In Burgundy, the Stairs to the Cellar Lead Straight to Heaven

Last updated: March 17, 2008.

Sensuous, ruby-red, generous, old gold. When a Burgundian chooses his words, you're never quite sure whether he's speaking of the wine or the pleasures of living.

Heaven to a Burgundian is Maçon in May, where the local growers gather to celebrate their labours. Not that they're immodest about their wines. But as Burgundians diplomatically reply to the age-old question, Bordeaux or Burgundy?: "I think their wines are for the sick... ours are for the healthy."

Photo: Hospice de Beaune, Burgundy, France 1993. Superb photo by Phillip C, published on Flickr under a Creative Commons Licence.

Wine, heaven forbid, may not be your thing, in which case, there's no finer place to take the water than Auxerre, one of the oldest cities in France. As you stoop by the banks of the river Yonne, pause to consider the parched old wine grower in the French legend, who hesitates by a cool stream, then walks on muttering: "Come, come, never waste a good thirst".

Auxerre is the venue for Burgundy's jazz festival in June. If your taste is more traditional, it's certainly worth driving down to Beaune in July for the celebration of music baroque et classique. Beaune is home to the famous Hotel Dieu, whose multi-coloured roof-tiles shimmer like a fine old mosaic. No less impressive inside, the hotel contains a superb altarpiece by Ban der Weyde, embroideries from the fifteenth century, and a feast of gothic sculpture.

July is when most choose to celebrate the pleasures of life in Burgundy. In Magny Cours,they hold a formula one grand prix. The Burgundian life, though, is one where contrasts heighten the passion for living. Just a few weeks after the motor race, farmers from all France in their denim chemises or blue-de-travail, flock to Saulieu. Here the famous Charolais cattle flaunt their creamy hides as they bathe in the glory of being France's finest pedigree.

Saulieu lies in the Côte d'Or—the so-called "hills of gold". If you're passing through in September, there's a festival of international folklore. Hardly surprising, since the Côte d'Or is home to a hundred historic chateaux. In Saulieu alone, there's the François Pompom museum and the Basilica of Saint- Andoche, with astonishing wood carvings from the seventeenth century.

The Côte d'Or is not so much a place of great history as a place of great tradition, where the new sits happily with the old. In September, there's a mountain bike race in Morovan. Apart from woods, springs and deep lakes, this massive national park of some 90,000 hectares contains wonderfully named flowers like broom and bog myrtle.

You might expect the Burgundian's passion for the land and the vine to have more than a little influence on the cuisine. You would not be disapppointed. It is no coincidence that Dijon is host to an international fair of gastronomy in November. But then the little town has always been renowned for its food. The honey spice cake of Dijon was once used as military rations for the warriors of Genghis Khan. The local cuisine—the cassissines, the gimblettes, the pears belle dijonnaise—should charm you through to December, when Dijon hosts its arts and crafts fair.

Of course, if you're visiting in February, December may seem a long time to wait. But in Burgundy, you'll never be told: "If only you'd been here yesterday." It's always: "If only you'd come tomorrow" that will coax you into staying one more day. As the Burgundian ponders which bottle of wine will lead you down the cellar stairs to heaven.