Burgundy: the Côte d'Or

Come for the cellars, not the sun. Météo-France's Dijon normals give November highs near 10°C, lows around 3°C and some 66 hours of sunshine in the month. The Hospices de Beaune has sold its wine at auction since 1859, usually on the third Sunday in November. This year's sale, the 166th, is on Sunday 15 November 2026.

The base is COMO Le Montrachet: 28 rooms and suites across four 19th-century buildings on the village square of Puligny-Montrachet, a few steps from the Le Montrachet vineyard. The Michelin Guide awards it one Key. The restaurant's cellar holds more than 1,200 wines. Beaune is 20 minutes by car.

The Hôtel-Dieu in Beaune was founded in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin and Guigone de Salins; its estate now runs to 60 hectares. On Sunday afternoon Sotheby's conducts the sale under the Halles de Beaune, and one barrel, the Pièce des Présidents, sold for charity. Around it, cellars open for tastings. The Saturday dinner at Clos de Vougeot and Monday's Paulée de Meursault complete what Burgundy calls Les Trois Glorieuses.

The Climats of Burgundy were inscribed by UNESCO in 2015: 1,247 named vineyard parcels running about 50 kilometres from Dijon south to the Maranges. The Côte de Nuits is roughly 40 minutes north of the hotel. At Clos de Vougeot, Cistercian monks from Cîteaux founded a wine estate in the 12th century; its medieval presses survive.

Dijon's historic centre is part of the same listing. A kilometre away, the Cité internationale de la gastronomie et du vin opened in 2022 in the former Hôtel-Dieu, its cave holding 3,000 references. For dinner, Maison Lameloise in Chagny holds three Michelin stars under Éric Pras; in Beaune, Loiseau des Vignes pours a wide range by the glass.

On the flying: Dijon-Bourgogne airport at Ouges, south-east of Dijon, serves business flights with FBO services; the hotel is under an hour from Dijon. Lyon-Bron ranks third in France for business aviation and provides immigration and customs support. From Lyon Saint-Exupéry, Beaune is about two hours' drive north; from Geneva, about two and a quarter. OUIJETS sources the aircraft and matches the gateway to the route.

Members leaving through Lyon can add two nights there. A food critic named it the world capital of gastronomy in 1935; the Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse make the case, and lunch at Paul Bocuse in Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or, two Michelin stars, ends with the dessert trolley before the flight home from Lyon-Bron.

Ask your advisor about timing the week around the Hospices sale; choosing between Dijon, Lyon-Bron and Geneva; a Lyon extension on the way home.