Beaune

Beaune is the wine town of the Côte de Beaune, south of Dijon, with an old centre inside its ramparts. Its landmark is the Hôtel-Dieu, a 15th-century hospital with a roof of glazed coloured tiles, which belongs to the Hospices de Beaune. The Hospices also own a wine estate, and the auction of its new wines, held each November under the Halles de Beaune, is the focus of a weekend of festivities in town.

Practical notes

• Beaune station is on the railway between Dijon and Lyon.
• The old centre is small and walkable. Volnay, the 2027 host of the Saint-Vincent Tournante, is a few kilometres to the south-west.

The Hospices and their vines

The Hospices Civils de Beaune date their history to 1443, when Nicolas Rolin and Guigone de Salins founded a hospital, the Hôtel-Dieu. Alongside the monument, the institution owns a wine estate of 60 hectares in some of Burgundy's best appellations, built up from bequests and donations over the centuries. The estate explains that the wine is sold each year at auction, traditionally on the third Sunday of November, which it calls the most famous charity sale in the world.

• Each year one pièce, a 228-litre barrel, is sold for the benefit of one or more charities.
• Since 2015 the estate has been run by Ludivine Griveau, with a team of 23 staff and 53 historic cuvées prepared for each sale.

Wine culture in Beaune beyond the auction

The Cité des Climats et vins de Bourgogne has three sites, in Chablis, Beaune and Mâcon, with visitor trails, tasting workshops and wine bars devoted to the Climats, the named vineyard plots listed as UNESCO World Heritage. Beaune tourist office also points visitors to the Voie des Vignes, a cycling route through the vineyards, and to the Maison des Climats in town. Beaune, Pommard and Volnay are among the 40 municipalities of the listed Climats area.