- ANNECY AND MONT BLANC -

Beaune Part 1

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The following day included a visit to the town of Beaune, the centre of the Burgundy Côte d'Or region. Throughout the region can be seen an architectural roof style which originated in Beaune and which entails the use of multicolored tiles, most notably at the Hotel-Dieu in the town's centre (see next page)

The area around Beaune, the Côte de Beaune, is known for its Burgundy wines, with Beaune (although lacking a Grand Cru vineyard within the commune) as the centre of the wine business.

Beaune is known for its annual wine sales organized by the Hospices de Beaune.

The town is situated on the route des Grands Crus - a tourist road through the vineyards. The road runs north from Beaune to Gevrey Chambertin and Nuits-Saint-Georges, and southwards to Nolay, Saisy and Autun.

The Collegiate Basilica Notre Dame in Beaune was at one time associated with the Benedictine Monastery at Cluny. Building started in 1120. Parts of the building such as the abulatory and nave and aspidal chapels are in Romanesque style. The remainder of the building dating from the 13th to 15th centuries is in Gothic style (left and below).

Jim Skinner in the Royal Canadian College of Organists journal :
"The Basilica de Notre Dame de Beaune is a massive Gothic pile with an organ dating from the mid-seventeenth century with additions in every century since.

"By the 1970s things were in a desperate state of disrepair and the Italian firm of Fermentelli of Verona was brought in to recreate a baroque instrument."