Beaune (; in Burgundian: Beane) is a town in eastern France widely considered the wine capital of Burgundy, in the Côte-d'Or department. It is between Lyon and Dijon. Beaune is one of France's key wine centers and a major hub of Burgundy wine production and business. The Hospices de Beaune's annual wine auction is the primary wine auction in France.
The town is surrounded by some of the world's most famous wine villages, such as Meursault or Puligny Montrachet, while the facilities and cellars of many producers, large and small, are in the historic center of Beaune itself, as they have been since Roman times. With a rich historical and architectural heritage, Beaune is considered the "Capital of ". It is an ancient town on a plain by the hills of the Côte d'Or, with features from pre-Roman and Roman eras through the medieval and Renaissance periods.
Beaune is a walled city, with much of the battlements, ramparts, and moat having survived in good condition. The central "old town" within the walls is extensive. Historically Beaune is intimately connected with the Dukes of Burgundy.
The 15th-century Hospices de Beaune, in the town center, is one of Europe's best-preserved Renaissance buildings. Other landmarks in Beaune include the old market (les Halles), the Beffroi (clock tower), and the collegiate church of Notre Dame. Beaune is the main center of the region's "Burgundian tile" polychrome Renaissance roofing style. Because of its historical importance in wine production and the unique system of terroir in the region, the town of Beaune was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2015 as part of the Climats, terroirs of Burgundy site.
It is on the route des Grands Crus which is a road that runs through the vineyards, north from Beaune to Gevrey Chambertin and Nuits-Saint-Georges and south to Nolay, Saisy and Autun.
There is a comprehensive "traditional" shopping area clustered around the central square with a focus on gourmet food, fashion, and wine, while large supermarkets, business parks, etc., are situated on the outskirts of town.
Beaune has a major fine food market on Saturdays, where there are a large number of stall holders supplying a broad selection of products and specialties from Burgundy and the surrounding regions. For example, Bresse chickens, Jura cheeses, small goods, spices, produce of every variety as well as seasonal specialties such as truffles. There is a smaller market on Wednesday, and special-event markets and festivals are held throughout the year.
Beaune attracts a large number of tourists, around 400,000 each year according to the Hôtel Dieu.
Beaune is one of a number of towns in Europe asserting a key role in the "invention of film"; a number of murals and other tourist attractions reflect this.
Technically Beaune is a commune in eastern France, a sub-prefecture of department 21, the Côte-d'Or department, in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region.
The town is served by a small river, the "Bouzaise" (or "Bouzaize") of which the source is in a public park on the north-east edge of town.
Beaune has a semi-continental climate with an oceanic influence, seen with frequent rains in each season (though autumn has the most and summer the least) and frequent weather changes. There are significant temperature differences between the seasons, characterized by cold winters with frequent snowfall, and hot summers with sometimes violent thunderstorms. It is this climate which creates the unique environment for which the Côte d'Or is known.
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