The Côte d’Or conjures up a quiet way of life and the pleasures of eating and drinking. The land of the Dukes of Burgundy, this Département has maintained a rich culinary and wine tradition in a setting richly marked by 2000 years of History. Fortified in the Middle Ages, Beaune has conserved the brilliance of a bygone era (including the town walls, towers, Hôtel-Dieu (hospice) and Notre-Dame collegial church), at the same time developing winegrowing and the wine trade, to become a happy, dynamic town.