Burgundy Cycling Holiday Itinerary

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Burgundy is fascinating because of the history of its Dukes, because of its amazing clerical heritage, its role in the development of both the Benedictine and Cistercian orders, its fabulous range of traditional gourmet food, and of course its wines. To be inspired by Burgundy we have to see something of all of these traditions. Our route this week starts close to the Abbey of Fontenay near Montbard, and we use the Canal du Bourgogne to help us find a route through the hills of the Auxois and the approaches to Dijon so that our cycling tour is untroubled either by traffic or by extreme terrain. From Dijon we explore the famous vineyards of the Côtes d'Or on our way to Beaune. In Beaune we can visit the unforgettable Hôtel Dieu and explore further south, wine tasting in Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet.

At the risk of blowing our own trumpet I believe this is the best cycling itinerary of Burgundy around. Our tour shows why Burgundy is fabulous, not merely that it has some wines that are too expensive to buy.

Cycling Holiday : Day 1 - Saturday

We Start with a Great Dinner - Gourmet Food in Montbard

Our tour starts in Montbard, north of Dijon. The best way there is via Dijon, either by Eurostar/TGV from London or fly to Paris and take the TGV. We arrange transfers to our first hotel in Montbard, the 3 Hotel de L'Ecu. Our host, Gerard Coupat, is a wonderful chef. The whole family provide a lovely welcome. Gourmet food and a wine list to match.

Cycling Holiday : Day 2 - Sunday

Romans Defeat Vercengetorix and Cistercians Invet the Pneumatic Hammer

From Montbard we head directly to the Abbaye de Fontenay, the oldest surviving Cistercian abbey in the world. The Cistercian order was founded by St Bernard as a direct response to the luxurious lifestyle of the monks at Cluny.

The setting is a beautiful river valley, and the monks were self-sufficient, growing medicinal herbs for their own hospital and mining local iron ore for their own forge. They even managed to invent the world's first pneumatic hammer. An industrious lot, and Michelin give Fontenay the maximum 3 rating, 'worth a journey in itself'.

We then follow the Canal du Bourgogne to Alise-Ste-Reine, where there is a giant statue of Vercengetorix erected by Napolean III. Fleeing the Romans, Vercengetorix and the gauls made camp on top of Mont Auxois, only to be surrounded by Ceasar's army.

A far larger Gaul army was on its way from Clermont Ferrand, so Ceasar built two sets of parallel defences around the hill, the first to keep Vercengetorix in, and the second to keep out the Gaulish rabble . After six weeks Vercengetorix surrendered, only to be paraded in Rome and subsequently strangled.

There is some dispute as to the site of Alésia, but the erection of the huge bronze statue of the man himself has settled the issue as far as the local tourist board are concerned.

We follow the canal again before climbing to the beautiful walled town of Semur-en-Auxois. There is some irony in this name as Semur derives from the latin sine muros, without walls.

The town is surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs carved by the river Armancon, and is a truly beautiful little town. Tonight we stay at the 3 Hotel d'Aussois where the menu includes several Burgundy classics. Distance 31 miles / 52 km

Cycling Holiday : Day 3 - Monday

In the Middle of Nowhere with the Canal du Bourgogne

Downhill, and back to the canal at Marigny le Cahouët. The Canal de Bourgogne has been described (who by?) as the most beautiful route in France, and it's certainly a great trick for tackling hills.

The quality of the towpath varies on this section, so we'll be forced onto the road on occasion, but this is no great hardship as we pass through delightful villages like Braux and St Thibault. At Pouilly-en-Auxois the canal reaches its summit, the highest point on the canal, and by the time we get there you'll know you've been cycling uphill. Just think how bad it would have been without a canal!

At Pouilly the canal disappears into a tunnel, and we continue our cycling tour over the top of the hill and down the other side to the delightful village of Chateauneuf. Distance 28 miles / 45 km

Cycling Holiday : Day 4 - Tuesday

All Downhill to Dijon - Very Nearly

Returning to our favourite canal we can reflect that having passed the summit point it must be all downhill to Dijon. Our route now follows the canal and a cycle path through beautiful forests all the way into Dijon. Today we cycle past more than 50 locks, and as well as delightful canal-side villages and restaurants we pass through Velars, and the chance to visit one of the famous mustard factories of Dijon.

