Route des Grands Crus
Burgundy's historic wine road, about 60 kilometres of vineyards and villages from Dijon to Santenay.
- Activity
- 28 min from Beaune
- Allow a half day to a full day
- Dijon to Santenay
€100one way from Beaune with a private driver
At a glance
- Official website
- routedesgrandscrusdebourgogne.com
Getting there
Private driver from Beaune: 28 min by road (25 km), €100 one way for the whole car.
Or add it to our half-day wine tour, €290.
Coming by train or plane? Transfers from stations and airports →
About the place
The Route des Grands Crus follows the foot of the Côte for about 60 kilometres, from Dijon to Santenay. It links the wine villages of the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune, from Gevrey-Chambertin and Vougeot to Pommard and Meursault. Driving it, with stops for cellars and viewpoints, is the classic way to discover Burgundy wine.
What you will see
Driving the route is the simplest way to understand the Côte. On one side the vines climb the slope towards the woods, on the other the land falls away to the Saône plain. Villages follow one another every few kilometres, each with its church, its cellars and its famous names. Classic stops include the Clos de Vougeot, Vosne-Romanée and the château villages of the Côte de Beaune. The official route site calls it France's first wine route, nicknamed the Champs-Élysées of Burgundy, and it passes 32 of Burgundy's 33 grands crus, the 33rd being in Chablis. Look out for details on the way: La Grande Rue in Vosne-Romanée, a grand cru of only 1.65 hectares, Marsannay, a rare village of the Côte de Nuits to make red, white and rosé, and Meursault, one of the settings of the film La Grande Vadrouille.
History
The route was created in 1937 by a vote of the Côte-d'Or general council, at a time when wine tourism was taking shape in Burgundy. The Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin had been founded in Nuits-Saint-Georges three years earlier. Today the road crosses more than thirty wine villages and some of the most celebrated vineyards in the world.
Planning your visit
Tips for your visit
A private driver lets everyone taste without thinking about the road. Allow a full day to follow the whole route with two or three cellar visits, or split it, with the Côte de Nuits in the morning and the Côte de Beaune after lunch. Driven without stops, Dijon to Santenay takes about 1 hour 15 minutes on the D974, against 50 minutes on the A31 motorway. The free Balades en Bourgogne app has an audio tour of the route in English that works offline. Walkers can follow a GR de Pays footpath of about 87 kilometres through the vineyards in 5 to 7 days; the best season runs from May to October, with September and the harvest the favourite, and since the vines are private land, stay on the marked paths. Ahead of the route's 90th anniversary, celebrated on 15 May 2027, the Département is putting up new signs at more than 320 crossroads and creating 20 rest areas along it. The road is open at all times, but most cellars need booking. Check the official websites of the cellars you plan to visit for opening times.
Around here
What to combine with Route des Grands Crus on the same day, nearest first.
Guides about Route des Grands Crus
Questions
Route des Grands Crus is about 28 min from Beaune by road (25 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €100 for the whole car, up to 4 guests.
Did you know? The Route des Grands Crus was born in 1937 from an idea of the Côte-d'Or Département, which makes it the first wine route in France.
Sources
Route des Grands Crus with a private driver
€100 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests