D E S T I N AT I O N S
Abbaye de la B ussière, L a Bussière -sur- Ouche, Côte - d’Or
Keats described autumn as a season of ‘mists and mellow fruitfulness’ – and there’s no better place to experience those than a Gothic abbey in the heart of Burgundy. The Abbaye de la Bussière was founded in 1131 and, as it flourished, so too did its monastic necessities: a cellar, dovecote and winepress. In time, possession passed from the monks to the aristocracy and, latterly, to a British couple who transformed it into a luxury hotel, now part of the Relais & Châteaux group. Sympathetic to the buildings’ history and romantic design, the owners have kept the nooks, crannies and jewel-coloured stained glass, making it the perfect place to relish thunderstorms as you sip local red wine. The Michelin-starred 1131 restaurant, in the abbey’s former cloister, invites hushed reverence – but, nowadays, from devotees of exceptional dishes. The perfectly balanced, delicate flavours are pleasingly free of the heaviness of some French menus. Twenty tastefully decorated rooms are spaciously arranged, with views over the seventeen-acre park in which the hotel sits. If you’re keen to explore the area, the abbey is a twenty-minute drive from Dijon, Beaune and the Route des Grands Crus wine trail. Experts gathered in the cosy bar will point you towards less well-known but equally worthy wineries, or you can take a bicycle through the beautiful countryside and build up an appetite for supper. abbayedelabussiere.fr/en
“THE PERFECT PLACE TO RELISH STORMS AS YOU SIP RED WINE”
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