French wine regions
Burgundy: a visitor's guide to the vineyards
Tiny parcels, monumental wines: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay at the source.
Burgundy (Bourgogne) is the opposite of Bordeaux: no grand châteaux, but a patchwork of small family domaines along a 60-kilometre strip of hillside, the Côte d'Or, where vineyard names like Chambertin and Montrachet read like a wine list of dreams.
Best time to visit: June for vineyard walks and long evenings; late September for harvest energy. November's Hospices de Beaune auction week is atmospheric but books out months ahead.
Where to stay: Beaune is the natural base: a walkable wine town with cellars under every street. Dijon works for rail travellers, with the Cité de la Gastronomie as a bonus.
The areas worth your days
Côte de Nuits. The Pinot Noir mile: Gevrey-Chambertin, Vosne-Romanée, Nuits-Saint-Georges. Drive or cycle the Route des Grands Crus, arguably the most famous wine road in the world.
Côte de Beaune. Great whites around Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet, plus the Hospices de Beaune's glazed-tile roofs, Burgundy's postcard.
Chablis. Ninety minutes north-west: steely, mineral Chardonnay and a quiet riverside town that makes an easy stop between Paris and Beaune.
Mâconnais. Southern, softer and cheaper: Pouilly-Fuissé under the rock of Solutré, and tastings that rarely need appointments.
Book your visit
Cellar tours, tastings and vineyard experiences in Burgundycan be booked through our partners. Partner links coming soon: for now, book directly with the estates listed by the local tourism office.
Practical tips
- Domaines are small: many top names do not receive visitors at all. Book a guided small-group tour for cellar access you cannot get alone.
- Cycling the Voie des Vignes from Beaune to Santenay is the single best half-day in the region: flat, safe, and vineyard-lined the entire way.
- In restaurants, drink village-level Burgundy from good producers: grand cru mark-ups in situ are rarely the bargain visitors expect.
Continue exploring
Bordeaux wine region guide · Champagne wine region guide · Alsace wine region guide · Sleeping among the vines