Beaune

With features dating back to Antiquity, Beaune is an ancient walled city surrounded by its battlements, ramparts and moat, half of which are still intact. The old town is quite compact and based around the Hospices de Beaune, or Hotel-Dieu de Beaune. One of the finest examples of XV century French architecture, the Hôtel Dieu was built as a hospital for the poor and needy and is famous for its multicoloured tiled roofs and polyptych of the Last Judgement.

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Beaune is the wine capital of Burgundy and is on the road of the "grands Crus", surrounded by some of the world's most famous wine villages. The famed, annual wine auction of the Hospices de Beaune is the primary wine auction in France.

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Fittingly, Beaune has a major fine food market on Saturdays with a profusion of suppliers of everything produced in Burgundy and surrounding regions, for example; Bresse chickens, Jura cheeses, smallgoods, epicerie, produce of every type and seasonal specialties such as truffles. There is also a smaller market on Wednesday. There are various special-event markets and fetes throughout the year.

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There is extensive "traditional" shopping clustered around the central square with a focus on gourmet food, fashion, and wine. Also within the town; the Museum of Wine, housed in a XV century meeting place for the Burgundy dukes, the XII century clock tower, the Musee des Beaux-Arts, the Jules-Marey Museum for early video photography, the Beffroi and the church of Notre-Dame.