Plumes & Archives brings palaeography and calligraphy together through the Hôtel-Dieu’s hospital records. Participants inspect parchments, lettering and administrative registers before reproducing a passage in an old-fashioned hand. Andréa Hautevelle, who oversees the Hospices Civils de Beaune archives, leads this practical encounter with the institution’s written history.
Topic: events
Grande Saline Guided Visit
Beneath Salins-les-Bains, a working wheel, wooden rocker arm and pump reveal how brine was drawn from the Grande Saline’s wells. The guided route continues into the evaporation room, where harvesting tools and France’s last surviving salt pan explain the salt workers’ craft. The Salt Museum and a saltwater evaporation workshop extend the visit beyond the underground gallery.
Vaille que vaille at Savigny
The Sans Attendre collective revisits the Copiaus troupe in Vaille que vaille, a cabaret commissioned by Maison Jacques Copeau. Actors and comic mischief bring this chapter of Burgundy’s theatre history into the performance. The package pairs the show with estate wine and a regional meal of Cîteaux and Comté gougères, roast pork and apple tart.
Pinot Noir Côte de Beaune Tasting
Domaine Loubet-Dewailly’s Discovery session uses a horizontal tasting to compare Pinot Noir across the Côte de Beaune. Burgundy red, Maranges, Beaune Premier Cru Les Epenottes and Pommard Premier Cru Les Grands Epenots are placed side by side, keeping the grape and harvest consistent while the appellations change. That structure directs attention toward differences between neighbouring terroirs while minimizing the effects created by bottle age. Five generations of family winegrowing inform the comparison, served at the domaine’s cellar near Beaune’s Hospices and Collégiale Notre-Dame. Guests can order other estate wines by the glass, while gougères, charcuterie, cheese or aligot provide regional accompaniments. The central exercise remains a close reading of red Burgundy through place, with each neighbouring appellation given room to show its own character.
Domaine Besancenot Wine Sale Tasting
Domaine Besancenot draws on six generations of Beaune winemaking for a tasting of two white and four red wines. Chorey-les-Beaune and Beaune Premier Cru Les Cent Vignes feature among the whites, with Clos du Roi and Grèves among the reds. Each tasting includes gougères and an engraved glass, pairing the estate’s Burgundian wines with a regional cheese pastry.
Burgundy Wine Tasting Day
This Burgundy tasting day begins with the practice of looking, smelling and tasting white wines, reds and Crémant de Bourgogne. Wine storage, service and food pairings form part of the teaching. A landscape reading in the Grands Crus of the Côte de Beaune follows lunch, before a guided tasting explores terroirs and vintages through the wines in the glass.
Autumn Bourguignon Cooking Workshop
Young cooks prepare an autumn bourguignon served in pumpkin-shaped bread, giving the Burgundian dish a playful presentation. A second recipe turns panna cotta, kiwi and red-fruit coulis into a dessert called Vampire’s Eye. The participatory workshop welcomes children from the age of five, and each young chef receives a reusable cup to take home.
Trail des 2 Salines
Trail des 2 Salines follows the old brine pipeline through the Furieuse and Loue valleys, finishing at the Saline Royale. Runners can tackle a solo or relay trail, while the Gabelous route crosses forests and vineyards from Port-Lesney. Hiking and Nordic walking options follow the same salt-making landscape, with routes for both novice and experienced participants.
Pains Vins Fromages Tasting Salon
Wine producers, artisan breads and cheeses fill the Halles de Beaune for Pains Vins Fromages. The tasting pairs wines from several vineyards with five cheese plates, highlighting cheeses from Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Tourism students from Lycée Clos Maire organise the salon and welcome guests at the stands, with a tasting glass included in admission.
Fêtes de la Vigne Archives
Original documents from Dijon’s Municipal Archives trace the origins and changing character of Les Fêtes de la Vigne. The exhibition examines the festival’s roots in Burgundy’s wine-growing traditions alongside local folklore. Its international and multicultural connections emerge through the records, with guided visits offering another way into this chapter of Dijon’s public life.