The OPMOM Blog

Beaune {Burgundy:Bourgogne}

Beaune is a beautifuly city to visit where the Middle Ages are still deeply rooted. Historically the town of Beaune received its name from the Gauls that inhabited the area and built the first houses around 52BC.

After the invasion of the Barbarians, the city began to expand. It became the perfect crossroads between North, South, and East. The Dukes of Burgundy chose Beaune as their site for both the Palace and Parliament.  Today Beaune is considered the capital of Burgundy wines. The Côte de Beaune and the Hautes Côtes de Beaune produce harmonious wines like Meursault, Pommard, Montrachet, Corton-Charlemagne to name a few.  To take a break from the wine tours we ventured around the city discovering little winding roads that lead us to adorable cafes and shops.

We also toured the famous Hotel-Dieu, a hospice founded in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin and his wife. It was inspired by the architecture of Northern French hospitals. I loved the geometric multi-colored Burgundian roof tiles that you see below in the picture.

The building is arranged around a central courtyard.  The Kitchen has a Gothic fireplace that immediately gets your attention along with the collection of period copper cookware. In the kitchen there is a mechanical spit designed by watchmaker De Fresne in 1698, which automatically turned meat over the fire. In the pharmacy there were all kinds of unusual potions that were stored in jars and pots. They would mix up concoctions and grind them in a bronze mortar to prepare the remedies for the sick.

We also found two religious masterpieces housed there. The Christ-de-Pitié statue that is carved from wood and the Last Judgment Polyptych by Rogier Van der Weyden.

We really enjoyed our day trip in Beaune. It is a a great place to visit while you are exploring the wine country!