Visit Beaune in Burgundy, the Hôtel-Dieu, the cellars

A visit to the city of Beaune in Burgundy and the discovery of the Hospices de Beaune.

A visit to the capital of Burgundy: Beaune. The visit presented here lasts half a day, of course, you should not miss the visit of the Hôtel-Dieu, a monument not to be missed. The visit is remarkable, everything is very well restored and staged. For wine lovers there are many cellars to visit. In Beaune you can visit the cellars of Patriarche. More generally, this visit can be part of a weekend discovery of Burgundy by starting with a visit to Dijon and then taking the wine route to Beaune. All along the road between Beaune and Dijon you can find the greatest wines of Burgundy (Vosne-Romanée, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Gevrey-Chambertin...). In Vosne-Romanée you will find the greatest wine of Burgundy and one of the most expensive in the world: Romanée-Conti (6000 bottles per year, minimum 500 euros per bottle).

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Difficulty: difficulty
Duration: 3 h.
Departure point (Google Maps)

Patriarche

Patriarche
It would be unfortunate to visit Burgundy without visiting a cellar. It is not difficult to visit some, there are many on the road between Dijon and Beaune. Patriarche is one of the biggest wine merchants in Burgundy and offers a visit to its cellars (3 million bottles!)

Belfry of Beaune

Belfry of Beaune
Next to the clock tower is a museum dedicated to the work of Salvador Dalí.

View of the city of Beaune

View of the city of Beaune
Beaune is a charming little town on a human scale, you can walk around it in a few hours. Do not hesitate to linger on the architecture of the buildings.

The manufacture of barrels

The manufacture of barrels
A temporary animation on barrel making. The coopers want to highlight their trade which, like many manual trades, is of less and less interest to people

The roofs of the Hôtel-Dieu

The roofs of the Hôtel-Dieu
The hospice of Beaune was founded in 1443 by Nicolas Rollin. After making a lot of money he wanted to build a building to care for the poor and redeem his soul. The glazed tiles are emblematic of the building.

The room of the "Pôvres

The room of the "Pôvres
In this large room the poor were welcomed free of charge to be treated by the nuns. In the Middle Ages, medicine was closely linked to religion. This is why part of the room is dedicated to a chapel.

The ceiling of the "Pôvres" room

The ceiling of the "Pôvres" room
Magnificent ceiling of the "Pôvres" room. It is only since 1875 and the renovation that the heating was installed in this room. With the heating we could obtain a temperature of 14 degrees in the middle of winter!

The altar of the "Pôvres" room

The altar of the "Pôvres" room
At the back of the "Pôvres" room is an altar. In the Middle Ages, the reception and care of the sick were based on the work of mercy, an expression of Christian charity.

A room in the Hospices de Beaune

A room in the Hospices de Beaune
A smaller room reconstructing the activity of the sisters with the sick. We can also see the evolution of the hospital through time as it continued to receive patients until the 1950s.

The kitchens of the Hospices

The kitchens of the Hospices
Reconstruction of the kitchens of the Hospices de Beaune. The sisters had to prepare meals for about a hundred people. As everything had been planned from the start, the Hospice was equipped with fields to provide the necessary food.

Typical landscape of the wine route

Typical landscape of the wine route
In the background you can see the village of Volnay. It is very easy to follow the wine route as you just have to follow the road from Beaune to Dijon. The names of the villages are those of the great appellations of Burgundy.

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