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BURGUNDY/BOURGOGNE
GENERAL INFORMATION
Burgundy,
otherwise
known
as Bourgogne
is one of the 26 régions of
France and has four departments,
Côte-d'Or, Saône-et-Loire, Nièvre, and Yonne.
Dijon is the historic capital;
other cities are Autun, Auxerre, Beaune, Bourg-en-Bresse, Chalon-sur-Saône, and
Mâcon.
Wine is one of the pillars and pride of
Burgundy, with some of the most famous wines in the world coming from the
concentrated vineyards. The Romans introduced grapes and the production was
mastered by the local monks. Burgundy
is especially famous for the wine produced in the Chablis region, the mountains
of the Côte d'Or, and the Saône and Rhône valleys.
HISTORY
The
région of Bourgogne is both larger and smaller than the historical
Burgundy. It is made up of the following old provinces:
· Burgundy:
Côte-d'Or, Saône-et-Loire, and southern half of Yonne. This corresponds to the
old duchy of Burgundy (later called "province of Burgundy"). However, the old
county of Burgundy (later called "province of Franche-Comté") is not included
inside the Bourgogne région,
but it makes up the Franche-Comté région.
Also, a small part of the duchy of Burgundy (province of Burgundy) is now
inside the Champagne-Ardenne région.
· Nivernais:
Nièvre département
· The
northern half of Yonne is a territory that was not part of Burgundy (at least
not since the 11th century), and was a frontier between Champagne,
Île-de-France, and Orléanais, depending from each of these provinces at
different times in history
THINGS TO DO AND SEE
Burgundy is criss-crossed by some 6000 km of
footpaths. Many of these follow the lines of old Celtic ways, Roman roads
or forest tracks, while others have been created from scratch to provide an
unmatched panoply of landscapes and relief for hikers of every kind.
In
Burgundy, there are nearly 746 miles of rivers and canals almost deserted by
commercial traffic but available for pleasure boating. It is in the heart
of this region that you find the watershed between the valleys of the three
principal French rivers, the Seine, the Loire and the Rhone. During the 17th,
18th and 19th centuries a vast network of canals were built throughout Burgundy
in order to join up these three rivers, which offer, in addition to the already
navigable rivers Saône, Yonne and Seille, boating opportunities of great
tourist interest.
Take a leisurely drive down the region’s wine roads taking in world-famous
vineyards, cobbled courtyards and thick walled stone buildings of the small
towns along the way. Or view the vines from above in a "hot air balloon"
ride. A scenic jaunt down Burgundy’s waterways in a luxury hotel barge or
a houseboat is another unique way to view Burgundy's pastoral landscapes.
No matter how you choose to discover Burgundy, be sure to make time for the
UNESCO world heritage sites of 'Fontenay', one of the best preserved Cistercian
abbeys in France; 'Vézelay' and its 'Basilica Sainte Madeleine', once one of
the major pilgrimage sites of the Christian world; as was 'la Charité sur
Loire' on the banks of the river Loire. Its church has recently been recognized
as a UNESCO world heritage site.
Museums are abound in this land of cultural riches. Some of the must-sees
include the Cassissium museum in Nuits-Saint-Georges on the universe of the
blackcurrant fruit - cultivated right here, the Bibracte Museum in the Morvan
with its archaeological finds from the last 2000 years, the F1 Grand Prix
racing circuit, with racing and karting courses for amateurs of thrills and the
Nicéphore Niepce Photography Museum in Chalon-sur-Saône.
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