Mr Dent says...
Excellent gastronomic holiday with reasonable exercise.
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This six-night gastronomic walking holiday invites you to discover the essence of Burgundy; a place where centuries-old culture and practices meet the modern world in a region world famous for its traditions of wine and gastronomy. Here you'll find medieval Beaune, whose walled old town houses the immaculately preserved 15th century Hospices de Beaune, picture-perfect Meursault and a host of authentic Burgundy chateaux; this region has more chateaux than any other in France. To the north, past the Combe Lavaux - Jean Roland Nature Reserve, where wildflowers grow and peregrine falcons and eagles nest, lies the regional capital of Dijon. The city boasts a rich blend of architecture alongside the magnificent palace of the Valois Dukes, now home to the Museum of Fine Art.
The walks provide a wonderful balance of quiet country lanes, vineyard tracks and woodland trails taking in sleepy, unspoilt villages, majestic vine-clad hills and ancient oak forest. Sample fine wines in 13th century cellars and enjoy lunch in a selection of medieval towns including world-renowned Nuits-St-Georges. Walk the historic streets of Dijon and hunt for truffles with Yann and his dog Elfe in the grounds of a secluded chateau.
This area is popular with gastronomes and for good reason! You can look forward to fine dining on Filet de boeuf flambe a la sauce creme de truffe or Sandre aux echalotes confites et au Pommard and sampling some of the regional cheeses - Brillat Savarin and Epoisses - accompanied by the region's incredible Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines. You'll stay in wonderful hotels including an elegantly renovated farmhouse with picturesque gardens, a lovingly restored former winery and a modern 4 star hotel complete with spa facilities.
Read more about this holiday in The Good Life France.
Walking is along a mixture of small country roads, vineyard tracks, and woodland or forest paths. Walking boots are recommended.
Wander the streets of Beaune and marvel at the multi coloured roofs of the 15th Century Hospices de Beaune. Overnight at the perfectly located Hotel Le Central and take your pick from the plethora of local restaurants nearby.
You stay at the Hotel Le Central (breakfast at the hotel)
You'll begin by crossing over the northern tip of the limestone escarpment of the Cote-d'Or to gain wonderful views across the plain as you descend to the village of Chenove. From here turn south and wind your way along the Chemin des Grand Crus, passing the vineyards of Couchey and Fixin and continuing along to the famous wine village of Gevrey-Chambertin.
You stay at Rotisserie du Chambertin (breakfast at the hotel and evening meal either in the hotel or a local restaurant)
Options today include taking the train to Dijon or Beaune. In Dijon stroll the history-filled streets and alleyways with 12th-15th century timbered houses to see the Church of Notre Dame, cathedral and the grand Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy. In Beaune marvel at the multi-coloured roofs of the 15th century Hospices de Beaune.
You stay at Rotisserie du Chambertin (breakfast at the hotel and evening meal either in the hotel or a local restaurant)
Leave the vines behind today and head up into the woods where you'll follow an old disused railway track. Wind through shady, protected woodland before emerging back into the sun-soaked vines behind tranquil Morey-St-Denis, a good place to enjoy a coffee break. Continue on through the sleepy village of Chambolle-Musigny to Vougeot and visit the historic Chateau du Clos de Vougeot which produces one of the world's most celebrated Grand Cru wines. From here it's just a short distance to Vosne-Romanee where your 4 star hotel and restaurant await.
You stay at Le Richebourg (breakfast and evening meal)
Stroll through the vines to the medieval town of Nuits-St-Georges, world-famous for its wines. There are many opportunities for wine tasting in the wine 'caves' in the town, however, why not take a visit to Le Cassissium, an experience dedicated to Creme de Cassis, a blackcurrant liquer added to wine to make a Kir. Alternatively the L'Imaginarium provides a wonderful insight into the wonderful world of vines, vineyards and wine in the area. Or perhaps take a walk through the woods to the Chateau-entre-Deux-Monts. in the hills behind the vineyards of Vosne Romanee.
You stay at Le Richebourg (breakfast and evening meal)
A 25-minute transfer takes you to Pernand-Vergelesses to follow vineyard tracks past the Hill of Corton, once owned by Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne. Then it's on to medieval Savigny-les-Beaune for a morning coffee next to the impressive chateau, which houses a collection of vintage cars, motorbikes and planes. Walking up through woodland, you emerge above Beaune with spectacular views over the town and its surrounds. Descending into the vineyards you can visit the Parc de la Bouzaise or Beaune.
