Paris to Beaune and Burgundy by private car — wine country

Burgundy is three and a quarter hours south of Paris on the A6 and it is the second of the two French wine regions where a private driver is not optional. The Route des Grands Crus runs sixty kilometres from Dijon to Santenay through villages whose names are on the labels — Gevrey-Chambertin, Vougeot, Vosne-Romanée, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Pommard, Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet — and the domaines are small, appointment-only and spread across all of them.

Beaune itself is the centre of the wine trade and the town most people base the day on: the Hôtel-Dieu with its Burgundian tiled roof, the Marché aux Vins, and streets built on kilometres of cellars.

Distance

320 km

Drive time

3 h 15 each way

Day length

12–13 h, or one way

From

€1,220

A long day, or a better two

Beaune as a day trip from Paris is six and a half hours of driving for five or six on the ground. It is done and it works, but Burgundy rewards an overnight more than most of our destinations, because the good tastings are in the late afternoon and the good restaurants are in the evening.

The alternative most of our clients now choose is a one-way transfer to Beaune or Dijon, two nights there, and either a return transfer or a continuation south to Lyon, Annecy or Geneva. One way is roughly 60 percent of the return price.

Where to taste

Burgundy is not Champagne: there are almost no walk-in visitor centres and the domaines are family operations that need an appointment. If you have a contact, use it. If you do not, the Marché aux Vins in Beaune and the Cassissium in Nuits-Saint-Georges are the two places that take visitors without introduction, and the Château du Clos de Vougeot gives you the history even if the tasting is elsewhere.

Tell us at the time of booking if you want us to try to arrange a domaine visit; it depends heavily on the date and on how far ahead you ask.

Dijon, and the rest of the region

Dijon is twenty-five minutes north of the Côte de Nuits and is worth the detour: the Ducal Palace, the covered market by Gustave Eiffel and the owl trail through the old town. Further out, the Abbaye de Fontenay and Vézelay are both UNESCO sites within an hour of the route, and Cluny is ninety minutes south — a better pairing with a two-day trip than with a single long day.

What makes this journey different

• The Hospices de Beaune and its polychrome roof
• The Route des Grands Crus through the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune
• Cellar tastings in Gevrey-Chambertin, Nuits-Saint-Georges or Meursault
• Château du Clos de Vougeot, and the Romanée-Conti plot with its stone cross
• Also runs one way, or onward to Lyon, Geneva and the Alps

How the day runs

1. 06:30Pick-up in Paris

   Early, because the driving is the constraint on this one.

2. 09:45Gevrey-Chambertin and the Côte de Nuits

   The grand cru road, Clos de Vougeot and the Romanée-Conti plot.

3. 12:00Beaune

   The Hôtel-Dieu, lunch, and the Marché aux Vins.

4. 15:00Côte de Beaune

   Pommard, Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet, and a tasting if one is booked.

5. 20:00Back in Paris

   Or dropped in Beaune or Dijon if you are staying on.

What the price includes

• The whole vehicle, not a seat: four people pay what one person pays.
• All motorway tolls and fuel, on both legs of the journey.
• Your driver’s waiting time at every stop, with no meter running.
• Parking charges at the sites you visit.
• Baby, child and booster seats, fitted free on request.
• Flight tracking and free waiting time if your plane lands late.
• Bottled water, phone chargers and Wi-Fi on board.
• A written invoice, issued by a licensed French VTC operator.

Frequently asked questions

Other journeys out of Paris