this might help

http://www.mybikeguide.co.uk/Yonne_Guide.php though it may be a bit north of where you are.

Sept is a good time for such a tour

You should check the French Mystique site which has a lot of information and suggestions about cycling.

Thank you both. Besides the cycling, any suggestions about villages and must see places. Also, good places for lunches? Thanks everyone.

From your B&B both Auxerre and Chablis are each a great day out, the canals and rivers are good.

The Chablis wine visit is also worthwhile, go see the Roman wine press at the wine institue and maybe book yourselves in for a half day course.

Have a read through the my link and see what else there is to do.

French Mystique (search his name) on this site and his info is very good.

Lunch, in my experience the best place to eat changes annually. I'd ask in your B&B, tourisdt info and listen to what they say. Last time I was there I was told to go eat in the local Tabac, it was seriously good, but I guess now it is very expensive.

I have a general view which is keep away from anywhere offering a massive wine list, there is no way a sommelier can control a large list.

We will have a rental car from Charles Degaulle airport. What would be the best place to drop it off as we will be going to Paris for five nights after Avallon area? People say don't drive into Paris.

We read that it is worth seeing Avallon, Vezelay, Noyers, Semur, Auxerre Chateauneuf, Flavigny, Epoisses. Any comments?

Thanks.

Paris is not easy but there are worse in Europe, if you have GPS and you have somewhere to park at your hotel it could be worse.

Of those listed Vezelay, Samur, Auxerre, Chateuneuf I know. For me the priority would be A,V,C and then S. I think Tonnerre is nicer than Saumur and that is in your region. There is a Fosse Dion which is so lovely. While walking in the Morvan hills is very nice.

I would drop off at CdG but I'm very happy taking the metro into Paris and finding my way around.

All the places you mention,Vezelay, Noyers, Semur, Auxerre, Chablis, Chateneuf, Flavigny( buy the little mints),Epoisses( the cheese of the same name is yummy) are worth visiting.We also visited St-Florentin and Joigny as my father was encamped there in WWII.
We found that this area of Burgundy was less crowded than the Dijon/Beaune section which we also enjoyed.
Pilgrims headed from the Bascilica in Vezelay to begin their journey on the Camino de Santiago.

This may help. www.burgundyeye.com

I love avallon that boards a state reservation, watching trout
fishing.

Nuit St George is quite cute village, it has a great restaurant called L'Alambique. Very traditional and quaint. The duck bourguignon is beautiful! The village of Chambolle Musigny has a nice little restaurant for lunch called Le Chambolle. You can stop for lunch n would be lovely! These 2 villages are quite close together. Have fun!

We enjoyed a few days exploring that area last fall. Especially liked Avallon, Vézélay, Semur, Flavigny and Châteauneuf. If you click on my name, you can find my trip report and a link to my photos of this picturesque region.

I would also recommend FrenchMystiqueTours's report with beautiful photos:
http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/a-beautiful-weekend-in-burgundy-villages-countryside-and-blue-skies.cfm

His report was a great inspiration for me.

Flavigny was perhaps the most disappointing village we've experienced in France in the last 4 years - unless they have done some major "work" on it recently (we spend 2 months in France most years). Semur was great from the outside, but we were a little disappointed with the "insides". Except for the cathedral, we were underwhelmed with Autun. Dijon is our second favorite large city in France, and we loved Auxerre also. Beaune is one of our "top 5" medium sized cities in France (great Sat market).

There are tons of great castles in Burgundy - I don't see any on your "list".

I would return the car in Dijon and take the TGV to Paris from there - we've done that several times.