You stay at the Hotel Le Central (breakfast at the hotel)
During your holiday you stay at the following hotels. If you'd like to extend your time at any of these or, if you'd like to enhance your stay with an upgraded room, just let us know at the time of booking.
To find out more call our sales team on 01606 720199, use our live webchat (we're open from 9am today) or email sales@headwater.com
Find out more on the hotel website.
Read customer reviews on Tripadvisor.
Find out more on the hotel website.
Read customer reviews on Tripadvisor.
Room upgrades: Superior
Find out more on the hotel website.
Read customer reviews on Tripadvisor.
NEARBY:
Room upgrades: Terrasse Room, Junior Suite or Cocoon / Sauna Room.
The Cocoon room comes equipped with a private infrared sauna, offering the same benefits as a traditional sauna, but at a more tolerable temperature.
If you'd like to extend your trip with extra nights at the start or end, or if you'd like to arrange a stop off point en-route, then we recommend the following hotels.
Find out more on the hotel website.
Read customer reviews on Tripadvisor.
Our aim is to provide holidays that are unbeatable for choice and flexibility. We've listed our most popular travel options below, however you aren't limited to these - we can tailor-make virtually any holiday to suit.
To find out more about the travel options available call our sales team on 01606 720199, use our live webchat (we're open from 9am today) or email sales@headwater.com
Air-rail prices include our standard flights, onward rail and station transfers
Out: British Airways Heathrow to Paris CDG 07:15/09:35 then rail Paris Bercy to Beaune 13:35/16:58 then transfer to hotel 10 minutes. Return: Transfer to station 10 minutes then rail Beaune to Paris Lyon via Dijon 09:41/12:03 Fridays & Beaune to Paris Lyon via Lyon Part Dieu 09:00/13:01 Mondays then British Airways Paris CDG to Heathrow 16:35/16:55.
Business/club/first class seats are available on request.
Alternative Air Travel
Alternative flights, onward rail to your holiday area, and connecting private transfers can be arranged from most UK airports. If you would like to use one of the many 'low cost' airlines, we can book these on your behalf. We can also book UK shuttles to connect with your onward flight, please call for details and prices.
Popular alternative routes for this holiday include:
| From | To | Airline(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | Paris Charles de Gaulle | Air France |
| Bristol | Paris Charles de Gaulle | Easyjet |
| Dublin | Paris Charles de Gaulle | Aer Lingus |
| Edinburgh | Paris Charles de Gaulle | Air France, Easyjet |
| Glasgow | Paris Charles de Gaulle | Air France |
| London Gatwick | Paris Charles de Gaulle | Easyjet |
| London Luton | Paris Charles de Gaulle | Easyjet |
| Manchester | Paris Charles de Gaulle | Air France |
| Newcastle | Paris Charles de Gaulle | Air France |
| Other UK airports | Paris Charles de Gaulle | Various airlines |
Eurostar
We can also book connecting daily Eurostar services for customers preferring not to fly, from London and Ashford in Kent. Please call for details and prices.
Self drive
We can arrange various channel crossings for you. Please call for details and prices.
Standard transfers
Transfers can be arranged at a supplement from Beaune train station at 16:58 and back to Beaune train station at 09:15 Fridays & 08:30 Mondays.
Alternative transfers
If you require alternative transfers (because you will be arriving at a different time to our standard flights), then we can usually arrange these for you (there may be an additional charge).
Should you require overnight airport accommodation, airport parking or even a uniformed chauffeur to take your car from your departure terminal and park it for you, we can arrange this for you through Holiday Extras. You can book airport parking, airport hotels and executive lounges directly through their website - or call us on 01606 720199 for further details of all the services on offer. Early booking is recommended to obtain the best availability and prices.
Everyone who goes on a Headwater holiday will be emailed a link to our post-holiday questionnaire where they can give us an honest assessment of all aspects of their holiday - everything from how quickly we answer the phone to how clean the hotels were - plus an overall rating and comments about their holiday.
Any feedback collected is posted to our website, so that people can make an informed decision based on past experiences before heading off on holiday. We don’t edit the reviews, the only thing we do is proofread them and alter any typos, where necessary, to ensure they are easy to read for everyone. All reviews will be published (except in certain extreme circumstances), and a member of the Headwater team will respond to any constructive criticisms/comments under the reviews, at their discretion. So, for the real tales, twists and turns of our holidays, look no further than the reviews from our previous travellers.
Excellent gastronomic holiday with reasonable exercise.
A very well-organised holiday; very good accommodation; a friendly and helpful rep who ideally unobtrusive.
