Hôtel-Dieu des Hospices de Beaune for auction visits!

The monument is located in central-eastern France, in the Burgundy-Franche-Comté region, in the town of Beaune, on the Burgundy Grands Crus Route.

The Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune, founded in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin and Guigone de Salins, is the former hospital of the Middle Ages that is now a historic monument and museum famous for its colourful roofs and its history. By misnomer, it is often referred to as the Hospices de Beaune. But in reality, the Hospices Civils de Beaune refers to the current hospital institution, heir to the Hôtel-Dieu, which groups together the modern care facilities and also manages the wine estate, whose wines are sold each year at the prestigious auction.

At the Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune, the sick were mainly poor people who were admitted free of charge. They were housed in the Salle des Pôvres and cared for by the hospital sisters. Treatment was based on medicinal plants, bloodletting and appropriate food, such as broths or wine cut with water. In addition to the remedies, a great deal of importance was attached to prayer and spiritual comfort, as it was believed that healing the soul also helped to heal the body!

You can visit the Hôtel-Dieu – Hospices de Beaune on your own or with an audio guide. The tour begins in the Grande Salle des Pôvres, where patients were treated in the Middle Ages, followed by the chapel, the pharmacy with its earthenware pots, the kitchen with its large fireplaces, and several richly decorated rooms. You can also admire the famous Last Judgement polyptych by Rogier van der Weyden. Along the way, you’ll learn about the history of the hospital, the life of the patients and the role of the nuns. We advise you to book your tickets in advance!

You can’t taste wine all year round at the Hôtel-Dieu – Hospices de Beaune, but only on certain occasions. The best-known of these is the Hospices de Beaune wine auction in November, when the public can taste a number of vintages from the Hospices de Beaune vineyards in the old cuverie. Apart from this event, there are no tastings directly on the Hôtel-Dieu site, but you can discover Hospices wines at partner wine merchants or estates in the region.

During your visit to the Hôtel-Dieu – Hospices de Beaune, be sure to discover :

• The Cour d’Honneur and its glazed tiles
• The Salle des Pôvres
• The Salle Saint-Hugues
• The kitchen
• The Apothecary’s

The vineyards of the Hôtel-Dieu – Hospices de Beaune stretch around the town of Beaune, in various villages famous for the quality of their wine:

• The village of Pommard
• The village of Meursault
• The village of Volnay
• The village of Savigny
• The village of Aloxe-Corton

The Hôtel-Dieu – Hospices de Beaune also owns vineyards in the Côte de Nuits, Chablis and Mâconnais regions.

The roofs of the Hôtel-Dieu – Hospices de Beaune are famous for their beauty and originality. Built in the 15th century in the Burgundian Gothic style, they are covered with multi-coloured glazed tiles forming geometric patterns (lozenges, zigzags) in shades of red, green, yellow and black. This style, typical of Burgundy, was both decorative and practical: the glaze on the tiles protects the structure from the elements. Today, these roofs have become the emblem of Beaune, easily recognisable and photographed the world over.

The Hôtel-Dieu – Hospices de Beaune offers you the chance to book a tour to suit your tastes, whether it’s a quick 15-minute visit or a chance to explore the history of the monument in minute detail! Please note: some tours have been created especially for the European Heritage Days. Don’t forget to take a look at the tour schedule on the website!

Nicolas Rolin was chancellor (prime minister, as it were) to the Dukes of Burgundy for over 40 years! An emblematic figure of the Burgundian state in the 14th century, he served John the Fearless, then his son Philip the Good. Twice widowed, he married Guigone de Salins, with whom he founded the Hôtel-Dieu – Hospices de Beaune.

A medieval noblewoman, Guigone de Salins was a member of the Salins-la-Tour family of lords in the Jura. It was she who encouraged her husband Nicolas Rolin to work for charity and create the Hôtel-Dieu – Hospices de Beaune.

The price of a wine from the Hôtel-Dieu – Hospices de Beaune depends on the vintage and the impact of the auction. But prices are generally very high!

If you dream of buying wine at this famous auction, you should know that it is not possible to buy a single bottle: the sale is made piece by piece, i.e. a 228-litre barrel to be precise! To give you an idea, the average price per barrel was €39,155 in 2022.

Have you just bought a piece at the Hôtel-Dieu – Hospices de Beaune auction? You should know that it is still far from being ready for tasting! The wine is still very young, and needs to be matured in oak barrels. A professional will take care of it for a period of 12 to 18 months to allow the wine’s complex aromas to come to the fore.