centeno

Oh my, trip has changed again.....We have finally decided.....Fly into CDG and take a TGV down to Lyon to stay

2 nights Chateaux de Bagnols

Than go on towards Beaune/Dijon area for 4 nights

Back up to Paris for 3 nights

I do not know where to stay in the Beaune/Dijon area? I have looked at Hotel Cle and all the rest. I want to visit all of the cute towns that are mentioned on the board Vezeley and others. Please excuse my spelling errors. Where should I situate myself to explore the area? I am open to suggestions but I do like luxury. Is it best to stay in a chateau or abbaye in a town or on a winery? I am getting confused and would like to book this so I can focus on restaurants and all the other good stuff to do.
Also, would you go first to Lyon from CDG or the other area? It seems it is easier to get to Lyon. Not sure yet how I get to Bagnols? Maybe another short train ride. It will be ALOT of traveling that day coming from JFK!

ANUJ

We used Beaune as a base for exploring Burgundy last year. It's a charming town, much smaller than Dijon <i>(and easier to get in and out of)</i>, and centrally located for Burgundy - http://www.karenbrown.com/itinerary/...ntry-burgundy/ will give you some ideas. A car is highly recommended. There are luxury accommodations in/around Beaune and great restaurants too.

All our serious wine tasting took place in Beaune itself <i>(do note strict alcohol limits applicable for drivers in France)</i> - there's several highly pedigreed houses to choose from - see http://www.beaune-tourism.com/tasting/wineries#!/page/1 for options

You could easily drive to Vezelay one day, stopping at Chateuneuf and Semur-en-Auxois en route.

Perhaps Côte de Nuits another day <i>(we enjoyed the scenery and sampling some wine at Aloxe Cortone, Nuits St George and Gevrey-Chambertin en route to Dijon, and some wonderful liquers at Arcenant on our return)</i>. Another day could be driving south along Côte de Beaune <i>(where you could visit Pommard and Meursault en route)</i>.

I wouldn't drive after a long-haul flight, so maybe the hotel can arrange a pickup/drop from/to Lyon, and you rent a car in Lyon only when leaving for Burgundy.

jamikins

We have been to Burgundy 3 times and have stayed in Beaune every time. It is a charming town with lots of restaurants and cafes, plus it is easy to get in and out of compared to Dijon.

Definitely do the Marche aux Vins in Beaune:
http://www.marcheauxvins.com/?lang=en

We also enjoyed the wine tasting here:
http://www.patriarche.com/cellarvisits/#/

But there are lots more.

Hope this helps!

WoinParis

If you have a car, I recommend a B&B held by a Scot at Epernay sous Gevrey Tilleuls - Mrs Aitkin, less than 5 kms from Nuits St Georges and I recommend la Cabotte as a restaurant in NSG - we had a fantastic porc ibérique (spanish pork).

centeno

Thank you so much for all of your comments. I have decided to stay at La Cueillette. Has anyone stayed there before? I think it is in a good location close to Beaune and the surrounding area.

I understand that you cannot drink the wine and drive - nor would I want to. Do you use a driver or tour guide if you want to? Any suggestions?

We are excited for this trip because we love all that it has to offer - wine, good food, country side, some towns and cities, architecture, history etc. I was wondering if I am staying outside of Lyon if it is worth going in for a day to shop and look around. I will be in Paris for 3 days so I'm not sure. We do like to also look at interesting little stores.

WoinParis

I drink and my wife drives...
We taste small portions and spit - we don't drink.

Just ask the cave you intend to visit to drive you back or to provide a solution.

In my case I always buy at least 12 - usually 24 bottles after tasting, so they have no prob obliging me but they clearly must have a solution for you.

Ps : I never buy from a 'caviste' - always at the domain.

northfork280

We were in Burgundy last March and did a one-day wine tour with Burgundy Discovery. http://www.burgundydiscovery.com/ The tour was fantastic and probably the highlight of our trip to the region. We visited three different wineries and tasted a number of wines at each without having to worry about doing the driving ourselves. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and a lot of fun.

jamikins

We stay in town and visit the wineries in town or my husband drives and spits while I drink

centeno

Thank you for the tour guide northfork280 I will look into that for us. Are you by any chance out by the north fork wineries?

Are there other suggestions beside drinking? I am beginning to think I am spending to much time in that area and should add a day in Lyon or another day at the Chateau Bagnol? It sounds like the towns are small and you can easily do them in a day or so and yet everyone seems to love spending ( more time than I normally would) time in this area?

maitaitom

We loved our stay in Beaune at Les Jardins de Loïs. Great location, host, room and the best shower in Europe.

<B>http://www.jardinsdelois.com/en/esprit/</B<
<B>https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187109-d1205682-Reviews-Les_Jardins_de_Lois-Beaune_Cote_d_Or_Bourgogne_Franche_Comte.html</B>

Chapters Two - Four describe (with photos) our autumn 2016 travel days to and in Beaune (with day trip to Dijon.)