Quality of accommodation and food was excellent, far better than we expected. Although having reservations about getting to our destination by air & train, the train travel through France was comfortable, punctual & clean and stress-free.
A great balance of route walking and free time staying in lovely hotels exploring fabulous countryside and marvelous food.
The holiday was complete. We enjoyed the different range of accommodation,different places to eat and yet all consistently of a high standard, Thank you
Exactly what it said on the tin Would not recommend Burgundy walking to walkers Have been to Alsace better walking experience but food accommodation better with Headwaters
Another good walking experience in delightful countryside, enough walking and good proximity to alternative attractions on the rest days. One excellent hotel, if it had been practical to do so we would have been happy to stay there instead of Vosne Romanee. All the restaurants were good or excellent except that below, and in keeping with the quality of the overall holiday.
I cannot fault the logistics. Everything went smoothly and our rep, Lin, was superb. Nothing was too much trouble for her. By building extra days into our holiday we had plenty of time to visit local towns and get a real feel for the area. Cannot recommend Les Deux Chevres highly enough. We were made to feel so welcome and the food they provided was excellent. As someone with an allergy to wheat I really appreciated the effort they went to. Would definitely recommend doing the wine tasting with Matthieu whilst staying there. It was informative and entertaining. Also would recommend a visit to the Hospice in Beaune if you have the time. It was fascinating.
The holiday was extremely relaxing. Travel arrangements, accommodation, table booking and baggage transfer were all handled professionally without fuss or drama, giving us the complete freedom to enjoy our walking tour.
The quality of the accommodation and the wonderful restaurants probably exceeded our expectations. Whilst not an inexpensive holiday we did we feel got value for money and lasting memories.
We enjoyed our visit to a part of Burgundy that was new to us. The walking was varied, not too strenuous with good maps and mostly clear directions. The hotels and the meals were excellent. Having a Headwater rep to welcome us and be on hand if needed really made a difference.
An excellent holiday in every way. The food and wines were amazing and it was a most interesting region to explore.
This was a really good holiday, excellent in all respects except that the walking notes, generally of high standard, let us down badly at one point. We explained to Lin where this was and hopefully this will be sorted out
Headwater response:
Thank you for taking the time to pass along your comments, it is wonderful to know that you had such a lovely holiday. Your explanation of where the notes went wrong was indeed passed along and, as we always try to do, your suggestions were taken into account in order to improve the experience for future customers. Once again many thanks from your team at Headwater.
All the hotels were lovely and all the staff everywhere were welcoming and helpful. The walking was a little disappointing in that there was a lot of road-walking and two very boring long slogs from the town of Meursault to the station and from the station at Gevrey-Chambertin to Les Deux Chevres. The meals in the evening were marvellous and memorable. The villages were very pretty. Disappointing that there was no truffle hunting. Lin was an excellent tour guide and everything ran like clockwork.
Headwater response:
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us. We appreciate all customer feedback and are pleased that you enjoyed such a wonderful, memorable holiday. Regarding the road walking and the slogs to and from the station on day 2, we have taken these - and other - customer comments on board and for 2017 have made suitable alterations. The route no longer follows the roads and the train station no longer features. The new route follows footpaths and tracks, and very occasionally quiet lanes, through woodland, vineyards and mediaeval villages, from just south of Dijon to the wonderful wine village of Gevrey Chambertin. We believe this has greatly improved the walking. We were sorry to read that you missed the truffle hunting during your holiday; this activity is only available between Thursdays and Mondays. We were also pleased to see that you thought our Rep Lin was excellent. She will be delighted to hear your lovely feedback. We would like to thank you for constructive comments and look forward to welcoming you on another of our holidays in the future. Kind regards, Your Headwater customer service team.
Delightful holiday experience from start to finish. The hotels were lovely and the walking varied. It's a good way to get to know a small part of Burgundy and appreciate the lovely scenery as there was plenty to do on the rest days too. The hotels were all well chosen and the neighbouring restaurants of a high standard. We especially appreciated being taken into Beaune by Lin for our last dinner, which was especially good. We also appreciated the chance to buy wines en route and collect them at the end.
As a holiday focussed on easy walking, gourmet dinners and luxurious accommodation, this ticked all the boxes. Beautiful country of the Cote D'Or, gorgeous little villages and towns and everywhere Burgundy wine production continuing all around you. All three hotels were superb. I walked in July 2015, so arrived somewhat dusty and sweaty at what are very upscale hotels. No problem at all (but worth reassuring guests it isn't an issue). Walking directions were generally good, with some issues flagged to Headwater in separate email. Just a few tweaks needed, and as it is the first year of this tour, some teething troubles expected.