Stu Dudley

Here is something I posted about Autun several years ago

Autun

Here are a few thoughts to describe why Autun didn’t “grab” us like other cities in the region did. First, I’ll describe what we like to see in larger cities (over 15,000)

1. Old architecture – Renaissance, Medieval, Belle Époque, cross-timbered.
2. Absence of cars in the old section of town
3. Pedestrian streets with some nice “non-chain” shops
4. Cafes
5. Some quiet corners
6. Minimum of dilapidated or abandoned buildings (we like to see old buildings being worked on)

When we drove into Autun, we headed to the Place du Champs de Mars, where the Michelin guide said that the noteworthy Hotel de Ville, a Belle Epoque theater, & Lycee Bonaparte were located. This “square” had been relegated into a major ugly parking lot – much unlike the beautiful squares in Montpellier, Dijon, & other cities. We wandered around the square a bit & walked along some of the streets in this “lower town” & did not find much of interest. We walked along the only “pedestrian” streets – which were a total of 2 blocks and were very boring. We wanted to have a morning coffee at a café along the square, but I believe there was only 1 café, & it did not seem that charming.

The cathedral (upper town), however, really was remarkable – enormous and inserting its presence in almost any panorama of Autun. We walked around the interesting small streets adjacent to the cathedral. We then followed the walking itinerary that we picked up at the tourist office, just to make sure we were giving the town a “fair shake”, but we ultimately questioned whether this would really be destination town (except for the cathedral).

We did not visit the Theatre Roman. We’ve seen lots of Roman ruins (25 weeks in Provence, earlier this year a week in Rome & a week in Tuscany, last year the ruins & museum south of Lyon). This theater did not receive any ‘stars” in the Michelin Green Guide – so we figured we could pass on it. In fact, only one building/historical site in Autun (Porte St Andre) received any Michelin Stars – other than the Cathedral. We drove past the Port & it was OK.

Summarizing – Autun’s central square was a mass of cars, the pedestrian street was one of the least interesting we’ve seen, minimal cafes, did have some quiet corners near the cathedral, architecture only OK, cathedral was fabulous.

A few days later, we visited Auxerre, and the contrast was remarkable. Auxerre had many more shops, lots of interesting architecture, and it seemed much more alive. We took the walking tour of Auxerre that we picked up at the tourist office, and this consumed over 2 hrs. We spent almost the entire day at Auxerre. There were lots of very interesting cafes that tempted us.

Stu Dudley

This Carpe Diem place must be great. You're the third person I've responded to who has stayed in this place. Here's my trip report about spending a weekend exploring the area around Massangis if you want to have a look.

http://tinyurl.com/6wtm6u5

I've only briefly skimmed through the thread as I'm off to bed but I'll look over your questions about cycling tomorrow and see if I've got any advice for you. I saw bilboburgler responded and I know they can give you some good advice about cycling and hopefully you got a link to bilbo's website, which has some great info.

You will be staying in one of our favorite parts of France. Here are some other places that you might enjoy:

Guedelon Castle -- They are building an actual castle here using original methods. Fascinating! http://www.guedelon.fr

When you go to Vezelay make a stop in St. Pere to see the lovely Gothic cathedral (interesting contrast to Vezelay). And if you like prehistory, Les Fontaines Salees is also quite interesting (but you need to use your imagination).

The wine villages of Nuit St George and Chambolle Musigny are both very special. In Beaune, I love the wine cellar at Patriarche Pere et Fils.

I was also underwhelmed by Autun.

Be sure to look for any local festivals -- always lots of fun.
I like this website for general info: www.burgundytoday.com

Should you be near Auxerre where my favorite French writer went to school but was raised in the village
Saint Saveur-en-Puisage. The home is now private but there is a plaque, " Colette was born here (in French)"
The Castle in the town is a museum dedicated to her.
The steps have engraved titles of her books.
There's a room where you can watch films adapted from her books.
There's a tea shop and bookks.

Everyone, thank you so much for all your advice. I have been reading alot.

We have 4 nights in Massangis at Carpe Diem.

We will go down towards Dijon one day and probably Beaune. Let me know your thoughts about doing that in one day. Plus som good suggestions for lunch. We love "great food".

Avalon, Auxerre will be for another day with stops to other locations (Noyers, Vezelay) etc. Restaurants?

