This plan covers three days in the Côte d'Or along the Route des Grands Crus, the 60 km wine route from Dijon to Santenay via Nuits-Saint-Georges and Beaune. The Beaune tourist office recommends following it north to south and allowing 3 to 4 days for the whole route. Direct TGV trains from Paris Gare de Lyon reach Dijon-Ville in 95 minutes (1 hour 35 minutes).
Sleep in Dijon on the first night and in Beaune on the second. By car, Paris to Beaune is 312 km on the A6 highway, about 3 hours 30 minutes. Without a car, TER trains and Mobigo bus line 113 link the villages; see Burgundy without a car.
Day 1
Dijon and the first kilometer of the route
Dijon-Ville station is about 15 minutes on foot from the historic center, a 97-hectare protected area whose boundary follows the former medieval ramparts. The historic center is part of the Climats of Burgundy, added to the UNESCO World Heritage List on July 4, 2015.
Spend the morning on the Owl Trail, a self-guided walk of 22 stops that takes about an hour. It starts at Place Darcy and follows bronze arrows and owl plates set in the pavement, and the tourist office has a booklet for it. The trail passes the owl carved on the Notre-Dame church and the former Palace of the Dukes.
The Palace of the Dukes and Estates of Burgundy dates from the era of the great dukes, between 1363 and 1477. It houses the Fine Arts Museum, with the tombs of the Dukes of Burgundy. Entry is free, and the museum is closed on Tuesdays.
Book the guided climb of the Philippe le Bon Tower: 316 steps to the top of a 46-meter tower, 45 minutes, up to 18 people, €6 ($6).
In the afternoon, walk about 10 minutes from the station, or take tram T2 toward Chenôve to the Monge Cité de la gastronomie stop, to reach the Cité internationale de la gastronomie et du vin at 12 Parvis de l'UNESCO. It sits at the first kilometer of the Route des Grands Crus. Its Chapelle des Climats, in the former hospital chapel, is a free exhibition on the Climats.
The Cité's reception opens daily from 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. from May 1 to September 30. From October 1 to April 30, it opens Monday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on weekends from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Its exhibitions cost €7.50 ($8) when you show a valid TER ticket.
Spend the evening and night in Dijon.
Day 2
The Côte de Nuits from Gevrey-Chambertin to Nuits-Saint-Georges
The Côte de Nuits runs from Dijon to Corgoloin, parallel to the D974, and holds 24 of Burgundy's 33 grands crus. Follow the brown signs with a white grape cluster. Leave in the morning; in Chenôve, at the start of the route, the presses of the Dukes of Burgundy date from the 14th century.
Gevrey-Chambertin is 15 km from Dijon, and the TER from Dijon takes under 10 minutes. Start at the Halle Chambertin, 1 rue Gaston Roupnel, which houses the Gevrey-Nuits tourist office and a free visit with 15 interactive modules on the area's history, heritage and vineyards. It opens Monday to Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The office rents SOLEX electric bikes at €15 ($16) an hour, €30 ($32) a half-day or €45 ($49) a day.
From the Place du château, look over the old village, the plain and the vineyards. The 13th-century Château de Gevrey-Chambertin can be seen only from outside.
Domaine René Leclerc, at 29 bis route de Dijon, runs its visit and tasting of four wines by appointment at 11 a.m. or 3 p.m., for €20 ($22).
Between Gevrey-Chambertin and Vosne-Romanée, 25 grands crus line about 10 km. In Vougeot, the Château du Clos de Vougeot was begun in the 12th century by the monks of Cîteaux Abbey, with a Renaissance manor added in 1551. It no longer produces wine. The tour takes in the 12th-century vat house with its presses, the Petit Cellier and the Grand Cellier.
The self-guided visit needs no reservation and costs €12 ($13), or €9.50 ($10) when you show a Train Mobigo ticket at reception. The guided tour in English, about an hour, runs at 3:30 p.m. and costs €15 ($16), by reservation. From April 1 to October 31, the château opens from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; from November 1 to March 31, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The walled Clos covers 50.59 ha, divided among more than 80 winegrowers.
Vougeot - Gilly-lès-Cîteaux station is on the TER line from Dijon; the fastest train takes 12 minutes.
In Vosne-Romanée, Domaine Armelle et Bernard Rion, 8 route Nationale, receives visitors by prior arrangement only. Its Discovery tour costs €18 ($19), lasts 40 minutes and runs Monday to Saturday, from 2 people.
End the afternoon in Nuits-Saint-Georges. Domaine Henri Gouges, 7 rue du Moulin, opens Monday afternoon to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., preferably by appointment; its Découverte tasting of 3 wines costs €20 ($22). Jean-Claude Boisset – Les Ursulines, 5 chemin des Plateaux, runs a daily tour and tasting in French and English by appointment only, 1 hour 30 minutes, for 12 people at most. The tasting alone costs €15 ($16), and the tour with tasting €35 ($38) or €50 ($54). Nuits-Saint-Georges has a Friday-morning market.
