France

“Burgundy is life!”

Vineyards stretch from Dijon via Santenay to Beaune. The "Route des Grands Crus" is the most famous of the six wine routes. The cycle paths are well signposted. Beautiful villages such as Puligny-Montrachet, Pommard or Meursault are worthwhile excursion destinations.

(Bild: Como Le Montrachet)

Pleasure is the national passion in France, especially in Burgundy. Former President François Mitterrand once said: "Burgundy is not a country, Burgundy is life." That sounds promising! Great wines, delicious food, historic sites and an irrepressible zest for life await.

Montrachet is the first destination of our trip. The village is delightful and appealed to Christina Ong so much that she chose it as the first location for her Como hotel group in France. It is no coincidence that it is located in the heart of the wine country with the most expensive vineyards, the so-called Grands Crus. An impressive two million bottles of Burgundy wine are sold every year, of which only one percent is made up of the top wines from the Grand Cru appellation, we soon learn during a tasting such as those offered at the hotel, opposite Chanzy or elsewhere on the wine route.

COMO LE MONTRACHET (Michelin Key)

(Bild: Como Le Montrachet)

Como Le Montrachet, in a listed property dating back to 1842, in which Milanese designer Paola Navone has created a unique symbiosis of old and new, is proud of its wine list - many pages thick, a real book with an impressive 1200 items that simply overwhelm me, both in number and in price, which range from 23 to 16,000 euros when browsing roughly.

INFO

GENERAL INFORMATION:
Atout France: www.france.fr

BEST TIME TO VISIT:
Enjoyment is possible all year round. The wine landscape has a very special charm in the fall when the leaves change color.

GETTING THERE:
AUA(www.austrian.com) flies daily to Lyon from Vienna. The flight takes around one and a half hours. The German car rental provider Sunny Cars selects the best offer locally - all the usual companies are stationed here, and there is a shuttle service from the terminal to the parking lot. Sunny Cars offers a comprehensive all-inclusive package and currently offers free cancellation protection.
All offers can be booked via any stationary or online travel agency, the website www.sunnycars.de and by telephone on 0049/89-829 933 900.

So we ask one of the sommeliers for advice after telling him our maximum price - and we are not disappointed. It doesn't necessarily have to be a Grand Cru for us - the other wines are also fantastic - although for some guests these are precisely THE reason for traveling to this region, which is world-famous for the best, but also expensive wines.

Favorite places

The top sights in Burgundy that should not be missed include:

• DIJON, capital of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region with a listed historic old town. A must-see: the Palace of the Dukes, an ensemble of historic buildings from the 14th, 15th and 18th centuries in the center. The east wing houses one of the most important art museums in France. Highlight: magnificent tombs of the Burgundian dukes in the Salle des Gardes (photo top left).
  Further tips: Market halls and the "international city of gastronomy and wine" with an exhibition area of 1700 m².
• Worth a detour: FONTENAY ABBEY, founded in 1118 by St. Bernard of Clairvaux, a Cistercian monastery with a magnificent cloister and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• BEAUNE: The main reasons to visit are the Burgundy wine and the famous Hôtel-Dieu, a medieval hospital. Also: the Fallot mustard mill.

TIP: CYCLE ALONG THE WINE ROUTE
The next day, we hire bikes to pedal along the wine route to Beaune. It's a beautiful day, the paths between the vineyards, often bordered by old walls, are very well signposted and it's easy to find your way. Now that we know the impressive figures and prices that wines fetch here, we understand that every meter is used. The rows are very tight and we wonder if it is all done by hand. The mystery is soon solved when we see the first tractor, which has very high wheels and drives between the rows as if on stilts.

Beaune: Hôtel-Dieu

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/Alexander Demyanenko - stock.adobe.com)

Beaune is something like the hub of the wine trade in Burgundy. There is no way around the late medieval hospices, where the bottles auctioned off in November are regarded as a barometer of the economy. Also known as the Hôtel-Dieu, this ensemble from the mid-15th century is one of the main attractions.

