Holidays in Burgundy: where to go and what to do

Burgundy, an invitation to travel properly

Planning a holiday in Burgundy means choosing an immersion in the French art of living, where centuries of heritage sit alongside generous countryside. This historic region, a genuine geographic crossroads, offers landscapes running from the prestigious vineyards of the Cote d'Or to the mysterious forests of the Morvan. To get a stay right, it helps to grasp the scale of a place covering more than 31,000 square kilometres and holding no fewer than eight UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Beyond the cliches, Burgundy turns out to be a land of contrasts, ideal for slow travel and for looking properly at things. Whether you care about great wine, medieval history or unspoilt country, each department has its own surprises, from the Yonne to the Saone-et-Loire. For anyone after a strategic anchor point, Autun offers an exceptional setting. Only two hours from Paris by train, it lets you find an authentic Burgundy while keeping a peaceful atmosphere, far from the noise of the larger cities. This is where Roman history meets Burgundian elegance.

Where to put your bags: the appealing parts of Burgundy

A good holiday depends largely on your base camp. The region is a mosaic of territories with distinct identities, each deserving attention when you plan the route.

Historic towns and wine capitals: Beaune, Dijon and Vezelay

Anyone drawn to architecture and history will naturally turn to the emblematic towns. Dijon, the former capital of the dukes of Burgundy, wins people over with its palace and its 97 hectares of protected historic quarter. Further south, Beaune is essential for its famous Hospices and its central role in the wine trade. Vezelay, with the basilica of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, is a major spiritual stop on the routes to Santiago de Compostela. Autun amply deserves its place among these destinations, with its remarkable Gallo-Roman heritage: the Roman theatre, which could hold 20,000 spectators, and the Porte d'Arroux both speak for the scale of ancient Augustodunum, and open onto more than two thousand years of history.

The green setting of the Morvan and its quiet lakes

For an escape built around countryside and recovery, the Morvan Regional Natural Park is a strong choice. This granite massif, covering close to 281,400 hectares, is the green lung of Burgundy. It holds large man-made lakes such as Lac des Settons, at 360 hectares, and Lac de Panneciere, both good for water sports and fishing. This is wild country, where fir and broadleaf forest contrast strikingly with the vineyard plains, and it is ideal for walking away from the crowds.

The Route des Grands Crus and the wine villages

Nicknamed the Champs-Elysees of Burgundy, the Route des Grands Crus crosses the most prestigious part of the vineyard over sixty kilometres, from Dijon to Santenay. This legendary itinerary passes through 37 wine villages with evocative names such as Gevrey-Chambertin, Vosne-Romanee and Pommard. This is where you find the Climats, those delimited and ranked parcels of vineyard, on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 2015. The area holds an exceptional density of estates offering tastings and direct sales.

Vue sur les vignes de Bourgogne

The quiet charm of the canals and rivers

Burgundy is also a land of water, meshed by a navigable network of more than a thousand kilometres. The Canal de Bourgogne, linking the Yonne to the Saone, and the Canal du Nivernais are jewels for river tourism and cycling. Hiring a licence-free boat or riding the towpaths lets you appreciate the Burgundian countryside at a gentler pace. These waterways cross varied landscapes, punctuated by flower-decked locks and remarkable engineering such as the Pouilly-en-Auxois tunnel.

What to do in Burgundy

A stay in Burgundy is not limited to looking; this is a region you live through sensory and cultural experience. Here is how to structure your days to get at what it is.

Into the food and the wine

Burgundian food is an institution, carried by exceptional produce such as Charolais beef, Bresse chicken, the only poultry in the world with a protected designation of origin, and Burgundy snails. The region holds a long list of Michelin-starred restaurants, evidence of culinary skill of a high order. The wine experience is inseparable from the table: joining a tasting in a vaulted cellar or visiting a wine chateau makes the complexity of the terroirs legible. For enthusiasts, the Cite internationale de la gastronomie et du vin in Dijon offers immersive workshops across generous exhibition space.

Outdoors: between land and water

Outdoor activities are plentiful. The greenway network, one of the densest in France, links the main sites safely and suits families. In the Morvan, the more energetic can take to the mountain-bike circuits or go rafting on the Cure and the Chalaux. In winter, the Haut-Folin, the highest point at 901 metres, even allows cross-country skiing when there is enough snow. The variety of landscape makes an inexhaustible playground for walkers, with paths such as the GR13 crossing the region from north to south.

