Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
At the bottom end of the village lies an intimate, upscale hotel-restaurant,
$$$ Le
Castel des Très Girard****.
Located in the heart of the Route des Grands Crus, this
eight-room hotel delivers top service and classy comfort, including cozy lounges, a pool,
and a restaurant that locals go out of their way for (Db-€150-190, unbeatable daily lunch
menu
at €15, €23 for more choices and courses, dinner
menus
from €42, poolside tables,
tel. 03 80 34 33 09,
www.castel-tres-girard.com
,
info@castel-tres-girard.com
).
• Finally, you reach...
Gevrey-Chambertin:
For many pinot noir lovers, a visit to this flowery village is
the pinnacle of their Burgundian pilgrimage. Gevrey-Chambertin produces nine out of the
32 grand cru wines from Burgundy. All are pinot noirs (no whites in sight), and all use
the suffix “Chambertin” (“Gevrey” is the historic name of the village; “Chambertin” is its
most important vineyard). While you drive through the countryside south of the village,
look for signs identifying the famous vineyards.
Domaine René LeClerc
is a good place to sample this prestigious product. Happy-
go-lucky Francois speaks enough English to explain his approach to winemaking (bottles
from€28,daily10:00-19:00,onD-974atthenorthendoftown,29RoutedeDijon,tel.06
31 05 68 50).
The appealing village of Gevrey-Chambertin has a TI (daily, 1 Rue Gaston Roupnel,
tel. 03 80 34 38 40), a small grocery, a café, a pizzeria, a restaurant, and a good-value
hotel. You can sleep well for a steal at
$$ Hôtel les Grands Crus***,
with tradition-
al rooms overlooking vineyards, plus a pleasant patio and free, secure parking (Db-
€88-98, €12 buffet breakfast, air-con, Wi-Fi, at the northwest edge of Gevrey-Cham-
bertin on Rue de Lavaux, tel. 03 80 34 34 15,
www.hoteldesgrandscrus.com
,
hotel.lesgrandscrus@nerim.net
).
Chez Guy
is about the only restaurant in town. It has
snazzy outdoor seating and modern, stylish decor (in the center of the village,
menus
from
€30, open daily, 3 Place de la Mairie, tel. 03 80 58 51 51).
North of Beaune, you'll find a handful of worthwhile places that string together well for
a full-day excursion: towering Châteauneuf-en-Auxois, sleepy Semur-en-Auxois, remote
Fontenay's abbey, pretty little Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, and Julius Caesar's victorious battle-
field at Alise Ste-Reine (with its good museum, MuséoParc Alésia).
As a bonus, following my self-guided driving tour of this area takes you along
several stretches of the
Burgundy Canal
(Canal de Bourgogne). Like much of France,
Burgundy is laced by canals dug in the early Industrial Age. Two hundred years ago,
canals like these provided an affordable way to transport cargo. The Burgundy canal was