Tonight we stay at the Hostellerie de Sauvage where the owners particularly welcome cyclists, and weather permitting we can eat in their lovely courtyard. Dijon is a fascinating place. Historically Dijon was the home of Burgundy 's aristocracy. Anxious to be within the protection offered by the city walls, they were forced to buy existing plots of land and buildings to build their townhouses, which has led to the fascinating juxtaposition of grand town houses shoe-horned into strangely shaped plots alongside the housing and shops of ordinary Dijonais. The centre of it all is the Duke's palace, now the town hall, and also housing the Musée des Beaux-Arts. Distance 31 miles / 50 km

Cycling Holiday : Day 5 - Wednesday

Oooh - Napolean's Favourite Wines

Wine country here we come! Enough of the excuses of the last three days. Beautiful, yes; interesting, certainly. But why did we come to Burgundy? To visit the Côtes D'Or and the famous vineyards of Nuits St George and Beaune.

Today we'll leave Dijon alongside our old friend the Canal du Bourgogne before we head west towards the hills of the Côtes D'Or. During today we follow tiny roads and tracks through vineyards, visiting vineyards in Marsannay and in Gevrey-Chambertin, as well as the Clos de Vougeot before we arrive at Nuits St Georges where we stay at the Hostellerie Saint Vincent.

The Chateau at Clos de Vougeot is well worth a visit. Originally built by the monks of the Abbaye de Citeaux, the Chateau has been beautifully restored. One room dating back to the 12th century contains four original oak presses that are truly enormous, each one weighing over 20 tons. Once a year one of these presses is still used when the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin kick off Les Trois Glorieuses on the eve of the Beaune auction.

The main function room is the old wine cellar. It isn't actually a cellar - the monks replicated the attributes of a cellar by building a vast low-ceilinged room with tiny windows and a roof of soil several feet thick. This is where the Chevaliers strut their stuff. The Château also boasts a 'spectacular' 14th century pitched roof. The adjective is from Michelin, and it's fully justified here. Distance 22 miles / 35 km

Cycling Holiday : Day 6 - Thursday

More Wine Tasting in the Côtes D'Or

Still in the heart of wine country, but today has a different feel to it. Yesterday our cycling holiday led us through world-famous vineyards, producers of wines that most of us will never taste. Today, as we explore the Côtes de Beaune, we tackle some more challenging cycling and visit the beautiful villages of Savigny-les-Beaune and Aloxe-Corton on our route to Beaune. Here, the wine makers can't command the sky-high prices of their more illustrious neighbours, but at their best still produce high-quality wines.

Today is a relatively short cycling day, so we should have time for wine tasting in both Aloxe and Savigny before we make our way to Beaune.

Beaune is dominated by the wine industry. The old town exists still behind its old wall, and the centre is filled with the premises of négociantes as well as the wonderful Athanæum shop, a serious threat to the wallet of any wine-lover, and featuring books and artefacts as well as its fine wine shop. The highlight, though, is the Hospice, and a visit is a must. We stay about 4 miles out of Beaune in Ste Marie-la-Blanche. Distance 22 miles / 35 km

Cycling Holiday : Day 7 - Friday

Probably the Best White Wines in the World

We're staying at Ste Marie-la-Blanche again tonight. There are a whole series of classic wine villages running south of Beaune toward Macon and the Beaujolais region.

Once again we're on tiny roads winding through the vineyards as we visit Pommard, Volnay and Meursault, home to white wines hailed as the finest in the world. The name derives from the local name for the valley that divides them from Beaune, the Rat's Leap.

From Meursault we cycle to the village of Puligny-Montrachet where we'll do some wine tasting with Olivier-Lefalive Freres.

After wine tasting, we go onto Chassagne-Montrachet and then to Cagny, where we join the Canal du Centre on a tailor-made cycle path.

We'll then begin our return to Ste Marie-la-Blanche via tiny roads with the hills of the Côtes D'Or behind us. Distance 25 miles / 40 km

Cycling Holiday : Day 8 - Saturday

That's It Folks - End of Cycling Tour - Time to Go Home

Reasonably civilised departure to catch the 10.04 from Dijon to Paris for onward connections to London and Paris airports.