Dijon

(Bild: Andrea Thomas)

Vineyards stretch as far as the eye can see from Dijon via Santenay to Beaune. The main varieties are Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, with white predominating. All the wine-growing areas along this route have been included on the UNESCO list. They form the "Climats", a mosaic of small plots, each with its own relief, orientation, geology and local know-how. The name Côte d'Or - Gold Coast - is an obvious choice for anyone visiting in the fall, as the leaves of the vines change from flaming red and bright yellow to golden.

Stay & eat within historic walls

HOSTELLERIE DE LEVERNOIS in Levernois, charming country house & new villas (photo) & 1* Michelin restaurant Table de Levernois: www.lervernois.com

CHÂTEAU SAINTE-SABINE in Sainte-Sabine, located in a 7-hectare park with pool & restaurant Lassey: www.saintesabine.com

COMO LE MONTRACHET (Michelin Key) in Puligny-Montrachet, authentic French cuisine in the hotel restaurant: www.comohotels.com

We turn north. The landscape changes. Lush green pastures now dominate the scene. As we get closer, white dots turn out to be strong cattle, namely of the Charolais breed. Magnificent castles appear again and again, one of which is the 16th century Château Sainte Sabine.

CHÂTEAU SAINTE-SABINE in Sainte-Sabine

(Bild: Relais & Châteaux Chateau Sainte Sabine)

Today it is an elegant hotel with 23 rooms & suites as well as a highly recommended gourmet restaurant offering a panoramic view of a true postcard motif: Châteauneuf-en-Auxois, one of the most beautiful villages in France with a fortified magnificent castle around which medieval houses cluster, positioned on a hill with the Canal de Bourgogne at its feet. Nowadays, the canal is mainly used by leisure captains for houseboat vacations.

The most beautiful villages in France

To promote tourism in rural areas and highlight their cultural heritage, the association "Les plus beaux villages de France" was founded in 1982.

SIGHTSEEING on the Cote-d'Or:

• Châteauneuf
• Flavigny-sur-Ozerain

Châteauneuf

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/clemMTravel - stock.adobe.com)

Philippe Parra, the Maître de Maison, and his efficient receptionist Christel give us lots of good tips for exploring the surrounding area. We head even further north and visit another of the "Les plus beaux villages de France": Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, also known for its unmistakable aniseed sweets. The castle of Bussy-Rabutin, surrounded by a magnificent park, is a listed building, as is, of course, Fontenay Abbey with its eventful history dating back to 1118.

Fontenay Abbey

(Bild: Andrea Thomas)

The Cistercian abbey combines minimalism and high-quality stonemasonry, according to the UNESCO World Heritage description. A visit to the complex, which is impressive in its simplicity and size, is certainly a highlight. Époisses, a village with a castle, is also worth a detour, but is mainly known far beyond its borders for its soft cheese made from cow's milk. Around 1900, there were still around 100 producers in the village; what remains is the Fromagerie Berthaut, which produces the "king of cheeses" (according to Jean Antheime Brillant-Savarin in his 1826 book "Physiologie du Gout" - Physiology of Taste) according to the old recipe.

GOURMET DESTINATION
Dijon is the capital of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, a city of monuments and restaurants, gastronomy, a city with a long history and the magnificent Place de la Libération, which opens in a semicircle with noble baroque facades like a theater in front of the Ducal Palace. Admission to the Musée des Beaux-Arts, which is housed in the Palais des ducs de Bourgogne, is free, as is the view of the magnificent tombs of the Dukes of Burgundy in the Salle des Gardes. Incidentally, the beautifully crafted fireplace is replicated in the suite of the castle hotel in Sainte-Sabine, which is also called the "Salle des Gardes" in reference to it

HOSTELLERIE DE LEVERNOIS in Levernois

(Bild: Relais & Chateaux Hostellerie de Levernois)

It is not far from Château Sainte-Sabine to the Hostellerie de Levernois, a charming country house near Beaune, where old and new are perfectly combined in a 7-hectare park. There are other similarities too: Service, gastronomy and hospitality, just as they are lived in Relais & Châteaux houses (relaischateaux.com) and an owner: Séverine Pétilaire-Bellet, who worked in the luxury hotels of St-Tropez and Courchevel before fulfilling her dream of owning her own hotel.