If you want to seriously investigate wine, doing so during your day's walk is not really practical. I'd suggest researching before you go, possibly setting up cellar visits via Headwater, if they will do it, or knowing which vignerons you want to visit and then using your rest days to get along to see them. But you can just wing it and you can thoroughly enjoy this holiday if, like me, you know nothing about wine. It's a good place to start to learn.
Last but not least, I would single out Paul and Yolanta at Les Deux Chevres in Gevrey-Chambertin for wonderfully friendly advice, practical tips, suggestions and laid-back accommodation. If you want to know more about the area, its wine, history and so on, they are a mine of information.
ALAN HAYES, WEST LONDON, JULY 2015.
This was an excellent holiday where the standard of food and accommodation fully justified the description 'gastronomic'. The walks are interesting and quite varied with the combination of woodland, vineyards and picturesque villages, but it is a new route, and as it evolves I think that some improvements can be incorporated: Day 3 seemed a bit early for a free day and perhaps the amount of walking on tarmac could be reduced.
Holiday lived up to gastronomic label with a good selection of restaurants. Hotels are comfortable. Quality of walks is satisfactory but more work is needed.
Headwater response:
We are so glad you enjoyed the hotels and the gastronomic restaurants. We always aim for more than satisfactory and your suggestions regarding the walks were passed along and have been considered as part of our process of continuous development. We are happy to say that the walks have been improved for 2016 and we hope to see you again soon. All the best from your team at Headwater.
Enjoyable walking in attractive countryside with plenty opportunity to visit historic places such as Dijon and Beaune, staying in remarkable small hotels, and eating amazing food and drinking some of the world's best wines.
Excellent local arrangements and facilities. Thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
Pleas read my document sent to Lisa copied to Tina James
You can be confident that our pricing includes all the standard requirements of your holiday and many additional extras. Always ensure that you are comparing like for like when booking your holiday.
This 6 night self-guided walking holiday includes:
Hotel-to-hotel accommodation in a mix of hotels
Continental breakfasts and 4 gastronomic evening meals
Management by your local Headwater-appointed agent
Route directions and maps
Standard transfers at the start/end of the trip (if booking inclusive flights)
Luggage transfers between hotels
Walking transfers
How to book:
For further details, or to check availability, speak to our sales team on 01606 720199 (we're open from 9am today) or complete our holiday enquiry form (we'll contact you at a time that's most convenient for you).
Complete our holiday enquiry form - we'll get in touch when it's most convenient for you
Speak to our sales team on 01606 720199 - we're open from 9am today
Use our live chat to ask us a question
We do not currently have departure dates and prices available on-line. The season may have ended for this tour, or we are still in the process of adding these details to our website. Please contact us for further details.
Singles
Add £344 single supplement
Children
Please contact us for child prices.
Holiday type
Self-guided walking Managed locally by Headwater appointed agent.
Departures
Meals
Continental breakfasts and 4 gastronomic evening meals
Room upgrades
From £8 per person, per night based on 2 people sharing.
The above prices include our standard flights/transfers
Out: British Airways Heathrow to Paris CDG 07:15/09:35 then rail Paris Bercy to Beaune 13:35/16:58 then transfer to hotel 10 minutes. Return: Transfer to station 10 minutes then rail Beaune to Paris Lyon via Dijon 09:41/12:03 Fridays & Beaune to Paris Lyon via Lyon Part Dieu 09:00/13:01 Mondays then British Airways Paris CDG to Heathrow 16:35/16:55.
Alternative Air-rail
Flights can be arranged from most UK airports, with connecting transfers as required, prices and details on request.
Eurostar
Travel by Eurostar via Paris is also available.
Self drive
We can arrange various channel crossings for you. Please call for details and prices.
First class rail
Add £43 per person return.
Upgraded air travel
Business/club/first class fares on request.
Tour only
Transfers can be arranged at a supplement from Beaune train station at 16:58 and back to Beaune train station at 09:15 Fridays & 08:30 Mondays.
For further details, or to check availability, speak to our sales team on 01606 720199 (we're open from 9am today) or complete our holiday enquiry form (we'll contact you at a time that's most convenient for you).
Complete our holiday enquiry form - we'll get in touch when it's most convenient for you
Speak to our sales team on 01606 720199 - we're open from 9am today
Use our live chat to ask us a question
Please note: The prices and travel options shown are provided for customers based in, and travelling from/to, the UK. We are happy to arrange holidays for non-UK customers however, if you are travelling from USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand, we recommend that you contact your local agent as they can provide appropriate transport options and advice.
