BURGUNDY

Forevents visit: www.burgundy-tourism.com

Are you thinking of moving to the Burgundy (French: Bourgogne) region? We hope that the following information will be of help to you but please also use the links where further details can be found.

Where is the Burgundy region?

This region is located in east central part of France and likes to be called the heart of France. Its neighbouring regions are Ile de France and Champagne-Ardenne to the north, Franche-Comté to the east, if you go south you will find Rhône-Alpes and westwards the regions of Auvergne and Centre. Burgundy consists of 4 departments: Côte -d'Or (21), Nièvre (58), Saône-et-Loire (71) and Yonne (89). Dijon, in the Côte -d'Or, has been the capital for many centuries. It is a lively university city, a place where gourmets can eat and drink to their hearts' content. In the old town centre especially you can feast your eyes on many charming buildings dating back hundreds of years.

What is there in Burgundy?

Burgundy is a large region and you will find that life in its many picturesque towns and villages is far from hectic! It has been said that it moves as slowly as the snails they eat. Lovers of art, architecture, history, food and wine cannot go far wrong here. It is a land full of abbeys and monastries, palaces and dukes, simply steeped in history. It has long been an affluent area and was once much larger than now. During the reign of the Valois dukes it stretched far beyond its present borders and was not part of France.

Driving through the beautiful, unspoiled countryside you cannot help but notice how varied the scenery is. Green meadows with the famous white Charollais cattle, enormous vineyards producing some of France's world famous wines, thick forest and woodland, the Morvan Regional Natural Park with its rivers, lakes, granite stone and forest. You will come across numerous roadside memorials which remind us of the important part this area played in WWII when the resistance operated from these mountains.
The canals and rivers too are an important feature of this region. The Burgundy Canal, roughly 250km long, was built about 200 years ago but is nowadays mostly used by tourists. As there are so many waterways – not only canals but rivers like the Seine, Loire, Rhône , Yonne to name just a few - that boating holidays are a big hit with holidaymakers.
Dijon, served by France's TGV (high speed train), has already been mentioned and is the most important city. One of France's best museums, Musée des Beaux-Arts, and a mustard museum ( who has not heard of Dijon mustard?) can be found here amongst other interesting historical buildings. Beaune, a familiar name to wine drinkers, is another fascinating place that dates back to the 15th century and is still enclosed by its medieval walls. We should not leave out Mâcon on the Saône river which is quite popular with tourists and also in an area that produces excellent wines (e.g. Pouilly-Fuissé) but there is also some industry here e.g. manufacturing of electrical goods and motorbikes. Apart from the viticulture there is not much industry in Burgundy.

Climate of Burgundy:

This region has a predominantly oceanic climate but the summers can get quite hot, the winters pretty cold but sunny. However, the westerly winds tend to bring lots of rain.

Property in Burgundy:

Despite its beauty this rural region has not had much interest from foreign buyers as yet. You can still pick up a bargain here or find a place that is in desperate need of some tlc.

Food and wine in Burgundy:

You cannot talk about Burgundy and not mention its fabulous wines. The Côte-d'Or is renowned for its fine wines such as Beaune, Nuits Saint Georges – Louis XIV drank this on doctor's orders - and Pouilly Fuisse. A lesser known fact is that the refreshing apéritif Kir comes from this area and got its name from one of Dijon's mayors. Chablis comes from the Yonne department whilst Beaujolais, which has become a household name ever since Beaujolais Nouveau hit the market, is known as a burgundy wine yet the villages where the wine is mostly produced are situated in the Rhône department.
You can find a host of gastronomic delights from snails and jambon persillé or even frog legs as starters on to Charollais boeuf bourguignon or Coq au Vin and why not try some of the local cheeses for dessert?

Famous Burgundians:

One of the most famous people from this region must be Gustave Eiffel, born in Dijon, and constructor of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, one of the world's best known landmarks. The Eiffel Tower was designed for the World Fair in 1889 and marked the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. When it was built it was actually the tallest structure in the world (about 330metres).
The engineer, humanist and philosopher Vauban also comes from this region as does the famous writer/poet Alphonse de Lamartine – best known for 'Jocelyn' - who was born in Mâcon and buried in the grounds of his home, Château de St Point .

Getting to Burgundy:

Airports:

We have been informed that due to the presence of a military air base there are, at least for the time being, no scheduled airline connections to and from Dijon Bourgogne Airport. You may want to fly to Geneva (Geneva-Dijon is approx. 2hrs 30min by road ) or Basel (50 km longer but about the same driving time). Low cost airlines serve both Basel and Geneva. As always, beware of the low cost airlines, we do not know how long the service will last.

Road network:

There is a good road network with motorways taking you north, east, south and (north) west and or you can use the national routes. It takes roughly 5hrs15min to drive from Calais to Dijon using the motorways.

Railway network:

Eurostar takes you from London to Dijon in about 5 hrs. The TGV high speed train from Paris serves Dijon (approx. 1hr40min), Beaune (approx. 2hrs20min) and Mâcon (approx. 1hr35min). Regular trains (TER) also serve this region and most towns can be reached by train from Dijon.