers. Burgundy is one of those places I don’t simply visit once; I return to it again and again.

Part of my love for Burgundy is the wine, obviously. But it’s also the tiny villages, beautiful hotels, extraordinary meals, flower shops, drives through the vineyards and afternoons in Beaune that somehow turn into evenings over a bottle of wine and a plate of cheese and charcuterie.

There is something wonderfully French about spending an entire evening eating cheese, drinking Burgundy and deciding that yes, this absolutely counts as dinner.

I’ve visited in spring, summer and autumn, stayed in beautiful hotels, tasted with winemakers, eaten some incredible meals and brought home considerably more wine than we intended. And I’m still discovering it.

That’s perhaps what I love most about Burgundy. You don’t finish it.

Burgundy is enormous, so don’t try to cover it all in one weekend. I’d concentrate on Beaune and the Côte de Beaune, particularly the villages around Meursault, Pommard, Volnay and Puligny-Montrachet.

Beaune gives you restaurants, wine bars, shops, the famous Hospices and plenty of places to taste, but you’ll want a car to explore the surrounding wine villages.

Some of my favourite Burgundy moments happen between destinations, driving through vineyards and deciding to stop somewhere simply because it looks interesting.

01

Where to Stay

If I want a Burgundy weekend that feels like a proper escape, Château de Cîteaux is an easy choice. The hotel occupies a château overlooking the vineyards in Meursault, so you’re immediately immersed in the landscape you’ve come to experience.

The spa is fantastic, and we also had an incredible meal here in the most gorgeous setting, including a signature caviar dish that I still think about. That’s generally my benchmark for a memorable meal. If I’m talking about one particular dish months later, they did something right.

BEST FOR: A romantic, indulgent Burgundy weekend.

More recently, we stayed at Bellevigne Bourgogne. We visited fairly soon after it opened and there were still a few kinks being worked out, but the rooms were beautiful, the property was gorgeous and the staff were wonderful. We also had an incredible wine tasting.

Would we go back? Absolutely. And I think that’s probably more useful than pretending every hotel stay I’ve ever had has been flawless.

BEST FOR: Design lovers and anyone who wants wine at the centre of the weekend.

Also On My List

There is always another Burgundy hotel tempting me back.

At the very top of my list right now is Château la Commaraine, a newly reopened five-star hotel in the heart of Pommard. After a five-year restoration, the historic château now has just 37 rooms and suites, two restaurants, a spa and a working winery, all surrounded by its own 3.63-hectare Pommard Premier Cru Clos Monopole vineyard.

The whole idea of sleeping in the middle of the vines, tasting the estate’s wines and then disappearing into the spa sounds pretty close to my ideal Burgundy weekend. We definitely need to try this one.

I’d also love to stay at COMO Le Montrachet in Puligny-Montrachet, particularly because I love this part of the Côte de Beaune. Olivier Leflaive is another interesting option if you want a stay centred around wine, while Hostellerie Cèdre & Spa is on my list for a future weekend based directly in Beaune.

I’ll report back as we try them.

02

Wine Tasting

This is the one part of your Burgundy weekend I’d plan in advance.

Many domaines are small, family-run operations and tastings are by appointment. I’d much rather book one or two interesting tastings where you have time to talk to the people behind the wine than rush through four appointments in an afternoon.

Jacques Bavard

GO FOR: The person as much as the wine.

Jacques Bavard is a particularly interesting person to taste with. After years away from Burgundy, he returned to his family’s roots in Puligny-Montrachet and began making his own wines, with his first vintage in 2005. His family history in the village stretches back generations.

That background makes the experience particularly interesting because you’re not simply rushing through a line-up of wines. Take your time, ask questions and let the tasting be part of the day.

Visits and tastings need to be arranged in advance.

TASTE → [Jacques Bavard website]

Capitain-Gagnerot

GO FOR: An excellent introduction to Burgundy reds and whites.

Capitain-Gagnerot is another producer we recommend, particularly if you want to taste a broader selection of Burgundy wines.

We’ve found the quality-to-price ratio particularly impressive. Burgundy can become expensive very quickly, and here we’ve found genuinely incredible wines at prices that still feel reasonable for what you’re drinking.

TASTE → [Capitain-Gagnerot website]

Domaine Camille Thiriet

ONE TO LOOK FOR.

I love Camille Thiriet’s wines, although we haven’t actually managed to visit the domaine yet. Every time we’ve tried, Camille has been away, so it’s still firmly on our list.

Until our schedules finally align, look for her bottles in good Burgundy wine shops and restaurants.

