Welcome to Bourgogne
Burgundy is a French administrative region comprising the departments of Yonne, Côte-d'Or, Nièvre and Saône-et-Loire and corresponds to a part of the historical and cultural province located in the centre-east of France.
Historically, Burgundy has been divided into the Duchy of Burgundy and the County of Burgundy. The former constitutes most of the present-day Franche-Comté, while the Duchy of Burgundy roughly corresponds to the Burgundy region except for the Nièvre.
The region of Burgundy is located in central-eastern France. It is bordered by Franche-Comté, Rhône-Alpes, Auvergne, Mid-Loire Valley, Champagne-Ardenne and Ile de France.
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What to see
Burgundy is very popular among food and wine lovers, but also among nature lovers and lovers of ancient buildings such as the castles of Ancy-le-Franc, Bazoches, Berzé-le-Châtel or Cormatin and Tanlay among others.
Other must-see historical buildings include the Guédelon, an imposing medieval building unique in Europe, the Beuvray mountain, which houses the Bibracte museum, and the MuséoParc Alésia.
To revitalise yourself, a walk in the Morvan Regional Nature Park or a bike ride along the Voie Verte de Saône-et-Loire is perfect, but if you want to relax in the greenery, go to the beautiful Lac des Settons in Nièvre and enjoy its many water activities available there.
What to eat
The Burgundy salad made with ham and parsley and Burgundy-style snails is one of the best first courses to start tasting the gastronomy of the region and whet your appetite for the main course.
It is followed by onion soup. Although there are other theories, legend has it that the soup was invented by Louis XV when he discovered in the early hours of the morning that he only had onions, butter and champagne as provisions - he cooked all three ingredients and came up with the first French onion soup!
And, not a dessert but a well-known dish, are Burgundy truffles which are edible mushrooms usually accompanied by Camembert cheese. This delicious dish can be enjoyed as an appetizer or as a substitute for your usual cheese plate and goes very well with a light red wine.
Nature
Basse-Burgundy is a region of sedimentary plains comprising the agricultural side of Senonais and the forest side of Othe which dominates the valleys of Yonne and Armançon.
The Morvan, a former forest massif, classified as a Regional Natural Park, is surrounded by clay-like plains where cattle farming is practised, influenced by the Dheune-Bourbince coal depression.
The Mâconnais, a land of agriculture, livestock and vineyards, offers a particular geography with the Saône plain and a more mountainous landscape culminating in the communes of Montmelard, Tramayes and Pierreclos.
Our festivities
The festival of Pow Wou Danse Avec la Loue is held for two days full of emotions as it commemorates the arrival of the Amerindians in the Loue Valley to celebrate the birth of Mother Earth through ceremonies, dances and sacred chants in the form of conferences.
Saint-Vincent Tournante de Vézelay is another traditional festival celebrated at the foot of the homonymous basilica in January, with the procession of Saint Vincent before the mass, which brings together a hundred or so confraternities, and finishes with the procession of local confraternities and a wine-tasting session.
The Comtois horse competition is also known in this region for its robust, muscular and compact horses with short, powerful limbs exhibited during it, which are dressed and groomed for the occasion.
