Burgundy: abbeys and vineyards

Every year, on the third Sunday in November, the Hôtel-Dieu in Beaune hosts the most famous charitable sale in the world. On this occasion, the bottles produced in the extraordinary 60-hectare vineyard of the Hospices are bought by collectors from around the world. Under the splendid coloured slate roofs, the stars of the day are Aloxe-Corton, Pommard or Meursault...

Even though it might not be the most impressive – far from it! – Cîteaux Abbey was the founding location of the Cistercian Order in 1098. The Rule of Saint Benedict (silence, poverty, solitude) is still respected by the resident small religious community, who also produce one of France's great cheeses, Cîteaux.

It is hard for us today to imagine that during the 12th century Cluny was the most important abbey of the West. Founded three centuries earlier in 910, the abbey has congregated nearly 10,000 monks. The “promenade of angels” maybe has lost its shine since then, but it remains one of the key places for Christianity. Here, we also find a lovely museum of Art and Archeology with beautiful works and Roman sculptures.

The first Bresse farm you are able to visit is in Montrevel-en-Bresse. Hidden behind the timber-framed, cob-filled walls and the square sarrasine chimney lie the difficulties of an earlier time. The second farm is in the nearby commune of Romenay. Transformed into a museum devoted to the terroir, time stopped here in 1937… Both yesterday and a century ago.

On the last Tuesday before Christmas, livestock farmers from the region line up their finest products in the vast warehouses of Montrevel-en-Bresse: fattened chickens, turkeys and capons, carefully plucked and ready to be admired and served up for tasting. Since 1862, Les Glorieuses de Bresse offers a warm atmosphere and a unique competition somewhere between food festival and show.