Dijon afternoon · Les climats du vignoble de Bourgogne

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Dijon

   Dijon was the capital of the Dukes of Burgundy, who in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries were richer than many kings, and the city still carries the marks of that time. The Palais des Ducs, now a town hall and fine arts museum, stands on a wide, curved square, and the narrow streets of the old centre are lined with half-timbered houses and carved doorways. On the wall of the church of Notre-Dame, a small stone owl, the chouette, is worn smooth by the hands of visitors who stroke it with the left hand for luck.

   Read the complete Dijon write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Dijon is where the day begins. Next is The Climats.

2. 2. The Climats

   The Climats of Burgundy are, in plain terms, the vineyard plots of the Côte d'Or, each one with its own name and character, worked and described by monks and growers for nearly a thousand years. The word means little parcels of land with a specific soil, slope and exposure, and the idea is that two vines a few metres apart can yield wines that taste different. Near Ladoix-Serrigny and Beaune the slope faces east and south-east, and the great hill of Corton rises above the villages, covered in vines and crowned with woods.

   Read the complete The Climats write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   The Climats comes up about 43 km into the recorded legs. Next is Les climats du vignoble de Bourgogne.

3. 3. Les climats du vignoble de Bourgogne

   The Côte de Beaune and the Côte de Nuits are two ridges of gentle limestone, barely a hundred metres above the plain of the Saône, and they hold some of the most expensive agricultural land on earth. The phrase Les Climats du vignoble de Bourgogne refers to the small named vineyard plots, each with its own character of soil and exposure, that Burgundians have mapped and cultivated for centuries; the monks of Cluny and Cîteaux did much of the early work, noticing that wine from one plot tasted different from the next and writing it down. UNESCO recognised the whole system as a cultural landscape, and driving through it you can see why, because the walled vineyards, stone huts and village squares are all part of the same story.

   Read the complete Les climats du vignoble de Bourgogne write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 44 km into the recorded legs you reach Les climats du vignoble de Bourgogne. Next is back through The Climats.

4. 4. back through The Climats

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete The Climats write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through The Climats, late in the day. Next is Dijon.

5. 5. Dijon

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Dijon write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Dijon. That is the ride.