<B>http://travelswithmaitaitom.com/france-2016/</B>

spaarne

<i>centeno on Mar 14, 17 at 6:34am
Are there other suggestions beside drinking?</i>

As pointed out by WoinParis, taste and spit is what you do, not "drinking." I drove to Burgundy a few times a year from Germany, where I lived in the 90s, for a regular DIY tour and buy. Tasting wine is like going to the races. If you don't bet on a horse it isn't much fun. For wine, if you don't buy some it is kind of flat to do a tour. However, getting your wine home on a plane is no longer convenient.

My routine was to drive around the villages looking for "degustation" signs. That means "tasting" and it is free. I would walk in and try a few. After a day of shopping I would have a full trunk and drive home to Aschaffenburg. I found two nice wines this way. The red was passetoutgrains which is a blend of pinot noir and gamay. The white was aligoté, much better than chardonnay, though not favored by professional wine noses.

What to do besides drinking? Wow, eat! Two of the signature dishes in Burgundy are boeuf bourguignon and coc au vin. Of course you can make these at home but the local French ingredients make these meals the things you will never forget. You can't buy a French chicken in your home town market.

Another "to do" item is to visit the mustard shop in Dijon. This is the original mustard, not that stuff made in Illinois "based on the original Dijon, France recipe." Bah, disgusting. The real stuff in Dijon has a nice kick, and you can buy it by the liter. Get a nice ceramic table urn while you are there.

For souvenirs, don't forget your Beaune T-shirt, tasting spoon, and cork extractor.

I haven't heard WoinParis' term "caviste" before but I assume he is referring to the stores selling wine in Beaune. I agree that these places are not where you want to go for wine. But I did find a very interesting beverage in one of these "caves." It is marc de Bourgogne, a distilled brandy type drink. If you like cognac give it a try.

I don't know your selected sleep. I used to stay in a proletarian roadhouse in Nuits-Saint-Georges. The cafe downstairs had a collection of locals who appeared to be regulars, probably vineyard workers. The scene was better than watching a movie.

centeno

I am now back to planning this trip! Since we are flying and than taking the TGV directly to Lyon I am beginning to think I should spend at least the first night in Lyon, spend the next day exploring and than move on to Chateaux Bagnol. Any thoughts on this? Any ideas where to stay or what to do in Lyon? Do I have to book my TGV and rental car prior to going?

centeno

This is the schedule now:

Fly into CDG and take TGV to Lyon
Spend 2 nights in Lyon
Pick up car in Lyon and drive 30 minutes outside of Lyon to beautiful hotel in Pagnol to relax
Than continue for 3 nights to Beaune to explore the area
We are now considering going down to Annecy ( looks so charming and beautiful) for a couple of nights rather than back up to Paris.( Unfortunately this is being thought of because of current world events. )
Is it worth driving from Beaune to Annecy? Is two nights to long? Would it be best to try and fly out of Geneva or is it okay to get back up to CDG? Anyone else reconsidering plans/travel or just moving ahead? Just curious.

joannyc

You might considering flipping your trip:

Fly into Geneva
Bus to Annecy
Rent car upon leaving Annecy
Drive to Lyon
Drive to Beaune/Dijon
Up to CDG by train or car (I don't know specifics for getting to CDG from that area... Train from Lyon makes you backtrack if going from Lyon. Maybe try googling options or check the rome2rio site).

I went to all of these locations except Paris last year. I continued north from Beaune and eventually dropped my car in Strasbourg before taking the bus to Frankfurt and flying home from there.

joannyc

Rome2rio shows a train from Dijon to CDG taking 2 hrs 11 min.

centeno

Thank you joannyc! I will take a look at that option and the cost of changing my flights. Right now I am flying in and out of CDG. Did you love this trip? What were your highlights if any? Interesting you skipped Paris as well. I heard Strasbourg was beautiful as well. Thanks again!

joannyc

You're welcome, Centeno! Yes, I loved my trip, I had a wonderful time. Wow... it is very difficult trying to limit any of the places to particular highlights but I guess my time in Beaune, Riquewhir, and those small towns were the highlights.

I have been to Paris a number of times in the past so don't feel the need to return. And, I avoid CDG like the plague!

Here is a link to my pictorial TR in case it may help you. Each location is noted on the first pic of that grouping. The first pic has the locations where I had hotel stays. If you open the individual pics, there are captions on many of them.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...n-pictures.cfm

Enjoy your planning and your trip!

northfork280

Hi Centeno - sorry, I just saw your comment from March. Yes - we are out by the North Fork wineries hence our interest in visiting Burgundy last year! Beaune and Dijon are both wonderful towns.

centeno

Thank you joannyc! Looks like a great itinerary. I will see if I can change mine a bit.

Northfork280 I live near the wineries as well. I live on the south fork but love the north fork as you can well imagine. Funny, I was wondering why I was going to the wineries considering it is right next door to me! I know it's totally different. Any particulars you can recommend? We are definitely doing Lyon, Beaune and Dijon just have to figure out if we are changing flights to include Annecy and I did like Joanyc driving route. We had plans to go back to Paris but are now reconsidering european cities all together.

centeno

Also, did you stay in any great hotels? We like luxury ones so I am always looking. Some people don't care, which is fine, but we do. In Annecy we were thinking of the Imperial because of it's location on the lake but I am not so sure. Any recommendations are welcomed.