Beaune area (in Burgundy)

:) solid advice

If timing works out, don't miss Beaune's Saturday morning market for food and people-watching. I've always quite like the Hotel Dieu medieval hospital museum in town, and its Last Judgement painting.

The Saturday market, as Laura mentioned, is fantastic. Also as Laura mentioned, don't miss the Hotel Dieu... main reason for going to Beaune. We also really enjoyed the town itself, it's very charming. And we loved the two scenic drives detailed in the RS France guide. Don't miss the charming town of Chateauneuf-en-Auxois and Chateau de la Rochepot. I'd recommend getting the RS France guide from your library and reading all about the area and make copies of pages to bring with you.

I just have to say, if you can afford to go to Europe (and live in Sausalito), you can afford to give Rick Steves $25 for the valuable info in his guidebooks. Photocopying pages from a library is not only cheap but also violates Rick's copyright. Not to mention using the fruits of his efforts for free.

I agree with Susan about everything! Hotel Dieu is the best sight in Beaune, Saturday market is great, I think there's one Wednesday also. The Museum of Wine is interesting. The art museum forgettable. And I'd skip the little "train" ride around the town unless you have more free time than you should. However you access them, the Beaune and Burgundy pages of the RS France guide have a lot of good info.

I agree with the market and the Hotel Dieu (Hospices de Beaune). The tile roof of the Hospices de Beaune is incredible. I also recommend The Chateau de Beaune/Bouchard Pere & Fils winery tour. The winery is located in the fortress that makes up part of the walls that surrounds the city of Beaune. You have to arrange for a tour ahead of time, but it's worth the time. http://www.bouchard-pereetfils.com/en/nearly-3-centuries-of-history/the-chateau-de-beaune/

I also have a restaurant recommendation for Meursault (just outside Beaune) - Le Relais de la Diligence.

We agree with most recommendations. Hotel Dieu in Beaune is a must. We felt that the Wine Museum in Beaune was not worth the money - very disappointing. We enjoyed the tour of the Cassissium in Nuits-Saint-Georges but recommend that you do not buy the products at their store. We found them much cheaper at the Le Clerc store on the main road from Nuits-Saint-Georges and Beaune. We loved Chateau-Neuf-en-Auxios as well. It is a bit hard to find but well worth the visit. We loved lunch at L'Oree du Bois - reasonable prices and great food and atmosphere. The Chateau there is worth a visit as well.

@phred... Don't be ridiculous. Not everyone who lives in Sausalito is wealthy. Just ask my servants. Now if you'll excuse me, it's very warm here on my yacht... I need to ring for a bottle of Cristal....

I just spent 4 wonderful days in Burgundy last week, based in Beaune. If you are there on the market day, it is well worth checking out. Hotel Dieu is the main attraction and definitely worthwhile. I would skip the Musee du Vin museum. If you want an in-town wine tasting and cellar tour, I highly recommend Patriarche. It was the best cellar/caves tour I've ever done... they have about 3,000,000 bottles of wine in storage and you get 13 tastings as you walk through the cellars. Outside of Beaune, driving south through the Cotes de Beaune vineyard villages of Pommard and Mersault on the way to see Chateua de la Rochepot and north through the Cotes de Nuits vineyards along the Route de Grand Cru's villages.... both spectacular! Great restaurants everywhere. The large supermarket in Beaune is a good, economical place to buy wine. Happy trails...

I agree with Bonnie...Chateauneuf en auxois is a neat little village as is Noyers. The creperie L'oree du bois is great .We have eaten there for years...wonderful salads ,crepes, soups, as well as dinner menu. If you will be there in the fall they have a wonderful open fireplace in the middle of the room.The owners are a British couple that speak both English and French. They used to cook on the boats on the Canal.The creperie is very reasonable ...closed on Tuesday I believe. Chateauneuf en auxois is right above the Burgundy canal and there is a picnic table there beneath the castle on the canal...great place for a picnic.

Well Alex, I guess you are not a "creative" type who lives by the "art" they create, whether written, visual, audio, etc. Because if Rick or anyone else does the heavy lifting on your behalf and you benefit from it, don't you think you owe them something? If you find a book you like at the bookstore, is it OK to walk out with it? Is it OK to secretly film a movie and post it to the web? Is it OK for me to drive your car while you make the payments? Is it OK to jump out of a cab without paying, or running out of a restaurant?

I guess it all depends on how you live your life.

While I take phred's essential point, as articulated a few days ago, I disagree that the willingness to copy a book from the library determine's what any Forum member does for a living, or whether they happen to think a dine and dash is kosher. I am intrigued by how frequently the copying of a book is suggested on the Forums-and not just Rick's books; however, as a reference book, I do believe, right or wrong, that folks view it differently than they might a movie, a painting, or other piece of creative output. I personally would never intimate that one's willingness to do that indicates someone who would pirate a movie though, and I disagree with the characterization.
Maybe Rick's okay with this. Is Rick okay with this?

Ok, let me see if I've got this right.... you can check a book out of the library and read it. You are not paying Rick any money to check that book out of the library. That's perfectly ok. But it is not ok to check the book out of the library, copy a few pages... I did not say the whole friggin book... and re-read it when you're in Burgundy. Hmm... makes perfect sense.

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti in village Vosne-Romanée just north of Nuit-Saint-Georges seems to be quiet special. There are a few Grand Cru vineyards around there, producing some nice wines to drink.......hmmm, maybe somewhere on a yacht, for instance...:)