Circling worn battlements, ramparts, and a moat that once separated this French town from countryside—a mini beltway now follows the same line, a modern barrier stippled with traffic lights. Our gears shift as the boulevard changes: Jules Ferry, Maréchal Joffre, Foch, Clemenceau, Bretonnière, Saint-Jacques, Perpreuil. We pick a turn and spin toward the center of Beaune and the core of Burgundy.

Preserved medieval and renaissance structures blanket a Gallian and Roman foundation. Cobbled streets meander and curl, rewarding curiosity. Wine tasting crowds thin as the sun sets and you are left to share the night with an occasional bat, who is equally surprised to see historic buildings lit with color.

Steps away from a string of cafes, symbols waltz across the walls of Basilique Notre-Dame de Beaune. The 12th-century church’s history is condensed into an animation by Cosmo AV and Jean-francois Touchard projected onto its façade. Arches are traced, columns grow, floral patterns rustle, scrolls unravel, and Christ himself rises to the heavens. Down another path, garden topiaries bounce and sculptures sway on the surface of chapelle Saint-Étienne. A trail of light leads you through the streets after hours, painting architecture with the whimsical ghosts of its past.

By day, a local student offers a tour of Maison Joseph Drouhin. It begins where we left off the evening before—at the basilique. Entering a stone winery next door, we are greeted by a massive wooden wheel: a grape press from 1570 which still crushes fruit for exclusive bottlings of Clos des Mouches as recently as 2005. We descend below the street and go back in time.

Under vaulted ceilings of the Cellars of the Collégiale Church, we stealthily walk beneath the Rue d'Enfer and a wine museum. The cave is cool and softly dark like a black grape. Spotlights mark one clash of stones: a wall where the 4th century meets the 15th. Wooden barrels transition into glass, methodically stacked and frosted with cobwebs. Surrounded by cleaned and labeled bottles, we drink leathery pinot noir and creamy chardonnay; they illuminate local stories in their own quiet ways.

7/19/2019