On and off the tourist circuit – Beaune to Dolen

Gordon: In cycling from Beaune to Dole we journeyed from a node on the travel circuit to a relatively unknown city. Mostly due to wine, Beaune is teeming with tourists, many from other countries (we even noticed a significant American presence). The historical core of the city is buffed and polished, with every second shop offering wine tastings and sales. We had to stay outside the old city to find an inexpensive hotel, and there were few of the modestly priced fixed lunch menus that we prefer.

Dole, on the other hand, is not listed in the Lonely Planet guide, and has a much lower tourist profile. Although it lacks a blockbuster site such as the Hotel-Dieu of Beaune, Dole does have a fascinating historical core with many buildings dating to the 13th to 16th centuries. It cascades down a hillside to both the Doubs river and the Rhone to Rhine canal, and it has developed these water features to beautiful effect. Once we got over our disappointment at not finding great deals on bananas and canned pineapple, we found that we were very pleased to have happened upon this city. Discovering lesser known places in between is one of the joys of slow travel.