2017 France: Chartres, Amboise, Beaune, Paris: Beautiful Beaune

Day 7: It's time to see Beaune

After another great sleep, we took our time getting out. We weren't going far--just a few blocks to the Hospices de Beaune aka Hotel-Dieu de Beaune. Our apartment really was in a fantastic location!

I've worked in healthcare my entire adult life so was very interested in visiting the Hospices de Beaune.

Nicholas Rolin, the Duke of Burgundy's Chancellor, received permission from Pope Eugene IV for a hospital and it was founded in 1443. It was built to care for the sick poor after the 100 years war. Beaune was devastated by the war and many of its people were destitute and suffering from the plague. The hospital was consecratred in 1452. Nicholas Rolin and his wife, Guigone de Salins, also started an order of nuns who would take care of the patients. The Hospices de Beaune was a functioning hospital until the late 1970's. (Break to grab calculator) That's 500+ years!

It was designed by Jacques Wiscrene (Flemish) and is a fantastic example of Northern Renaissance architecture. It has a central courtyard and all the buildings radiate off it. This likely made it easier for the staff to carry out their duties.

The most remarkable feature of the building is the roof which is made of colorful glazed tiles in red, brown, yellow and green laid in intricate patterns. The tiles currently on the roof are replicas from the early 1900's. The roof is spectacular!

Gorgeous roof

Stone courtyard

The main building contains the chapel and hospital beds. It was a Catholic establishment and caring for the soul was as important as caring for the body. Most of the patients died here but were hopefully comforted at the end of their lives.

It's a long room, this is looking toward the chapel

The ceiling beams were pretty

Nicholas and Guigone's intertwined crests

The rich also needed medical care. They also came to the Hospices de Beaune but were cared for in a separate space. It held fewer patients and had more amenities.

A big part of the tour was about the medical treatments provided to the patients. There were interesting displays about the equipment used, very primitive at first but more advanced as time went on. There was a fascination with the bowels and some of the enema devices were yikes, shocking.

The 18C pharmacists concocted cures with items from these beautiful bottles and jars.

The tour took us through the kitchen where the nuns toiled to feed everyone.

Beautiful Mary in the kitchen

Next up was a small, dark, temperature controlled room that had the most amazing altarpiece. It was made by Roger van der Weyden of Brussels between 1443-1450. It used to hand in the chapel but is too precious to be exposed to the elements there. It is spectacular!

The front of the altarpiece is the Last Judgment

The back of the altarpiece shows Nicholas Rolin and Guigone de Salins being pious.

This room also has gorgeous old tapestries.

The Legend of Saint Eloi, 15C

The Annunciation altar frontispiece, 15C

Overall, the Hospices de Beaune went beyond my expectations. Nicholas Rolin may have founded it to buy his way into heaven, but it provided 500+ years of medical care to those who needed it. That's pretty remarkable.

We next went to the Basilica of Notre Dame de Beaune. It's pretty on the outside and plain on the inside.

The Baby Jesus of Beaune!

We walked around Beaune for a bit but were getting hungry. And needed to do laundry.

Jacqueline had told us there was a Laundromat close-by the apartment. I looked in the Rick Steves France and he recommended La Ciboulette (which I had found on other sites, too) and wrote that there was a Laundromat next door. That made our decision easy!

We started our laundry then went next door to have lunch while the machines did their thing. It worked out beautifully! The meal was one of our favorites this trip.

Goat cheese salad for me

Terrine for husband

Delicious fish (no ratatouille!!)

Pork with bourguignon sauce for husband

Laundry done and bellies full, we contemplated the rest of our day on the way back to the apartment.

I dragged husband to Patriarche Père et Fils for some wine tasting. He was all like, "didn't we already do a whole day of this yesterday?" But we paid our money, got our little tasting cups, and went a wandering down the cellars. It's a very commercial enterprise, well laid out. We tasted 10 wines and none of them impressed us.

"Wine has the power to fill the soul of all
truth all knowledge and philosophy"

We walked about some more. Took some bad selfies. And a better picture of Notre-Dame.

We made our way to the Museum of Burgundy Wine only to find it had just closed. The pretty courtyard was still open so we took a few pictures.

We walked back to the apartment and relaxed before our dinner at Le Bacchus.

Our apartment is the on the third floor

It was too pretty an evening, so we headed back out. We window shopped and stopped for drinks at La Part des Anges. Sitting on the sidewalk, dodging the smoke, watching Beaune go by: Wonderful.

La Part des Anges

Le Bacchus is a tiny restaurant with very good food. It's run by a husband and wife and they did an admirable job keeping up with the full house. Things got bogged down late because a table of 8 had two birthday cakes to serve (why they needed two is beyond me) so we, and a couple of other tables, had a long wait for dessert and checks. But the food was very good and we would certainly return.