Beaune

Splashed with the red wines of Burgundy and encompassed by the gorgeous green hills and vineyards of the Côte-d'Or, Beaune is a beautiful pitstop on the foodie trail through France. The town center is laced with grand medieval facades and half-timbered buildings that date back centuries, a place where mazes of ancient wine cellars and alleys laden with bistros burst with the strong scents of garlic and pinot noir.

Simply strolling the streets here is a joy. Narrow and weaving around each other, the lanes converge on squares topped with honorific statues or plazas lined with French mansions. The piece de resistance is surely the Hospices de Beaune, dating from the 1440s that sports a Technicolor roof of slate tiles and inlayed wood. (Inside, be sure to ask your Beaune tour guide about the rich altarpiece painted by Rogier van der Weyden.)

All that culture can give way to an appetite, and thankfully Beaune is a fine place to be for dining. There are restaurants and cafés on every corner. They cook up smorgasbords of regional favorites such as a rich coq au vin; delicate escargot. But it's wine that takes center stage. Cellar doors abound in the nearby countryside, and there's even a dedicated wine museum, the Musée du Vin de Bourgogne.