Plan Your Visit to Burgundy Wine Country
Burgundy is a wine region, not a gate, so no single ticket opens it. The domains pour on tours or by arrangement, the vineyards are open land, and two sights sell their own entry. If you are pricing Burgundy tickets, pick the town you arrive in first, then set a sight's own price beside a tour's fare.
Dijon or Beaune: which town to arrive in
The region runs 230 km from Chablis in the north to the Mâconnais in the south, and its heart is the Côte d'Or between two towns. Dijon, at the northern end, is the TGV town and the old ducal capital, with the Palais des Ducs at its centre. Most shared days leave from its kerbs, so Dijon suits you if you are coming by train from Paris for the day.
Beaune sits inside the Côte, among the vines of the Côte de Beaune, with the Hôtel-Dieu at its centre. The Grand Cru route day and the 2CV half day leave from its tourist office, and most private days collect you from a hotel in or near it. Pick Beaune if you want to sleep among the vineyards and walk to dinner.
If you have only a day in France for wine, you need neither town: Burgundy tours from Paris collect you in the city and drive to Chablis. To compare the two bases, see the tours that start in Dijon and the region's towns on the Burgundy region page.
Getting there from Paris and Lyon
The wine board puts Burgundy one hour from Lyon and two from Paris. For Dijon, you take the TGV from Paris Gare de Lyon; one tour's own planning note uses the 7:56 am, in Dijon at 9:29, and the 5 pm back. For Beaune, a TER regional train runs on from Dijon. Check times and fares with SNCF for your date, because the timetable changes.
| Leg | How | What we can tell you |
|---|---|---|
| Paris to Dijon | TGV from Paris Gare de Lyon | One operator's example: the 7:56 am, in Dijon at 9:29 |
| Dijon to Paris | TGV to Paris Gare de Lyon | The same example: the 5:00 pm, in Paris at 8:42 |
| Dijon to Beaune | TER regional train | Check SNCF for your date; a recent TER ticket earns a reduced Hôtel-Dieu entry |
| Paris to Chablis | The shared day's van from avenue de Wagram | About 110 minutes' drive each way |
| Lyon to Mâcon | Train | The Land Rover day sends you the tickets |
| Into the vines | A tour's van, a 2CV, an e-bike or your own car | Nobody in your party drives after tasting on a tour |
From the south, the Land Rover day meets you at Mâcon station at 9:30 am and provides your train tickets from Lyon. Short answers on trains and kerbs are in the FAQs.
The two sights you can walk into
You do not need a tour for either. The Clos de Vougeot is the walled vineyard and château the Cistercian monks of Cîteaux built on the Côte de Nuits. It opens every day, and its guided tour in English costs EUR 15. The Hôtel-Dieu in Beaune, founded in 1443, is the hospital with the glazed-tile roof, and it also opens every day.
| Sight | Where | Open | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clos de Vougeot | Rue de la Montagne, Vougeot | Daily: 9:30 am–6 pm from April to October, 10 am–5 pm from November to March | English guided tour 11:30 am and 3:30 pm, EUR 15 (EUR 7 aged 8–16), book ahead; ticket office shuts 30 minutes before closing |
| Hôtel-Dieu | 2 rue de l'Hôtel-Dieu, Beaune | Daily: 9 am–7:30 pm from 1 April to 15 November, then 9 am–12:30 pm and 2–6:30 pm | Ticket desk shuts an hour before closing; afternoons only on 1 January and 25 December |
Buy the Hôtel-Dieu ticket on its own booking page, where the current price is shown. A TER ticket to Beaune under 48 hours old earns you a reduced entry. The Clos de Vougeot's guided tours may be shortened in extreme heat, and tours from 23 to 27 September 2026 may be affected by its Livres en Vignes event, so check before you go.
Booking a domain yourself
A tasting at a Burgundy domain is not a museum visit: the domains on these tours receive you by arrangement, and a tour does that arranging for you. The custom private day plans and books the visits, then leaves the domains' fees to you on the spot, about EUR 150–300 a head. Every shared day carries its tastings in the fare.
In Dijon you can taste without a car. La Cave du Palais pours six Burgundy wines in 90 minutes in a cellar under a hotel in the centre, five minutes' walk from Place de la République. It suits you on an arrival afternoon, before a day in the vines.
Where the tours start
Each shared day names its own kerb. In Dijon, it is 16 Place Darcy, the front of Saint-Bénigne church, or 78 rue Monge for the e-bike day. The Paris day leaves the café La Flamme at 6 avenue de Wagram, and the Land Rover day leaves Mâcon station.
The private days collect you instead: within 10 km of Beaune or Dijon for one operator, anywhere between the two towns for another, and at a Paris hotel for the private day from Paris. Where to base yourself for each is set out in where to stay.
What a first day costs
You can do a first day for the price of a train ticket and two entries. A tour earns its fare when you want several domains booked for you, a day with eight to fourteen wines, and nobody driving. The table sets the ways to spend a first day side by side.
| The day | What you pay | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| On your own by train | Your train fare, plus EUR 15 for the Clos de Vougeot's guided tour and the Hôtel-Dieu's own ticket | The two sights and a walk in the vines; no domain visit booked for you |
| Cellar tasting in Dijon | $63 per person | Six wines in 90 minutes, from regional to Grand Cru |
| Shared full day from Dijon or Beaune | $166 to $333 per person | Two or three domains, the tastings in the fare, lunch on some, 8 guests at most |
| E-bike day from Dijon | $585 per person | The Côte de Nuits by e-bike, two cellars and lunch |
| 2CV half day from Beaune | $275 per person, two to book | Three hours in a Citroën 2CV and a five-wine tasting |
| Day from Paris | $269 per person shared, $1,510 per car of two private | Twelve hours, Chablis, and Beaune on the private day |
| Private day | $551 to $1,159 per person | Your party only, hotel pickup, a route built on what you ask for |
The sight prices are the sights' own, in euros. The tour fares are the operators' own, in US dollars, with the tastings already inside on every shared day. Most private days need two people to book, and three are priced for the whole car.
Would you rather someone else drove?
The shared days leave Dijon and Beaune in the morning, the private days collect you from your hotel, and the days from Paris collect you in the city.
Ages, access and what to wear
Each operator sets its own minimum age, so check yours before you book a family day.
- Adults only: the e-bike day, the Ophorus days from Dijon, the Dijon cellar tasting and the custom private day.
- Children with an adult: the two Authentica private days.
- Non-drinkers: the Land Rover day swaps the wine for local grape juice on request.
Most tours are not wheelchair accessible. The two Authentica private days, the private day from Paris and the Land Rover day say they are, so ask about your own needs when you book. For the cellars, wear good shoes and bring a warm layer, and eat a proper breakfast: the tastings rarely come with food.
Frequently asked before you go
Do you need a tour to go wine tasting in Burgundy?
Where exactly do the Dijon tours start?
Where do the Beaune tours start?
How do you get from Paris to Dijon?
Can you go inside the Clos de Vougeot?
When is the Hôtel-Dieu open?
Next: see when to visit Burgundy for the seasons and the wine sale, compare every tour on Burgundy Tours, or read what travellers said in the reviews.