Photo by flickr user jean-louis zimmermann
In the plump heart of France, Burgundy's varied countryside is threaded with rivers, patched with woods and vineyards and peppered with castles and abbeys. Rich is the word. If you are in for being thoroughly spoilt, there's a glut of gastronomic temples from which to choose, yet despite the region's sleek prosperity, it is also surprisingly timeless and rural, even wild in places, a fact reflected in the many humble restaurants that are just as excellent in their way as the great ones. Their menus are rooted to the terroir, with the same refrain endlessly repeated: snails, jambon persille, Charolais beef, poulet de Bresse, freshwater trout, Epoisses, pain d'epices, mustard, clafoutis, cassis. Some may tire of it after a while; unfortunately we don't. On the subject of lodging, it's a question of avoiding insipid tourist hotels and knowing the individual, homely and characterful places that match the restaurants and the famous wines in character and local colour. The order of the hotels in this list bears no reflection on our preference.
Written by Leonie Glass
