Burgundy markets - Going to Beaune Tomorrow

Le Boucher Sympa in Beaune
Photo © CC-NC-BY David Cogan

Dijon and Beaune markets are paradise for bon vivants

By Laurence Cogan

Sooner or later all bons vivants end up in Burgundy tasting grand cru wines and eating snails, boeuf bourguignon or oeufs en meurette, the poached eggs cooked in red Burgundy wine. Burgundians are truly obsessed with good wine and food. A delight for gourmets, the street markets in Burgundy reflect the region's reputation as the stomach of France. Dijon and Beaune markets are among the largest and most well-known in this part of France.

A gastronomic market in the culinary town of Dijon
Dijon, a real gourmet town, is known for its mustard, the Kir – white wine, especially Bourgogne aligoté, with blackcurrant liqueur, named after former mayor of Dijon canon Félix Kir – and its "pains d'épice", a type of gingerbread cake. Every year Dijon holds the International and Gastronomic Fair, a major event in France. It also hosts a fantastic daily food market, as big an attraction as the Palais des Ducs, and only a few minutes' walk from the ancient home of the Dukes. The market takes place in an 19th-century covered market. The covered market building, Les Halles was built by Gustave Eiffel who also built the Eiffel tower in Paris. Fruit and vegetable merchants lay out their staggering array outside around the Halles. Inside, one can find every foodstuff known to man or woman - from a very good choice of fish from 4 different fish merchants to Spanish produce, snails stuffed with parsley and the famous liqueur de cassis.
For foreign fare there is the best Italian shop in Burgundy in rue Quentin, behind the Halles. Dijon exports culinary treats all over the world and the world comes to Dijon (only an hour by TGV from Paris). Peckish after your market shopping? Around the Halles there is an array of restaurants to choose from:  Alsatian, Italian, Burgundian and even contemporary cuisine. The biggest market days are Tuesday and Friday, the Thursday market is only inside the Halles. Every second Sunday of the month there is a flea market in the Quartier des Antiquaires.

Beaune is known for its Hospices but also for its colourful market
Half an hour drive south of Dijon, the Saturday market in Beaune is a colourful food and clothes market which is as good as Dijon only smaller. Here the market is the major event of the week, spreading from the Halles - covered market - to the pedestrianized area beside Beaune's prime visitor attraction, the Hospices de Beaune. The famous annual wine auction is held here on the 3rd Sunday in November.
Facing the Halles on the left-hand-side is an extraordinary selection of old-variety vegetables, organic and grown on his own farm by Noël himself. Inside the Halles, Jean-Claude Comas has a terrific choice of Burgundian and Jura cheese: Epoisses, matured in caves for three months, Saint-Florentin and Soumaintrain - both strong tasting cow cheeses. Beaune market is also a good place to find excellent goat's cheese and fresh eggs, good honey and organic meat. Pork from the Gagnepain family is top quality. This friendly family is proud of their good quality pork, fed on their own cereals. If you can guess correctly the weight of your chicken the Gagnepains will give it to you. There is an outdoor a stall selling Jura produce including the famous dried sausage called the Saucisses de Morteau. Visitors looking for an alternative to local Burgundian and Jura products should try the Vietnamese cuisine or the wood-oven cooked pizzas from Monique on the Avenue de la République. When the market show is over, visit the a small but pleasant antiques market on the neighbouring place Carnot, held every Saturday from March to November.