2024 France trip: Champagne and Burgundy

 

Dijon Market: more than mustard.

The Champagne Region

Some would find touring in the champagne region an intoxicating experience in every sense of the word. We’ve arrived far too early in the season to witness the vineyards in their splendor - they’re a dull brown now. We drove through the region and made a quick stop at the city of Châlons en Champagne. It has rivers and canals so it’s called “the sparkling Venice.”  We visited the Catheral and snapped some shots of the very old half-timbered houses. 

Click here for our photo album.

Dermot and I aren’t overly interested in champagne but La Cave aux Coquillages did double duty. It’s a champagne cave dominated by an extraordinary archaeological dig that revealed fossils of seashells, invertebrates and plants that were millions of years old. The tour was entirely in French but we followed along with the English booklet provided. 

This area was once a deep sea, then a seashore before becoming dry land so they found everything from 1 1/2 foot long fossilized gastropods and sharks’ teeth to microscopic corals and plants. As we walked through the tunnel they had carved out niches to display their finds and had also left some fossils only partially excavated and projecting into the tunnel. At the end we saw many caverns carved out for storage of barrels and bottles of champagne. Then we entered the tasting room where we were served a glass of their 2014 vintage extra-brut. The minerals from the limestone where the grapes grow make their way into the champagne. I enjoyed this tour much more than many of my previous vineyard tours which makes me a total nerd, but you already knew that.

Troyes

This city was recommended by Fodors as one of France’s prettiest small towns. My descriptions won’t come as close to doing it justice as the pictures will. We really missed having a Rick Steves guide here. The city tourist map included a  “tourist route” but little background. 

The TI was a necessary stop where they pointed out the markers on the streets that help with navigation and information on current events.  The tourist route is lined with beautiful half-timbered houses that literally look like they lean against each for support. We’d arrived on Saturday and walking around the city is a joy. The place has a lively, fun vibe with interesting modern businesses on the first floor and fascinating upper floors. There are many young people but they also have billboards advertising to “new” seniors as a place where there’s always something interesting to do. The half-timbered houses are painted in beautiful pastels to highlight their architecture and make for lovely photo ops. The cold wind with occasional rain was punctuated with sunny times and we roamed until we found “Le Chat Noir” which was open for an early dinner. Still optimistic, I chose the “Burger Veggie” which did indeed come with grilled veggies but the burger was a breaded potato patty with very little protein. Sigh.

We really enjoyed the heated sanitary block of Camping le Lac d’Orient since temperatures dipped to the low 30’s so we stayed a second night. At 21 euros (with ACSI), it was a steal. On Sunday there was a festival of the countryside that included many local farms and businesses.  We chose one close to our campsite that offered a chance to pick your own flower bouquet and fresh herbs and buy the products from their farm as well as other local vendors. A rabbit terrine with chorizo on baguette slices was our lunch appetizer enjoyed in the relative warmth of our camper with views of the farm while other visitors shivered at picnic tables.

Then we went back into Troyes for the reopening festival of the Musée d’Art moderne. The museum has a very nice collection and it’s housed in a half-timbered building so the interior was interesting to explore with its exposed beams, winding hallways, and circular staircase.  They offered a chance for adults to “repaint the collection.” I was lucky to snag a spot due to a cancellation and thoroughly enjoyed using acrylics and oil pastels to my heart’s content while Dermot took in the exhibit and Cathedral. The local artist who led the class and the students were all very welcoming and they spoke in a mixture of French and English so language wasn’t a problem. 

The Burgundy Region

Finding an acceptable and open campsite near Dijon wasn’t in the cards so we settled for a place between Dijon and Beaune. The average low temperature in this region for April is the mid 40’s but this year it’s been in the low 30’s most mornings. Image showering in your refrigerator and you’ve got it about right. Though a priority in our search, we mostly didn’t find comfortable facilities for about a week. 

The drive leaving the Champagne region to Burgundy included many very interesting tiny towns; wide fields of green interspersed with cheerful yellow canola; and some bumpy roads over hilly terrain. 

Dijon

Dermot loves a good market day and Dijon’s is reputed to be the best in the area so we parked at the station and took the train into the city. We really enjoyed seeing all the fresh local produce, meats, seafood, cheeses, olives and breads. Locals quickly guided their wheeled carts between vendors purposefully ordering and packing away their purchases while we stared into cases overwhelmed by the variety and strangeness of it all.

Then we followed the tourist booklet we purchased around the city taking in lots of interesting and historic sights. Unfortunately, we came on a Tuesday when all the art museums were closed. 

The Cathedral Saint-Bénigne de Dijon had a fascinating baptismal font with an angel flying overhead lifting the cover and must have entertained infants before their sprinkling. Notre Dame takes the prize for the creepiest entrance with its three floors of gargoyles, all uniquely grotesque, staring down and daring you to enter.

Nolay

Dermot downloaded a tour of this small historic town which was narrated by a woman who described herself as having lived in the middle ages as a tanner’s wife who is now a stone sculpture that comes to life once a year. Oddly, she had a British accent. It included stories of life in the Middle Ages and took you to all sorts of places including an old wash house still fed by a stream, through paths between houses and up to the top of a hill through vineyards for a wonderful view. 

Nolay

We had picked a cold, wet and sometimes windy day so it wasn’t the most comfortable sightseeing but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m sure the locals thought we were a bit off.

Beaune

We arrived in Beaune at lunch time to experience a RS endorsed restaurant frequented by locals: Le Bistro de Cocottes. We chose many Burgundian specialities to share - appetizers of Oeuf en Meurette and escargot (burgundy style with hazelnuts), with a main course of Boeuf Bourguignon with puréed potatoes. All were delicious as was Dermot’s wine. 

Later we followed another downloaded tour all over the town. We’d toured the tourist-jammed site of Hospices de Beaune during our first trip so we skipped it and spent our time wandering mostly unimpeded by tour groups or other tourists. We happened on an open eyeglass store and I asked in my broken French for a repair kit and the optician offered to fix them for us. I expected a wait but she fixed them right away and declined any payment. We are often asked if the French are rude but we generally find the French to be very kind and helpful with the occasional exception of servers during very busy times.

Of course, this area is known for its wines and we passed places with famous names like Latour and those lesser known - at least to us. There are quite a few sights dedicated to informing and selling to those interested but we didn’t do any tasting. Our guide explained that the ground beneath the town is honeycombed with wine cellars ensuring the best environment for aging the wines but we skipped those too.

There’s an impressive number of historic sites that have become art venues so we were able to witness multiple exhibits delighting in the combination of old buildings and often classical works surrounding modern paintings and sculptures. This is one of those towns that had us envisioning living here. After enjoying a long stroll all through the town and up to the ramparts for its views of the town and gardens below, we needed a break. Dermot found a pub with big comfy couches and soccer playing on the  screen. Dermot had a beer and I tried the local specialty Kir which is cassis liqueur and white wine. It was very refreshing.