The Burgundy wine route, or rather one of the routes to take through the vineyards, wineries, and picturesque villages of the Bourgogne region of France, is called the Route Des Grands Crus.
We started the route in the city of Dijon and we did it to Santenay, route D 97 and D 122, about sixty kilometers long.
Indice:
Wine routes
The Burgundy region has several routes to discover its wines, learn about the most famous varieties, the way they cultivate their vineyards, and why not, taste some of its fine wines. The route of the great wines is also called the route of the Champs Elysees.
We begin this route in Dijon, a charming city that I recommend you visit and enjoy. We continue through Nuites Saint Georges, Beaune, and end this tour in Santenay. By taking this tour of the Burgundy wine route, you can discover twenty-four of the thirty-three wine varieties of this region.
How to make the route
Although these cities mentioned above are the most important on the route, we pass through many towns, wineries, restaurants and lodgings, and in all cases, with a very special charm. The entire route is marked with signs with a brown background and white clusters.
We did this tour in our previously rented van for our route through France. But there are many tours that do this route if you don’t want to complicate things, you will just join the chosen tour and enjoy this charming area.
If you go on your own, you can pre-book a tour of a winery in Spanish , you can choose to do the tour alone, or do the tour and have a tasting at the end of it.
And if not, as we said, hire a tour of this area of vineyards and wineries, you will be more relaxed, and you will go with a guide who will give you all the explanations about the area and its wine production.
Explore the many options you have for these tours, including even a hot air balloon ride:
Best time
Although I recommend doing it in the fall, we did it in the spring. Sometimes it is difficult to choose the exact dates for a trip that was going to touch on many points. It is also true that we were not prepared to do it, it just came up. Our visit was to Dijon, and from there we decided to do this charming route. After being in the place, we realized that a night in one of its towns would have been ideal to have been able to explore more thoroughly.
We found several people doing the routes both on foot and by bicycle, the latter option really seemed interesting to me.
Looking for a hotel to spend a night in this area is something we want to do next time, in this one, we stayed overnight in Dijon, and it was spectacular, but to be able to stay in this area, so…, how to say it?, so wonderfully local, natural, to feel away from the touristy, is something that at least we like a lot.
Grand Cru, what is it?
We told you that this is the Route des Grande Vins, the Champs-Élysées route. But it is not the only route in the Burgundy region, we have different routes through other areas and wine varieties.
Although a visit to Dijon is very important in the Burgundy region, visiting this region without having visited its vineyards is something we cannot afford.
Its wines, along with those of Bordeaux and champagne, are among the most prestigious in France and the world.
But what is the Grand Cru designation?
Grand Cru is the classification that the best wines of France have received since the 19th century. Cru in Burgundy designates a vineyard of high quality. Each vineyard in Burgundy is classified in this hierarchy: Grand Cru are the highest quality, followed by Premier Cru.
On this route of the great wines of Burgundy, you can travel through thousands of hectares of vineyards, including the largest concentrations of Grand Cru wines in France.
Bourgogne is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its wines.
Starting the route, map and route
►First point and start: Dijon. Dijon is a city that deserves a separate post, and here we leave it: DIJON.
►The first stop is in Nuits Saint Georges, famous for the red wine it produces, the region is called Cote de Nuits.
I leave the video here, I recommend you watch it to get a better idea of the area.
Shall we continue?
On a route that takes us past villages, wineries, groups of houses, and local accommodation, we arrive at one of the main points of this route through Burgundy. We arrive at the Cote de Beaune region.
The landscapes with the vineyards are still captivating, but I repeat, do not make our mistake and stay at least one night. If you continue along the paths that go off the route, you will reach castles with vineyards, abbeys, and wineries, which are definitely worth spending time on.
►Beaune is the wine capital of Burgundy, and at the same time, a beautiful city.
Beaune is a very good place to stop and stay, you will find places like the Hotel Dieu de Beaune, also known as the Beaune Hospice, a place to visit.
This beautiful city is located in the Cote D’Or department, just forty kilometres from Dijon. It preserves its historic centre surrounded by a wall and is considered the business centre for Burgundy wines.
►Last stop, after so much road: Santenay.
Not far from the previous town we found this charming village, Santenay. With about a thousand inhabitants, it was classified as a hydrothermal complex and spa town in 1960. With a tranquillity that you feel as soon as you arrive, we quickly realised that this would also have been an ideal place to stay.
I repeat, this time I advise you to watch the video to get a basic idea of what the area is like.
Summary
►It is a very good tour to do if you are in France, but even more so if you are already visiting Dijon.
► You can do it during the day, or spend a night in one of the accommodations that you will find in the area.
► The tour can be in your car, by bicycle, or hire a tour if you want to go more calmly.
Are you coming to France from far away like us and having internet all the time is a problem? When we make this type of journey by car we always use maps on our mobile, or we want to be connected in case of any eventuality. In our case we have used the data eSIM for travellers from Holafly, a very good option. In the link you will find all the information as well as a discount for followers of Europe accompanied by the following code: EUROPAACOMPAÑADA5.↓
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NOTE: The information in this article is based on our own experience, being totally objective. This article contains affiliate links.