03

Where to Eat

Burgundy is obviously famous for food, but I wouldn’t make every meal an event. One elaborate dinner is wonderful. So is Japanese food in Meursault. And sometimes the perfect dinner is cheese, charcuterie and wine.

La Goutte d’Or, Meursault

TRUST ME ON THIS ONE.

Pizza and Japanese food in Meursault sounds like a combination I would normally tell you to avoid.

Don’t.

We’ve only ever ordered the Japanese food and it is incredible. The restaurant is always filled with a mix of locals and Japanese diners, and the wine list combines plenty of Burgundy bottles with harder-to-find Japanese wines.

It’s unexpected, completely unpretentious and one of those recommendations I love giving because you probably wouldn’t have chosen it yourself.

GO → 37 Rue Charles Giraud, 21190 Meursault, France

L’Epinette, Beaune

NEXT ON MY LIST.

For years, one of our favourite restaurants in the region was Au Petit Bonheur. It has since changed hands, so I’m holding off on recommending the new version until we’ve been back.

Luckily, the former team has moved to L’Epinette in Beaune. We can’t wait to try it, and I’ll report back.

GO → 10 Pl. au Beurre, 21200 Beaune, France

04

Explore

Have Wine for Dinner

At least once during your stay, don’t book a restaurant.

Beaune is filled with wine bars and caves. Find one that looks good, order a bottle of Burgundy and a plate of cheese and charcuterie and call it dinner.

This has become one of my favourite Burgundy evenings. There’s something wonderfully relaxed about wandering into Beaune without a reservation and letting the night unfold.

You can always order more cheese.

Wander Beaune

Of course, the Hospices de Beaune is the city’s great landmark and worth seeing, particularly on your first visit. But one of my favourite things to do here is simply wander.

The historic centre is compact and filled with wine shops, boutiques, food stores, cafés, restaurants and beautiful little streets. Shop, stop for wine, have lunch, find a brocante and have another glass of wine.

Beaune doesn’t need to be over-scheduled.

Drive the Route des Grands Crus

You don’t need to understand Burgundy’s famously complicated wine classifications to appreciate the landscape.

Drive the Route des Grands Crus through villages including Pommard, Volnay, Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet. Walk through the vineyards. Stop when somewhere looks interesting.

Part of the pleasure is simply seeing names you’ve read on wine labels suddenly appear on road signs.

Don’t make getting from one reservation to another the goal. Leave room to discover things.

05

What to Bring Home

Let’s be realistic. You aren’t leaving Burgundy with one bottle.

Wine from Prestige Cellar

Prestige Cellar has an incredible selection and is worth knowing if you want to buy bottles beyond what you’ve picked up directly from producers.

Join their newsletter too. They regularly share bottles and special offers, and they ship. We’ve ordered wine from them after returning home and can confirm that yes, it works.

Which is either useful or dangerous information depending on the size of your wine cellar.

SHOP → [Prestige Cellar website]

Cheese from Alain Hess

Do not leave Beaune without going to Alain Hess.

Wine, cheese, mustard, French pantry staples and even some interesting Japanese products fill the shop, and I inevitably leave carrying considerably more than I intended.

But mostly: buy the cheese.

This is Burgundy. You can figure out your diet when you get home.

Flowers, Mustard + Something Old

I also almost always leave Burgundy with mustard and flowers. I don’t have one particular florist to recommend. I simply wander into whichever beautiful flower shop catches my attention.

And if I find a good brocante, there will probably be something from there in the car too. A little bowl, glassware, something for the table, something old that I absolutely did not need until I saw it.

Those are my favourite souvenirs because every time I use them at home, I remember where they came from.

06

When to Go

I’ve visited Burgundy in spring, summer and autumn and would happily return during any of them.

Spring brings green vineyards and comfortable walking weather. Summer is wonderful for long days, terraces and wandering through Beaune. Autumn may be the most atmospheric, particularly when the vineyards begin changing colour.

Harvest season brings a completely different energy to the region, but it can also make visiting small producers more difficult because they’re rather busy making wine. If tastings are a priority, make your appointments well in advance.

Winter is the one season I haven’t experienced yet.

We’ll have to fix that.

07

The CSL Burgundy Edit

STAY FOR THE SPA: Château de Cîteaux

STAY FOR THE DESIGN: Bellevigne Bourgogne

HOTEL I’M DYING TO TRY: Château la Commaraine

EAT: La Goutte d’Or

NEXT ON MY LIST: L’Epinette

TASTE: Jacques Bavard + Capitain-Gagnerot

WINE I LOVE: Camille Thiriet

BUY WINE: Prestige Cellar

BUY CHEESE: Alain Hess

DO: Drive the Route des Grands Crus

BRING HOME: Wine + cheese + mustard + flowers + a brocante find