Drive on to Beaune, past the Corton hill at Aloxe-Corton, which lies between the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune and has about 150 ha of grands crus, including Corton and Corton-Charlemagne. Spend the night in Beaune.
Day 3
Beaune and the Côte de Beaune to Santenay
Start at the Hôtel-Dieu of the Hospices de Beaune, 2 rue de l'Hôtel-Dieu, founded in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin, chancellor of the Duke of Burgundy, and Guigone de Salins. Inside are the Salle des Pôvres and Rogier van der Weyden's Last Judgement polyptych, under the polychrome glazed-tile roof. The full adult ticket costs €12.50 ($14).
In 2026 the Hôtel-Dieu opens from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. from April 1 to November 15. The rest of the year, it opens from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The ticket office closes an hour before closing time.
Caves Patriarche Père & Fils, 5 rue du Collège, runs a self-guided cellar visit followed by 6 wines, about an hour, for €25 ($27). It needs no reservation, subject to availability, with 10 people per departure, daily from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The Maison des Climats, in the tourist office at 6 boulevard Perpreuil, is a free exhibition with a model of the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune vineyards more than 9 meters long. The Cité des Climats et vins de Bourgogne, 21 avenue Charles de Gaulle, charges €14.50 ($16) for its visitor trail, which includes a tasting of wines or fruit juices. A TER Mobigo ticket gets a reduced rate there and at the Hôtel-Dieu.
In the afternoon, take the road south through the Côte de Beaune, which runs from Corgoloin to Santenay and on to the Maranges hillside. The Voie des Vignes, reserved for walkers and cyclists, covers the 22 km from Beaune to Santenay via Pommard, Volnay, Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet on local roads with a slight gradient.
In Pommard, Château de Pommard runs every visit by reservation only. Its Discover Burgundy Tasting costs €30 ($32): 45 minutes, 4 wines, up to 8 people, in English or French. Its cellars are closed during restoration work.
In Meursault, Château de Meursault's Grands Terroirs visit tours the château and cellars with 7 red and white wines, 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes, for €59 ($64) and 12 people at most. The château opens every day from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. from May to September, and from 10 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. from October to April. From mid-November to the end of March, it closes on Sunday afternoons, Mondays and Tuesdays.
Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet share five white Grands Crus: Montrachet, Bâtard-Montrachet, Chevalier-Montrachet, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet and Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet. Look for clos, walled plots sometimes with an archway naming the estate, and cabottes, small dry-stone shelters where winegrowers rested and ate.
In Santenay, Château Philippe le Hardi, 1 rue du Château, runs a visit of its cellars and vat room followed by 5 wines, including at least one premier cru, for 2 to 12 people. It lasts 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes, with departures by appointment at 10:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. in French or English. From March 30 to November 15, 2026, it runs Monday to Saturday; in the low season, Monday to Friday only. Book on 03 80 20 61 87.
Stop at the Les Trois Croix viewpoint in Santenay. Santenay and Meursault both have TER stations on the line back to Beaune and Dijon, and the Agence de Tourisme de Santenay at Santenay station rents bikes at €15 ($16) a day and electric bikes at €35 ($38) a day.
From Beaune, the train back to Paris Gare de Lyon takes 2 hours 15 minutes with a change in Dijon.
In September and October, at harvest time, some estates are less available and farm machinery is on the roads, and from November to March fewer wineries are open. In the vineyards, stay on the edges of the rows, don't touch the grapes or vines, and give farm machinery priority on the paths. The legal blood alcohol limit for drivers in France is 0.5 g per liter, and 0.2 g for probationary licenses: spit at tastings if you are driving.
Frequently asked questions
Is three days enough for the Côte d'Or?
The Beaune tourist office recommends allowing 3 to 4 days for the whole Route des Grands Crus, followed north to south from Dijon to Santenay. The route is 60 km long and passes through 37 wine villages of the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune.
Can I do this itinerary without a car?
Yes. TER trains stop at Gevrey-Chambertin, Vougeot-Gilly-lès-Cîteaux, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Beaune, Meursault and Santenay, and carry bikes free. Mobigo bus line 113 runs from Dijon to Beaune through the Côte de Nuits villages in 70 to 85 minutes, but not on May 1.
Do I need to book estate visits in advance?
The Beaune tourist office advises booking activities ahead, although some estates take visitors without an appointment. In Beaune, Caves Patriarche runs walk-in visits subject to availability, and the Clos de Vougeot self-guided visit needs no reservation.
How much do tastings cost along the route?
Entry-level tastings run from €15 ($16) at Jean-Claude Boisset to €59 ($64) for the Grands Terroirs visit at Château de Meursault. René Leclerc and Henri Gouges charge €20 ($22), Caves Patriarche €25 ($27) and Château de Pommard €30 ($32).
