The foodie central of Burgundy, Beaune. The maze of cobblestone streets here are filled with delectable restaurants and caves filled with wine. Yes, caves, it's kind of a thing here. The caves are used to store all of the wine in this town. Beaune is where you come in France for delicious food and to taste some of Burgundy's best wines.
Beaune is a walled city. It would probably take you about 45 minutes to walk around the whole thing. It's old and crumbling but it's beautiful. Here is the view of the old town from the wall.
We stayed at a funky old hotel right on the outside of town. Walking into "Le Foch" was like stepping back in time. The old time bar was filled with various trinkets that had been scattered about over the past decades.
We lucked out on our first night in Beaune by stumbling into La Buissonniere for dinner without reservations. They squeezed us in and we are so happy they did. This restaurant is ran by a husband and wife. The wife is the chef and the husband does everything else, waiter, busser, host. The food was divine. We decided to come back again on our last night for another round. We have no shame in returning to a restaurant twice, if it was a perfect 10 on your first visit; go back. La Buissonniere only has 7 tables, and one is right next to the chef. We sat reserved this table for our second visit. She chatted us up while cooking away, never skipping a beat.
We had some amazing dishes at this restaurant. But our favorite dish was langoustine (prawn) ravioli in a morel mushroom sauce with sliced prosciutto on top. We both ordered this dish the second time we came in. We both agree it is one of the most incredible things either of us have ever eaten. We would come back to Beaune just to eat this again. (Pictured below)
Langoustine ravioli dish. Best dish of our lives!
Our other meal was at Caveau des Arches. Set in an underground cave the ambiance of this place was a lot of fun. We each had a 3 course set menu which was delicious. We also splurged a little and ordered a bottle of Joseph Drouhin Cote de Beaune - Village. Joseph Drouphin's wines have been made here in Beaune since 1880.
Every night this incredibly dense fog would roll into town. Walking around these streets late at night in the fog was a fun spooky experience.
One evening while walking home from dinner we saw lights beginning to shine on the Cathedral. We slowed down and watched as the church was illuminated in the most vibrant light show! It lasted about 5 minutes and changed scenes from 3D visuals to murals. It was stunning to see especially since we weren't expecting it.
Ang hanging over the side of the wall.
We loved Beaune. Good food, great wine, all in a cute French village with cobblestone streets and friendly people. We can't wait to come back and if you are looking for a new place to visit in France make sure Beaune is on your list.
Now that our wine pallets are classically trained in the fine wines of Burgundy it is now time for the next adventure. A quick train ride south to another Mecca of French cuisine, Lyon, France.