Cultural immersion: chateaux, abbeys and museums

The built heritage here is unusually dense. Besides the famous Hospices de Beaune, Burgundy holds hundreds of chateaux, from the medieval Chateau de Chateauneuf-en-Auxois to the Renaissance elegance of Ancy-le-Franc. Religious buildings hold their own: Fontenay Abbey, founded in 1118 and UNESCO-listed, is a masterpiece of Cistercian Romanesque art in exceptional condition. At Autun, the Musee Rolin, currently being transformed into the Panoptique, holds collections running from Gallo-Roman archaeology to nineteenth-century fine art.

Time with the family

For a family holiday, Burgundy offers educational and enjoyable sites. The medieval building site at Guedelon, in the Yonne, where a fortified castle is being raised using thirteenth-century techniques, is unique in Europe and fascinates children and parents alike. The MuseoParc Alesia offers an interactive plunge into the Gallic wars on the site of the battle itself. For something more naturalist, the Parc de l'Auxois combines an animal park with water leisure across forty hectares, which will fill a day for younger visitors.

Preparing your stay: practical advice

Careful organisation is the key to enjoying Burgundy without stress. Here are the essentials for the logistics.

When to visit Burgundy

Burgundy works all year, but each season shows a different face. Spring, in May and June, is ideal for seeing the countryside wake and enjoying the gardens without summer pressure. Autumn, particularly September and October, is the reigning period for anyone who cares about wine: the harvest animates the vineyard and the landscapes of the Cote d'Or turn spectacular shades of gold. Summer concentrates the music festivals and the evening events, while winter offers an intimate atmosphere, suited to museums and comforting food by the fire.

Season	Climate	Visitor numbers	Highlights
Spring	Mild, sometimes wet	Moderate	Flowering, walking, canals
Summer	Warm and sunny	High	Festivals, swimming, evenings out
Autumn	Cool and bright	Moderate to high	Harvest, vineyard colour, food
Winter	Cold, sometimes snowy	Low	Christmas markets, museums, Burgundy truffle

Choosing where to stay

The choice of accommodation in Burgundy is wide, from campsites to luxury hotels. For a genuinely immersive experience, we would suggest favouring places with a soul. Historic properties offering apartments or guest rooms are a refined alternative to standardised hotels. Staying in a house with character, a maison de maitre or a converted convent, lets you live the history from the inside. At Maison Constant for instance, the heritage setting is paired with modern comfort to offer an authentic experience, where Palladian architecture and gardens planted with rare species tell a long story while guaranteeing complete privacy.

Getting around and planning your route

Although the rail network serves the main axes such as Dijon, Beaune and Le Creusot reasonably well, a car remains the most flexible way to reach remote villages and the Morvan. To make the most of your time, a central base is strategic. Being based in Autun is a considerable advantage: its central position gives access in under an hour to the Cote de Beaune vineyards, the Morvan lakes or the Cluniac sites, which saves changing accommodation every day.

Your Burgundian adventure is waiting

Burgundy is much more than a tourist destination; it is a region that invites you to take your time, to enjoy the moment and to reconnect with what matters. Whether you are drawn by the scale of the vineyards, the silence of the Morvan forests or the richness of old stone, a holiday here will leave a lasting mark.

We would invite you to find preserved places where history and elegance meet. Set in its wooded park of nearly a hectare, Maison Constant offers the ideal setting for an escape outside time, combining country calm with the attractions of Autun. Pack your bags; Burgundy is ready to show you its best-kept secrets. In the same street-side pavilion, the Camellia offers 42 m2 in warmer tones: a bedroom, a living room with a sofa bed and a fully equipped kitchen.

Frequently asked questions

Which is the finest part of Burgundy?

Hard to settle, since each area has its own charm. The Cote d'Or wins people over with its UNESCO-listed vineyards, while southern Burgundy attracts with the Romanesque charm of the Maconnais. The Morvan, for its part, offers the wildest and most preserved landscapes in the region.

Where can you spend a holiday in Burgundy?

You can choose an urban stay in Dijon or Beaune, a country retreat in the Morvan park, or a central town of art and history such as Autun. Rental options run from rural cottages to historic houses with character.

Which is the finest village in Burgundy?

Chateauneuf-en-Auxois, perched with its medieval castle, and Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, famous for its aniseed sweets, are among the officially designated most beautiful villages in France. Vezelay and Noyers-sur-Serein are also essential for their preserved architecture.

What can you do in Burgundy with children?

Families will enjoy the medieval building site at Guedelon, the MuseoParc Alesia for history, or the Parc de l'Auxois for animals. Cycling on the greenways and swimming in the Morvan lakes are also very popular.