StuDudley, fyi re the rental car. We will pick it up at Charles De Gaulle we think. Then we are going to go to the Marais for 5 nights. However, we want to figure out where to drop it off. Dijon is not close to where we are staying. We wondered about taking it back to Orly. Does that make sense? Any other suggestions? We are very comfortable with taking the train/metro.

We are looking to buy some local foie gras (small cans) to take back to Canada. Any suggestions?

We will be in Burgundy on a Monday and leaving on a Friday for Paris so any market suggestions?

Thanks everyone. Have a wonderful day.

>>We will go down towards Dijon one day and probably Beaune. Let me know your thoughts about doing that in one day. Plus some good suggestions for lunch. We love "great food".<<

I think Dijon, great food/lunch, and then Beaune is a little too much in 1 day - especially since you are not staying close to Dijon. One of my favorite restaurants in France is Stephane Derbord in Dijon - but any "great food" place is going to "consume" about 2 1/2 hr of your time. We don't want to spend that much time not sightseeing during the day, plus a big lunch always makes us want to nap afterwards. We almost always have walk-away sandwiches or a sit-down salad for lunch at a simple cafe. We "dine out" at "great food" places for dinner about 30 times each year in France.

IMO, Dijon is a 3/4+ day visit and Beaune a half day visit. If you add in 2 1/2 hrs for lunch and driving to Dijon & back from Beaune - that's a "packed day".

>>We will pick it up at Charles De Gaulle we think. Then we are going to go to the Marais for 5 nights.<<<

Huh???? What are you going to do with a car in the Marais??


>>However, we want to figure out where to drop it off. Dijon is not close to where we are staying. We wondered about taking it back to Orly. Does that make sense? Any other suggestions? We are very comfortable with taking the train/metro.

Auxerre - combined with a visit to Auxerre.

>>We are looking to buy some local foie gras (small cans) to take back to Canada. Any suggestions?<<

I'm a big foie gras fan & we devour many pounds of it while in France - always "mi cuit", however. The stuff in cans is more like dog food, IMO. I can purchase Mi Cuit foie gras at my local grocery in the San Francisco area (foie gras is scheduled to be banned here on July 1). I suggest that you try to find some mi cuit or raw foie gras in Caneda. Much of our foie gras comes from Caneda.

Stu Dudley

Byron, I can recommend Le Relais Fleuri in Avallon. It's right off A6 exit 22 with signage plentiful. It's beautiful, relaxing and the food was superb. For lunch we dined on Charollais beef with mushroom confiture, jambon terrine, escargot, trout en crote. Since we were not expecting to dine in such a lovely setting we were in jeans and running shoes for the trip but never felt inadequately dressed here.

You didn't mention anything else about biking in your latest post so let me know if you want some tips about biking and I'll be happy to provide them.

Do you have the ancient abbey of Fontenay on your list? If not, it should be.

We really, really like Autun; don't miss the wrought-iron grill at the Lycée-Bonaparte. The nearby Château Rochepot is worth a visit as well. The Musée Rolin is excellent, as is the lapidary museum.

If the small restaurant opposite the cathedral is still in business, try the steak au Roquefort. Yum!

Thanks everyone. I need to clarify the car. We are only going to have a car in burgundy. We will then drop the car off somewhere and train in to Paris and stay in the Marais. We will not have a car in Paris, so I wanted to clarify that for Stu.

Also, we will have our big meal at night. Light lunches but wanted to know if anyone had recommendations for small good cafes for lunch.

Regarding the bicycles, we are ow thinking we will do more walking. Not enough time to go on a bicycle trip this time.

We will go Dijon for sure but due to distance and comments on this board, we won't be ale to go to Beaune. We only have three full days after we arrive the day before from a long overseas flight. So we want to see the best places given we are staying at Massangis.

THANK YOU EVERYONE

Europcar has offices in both Auxerre and Troyes...

We are photographers and spend part of every year in Burgundy. we always pick up and drop off our car at Orly..... It is easy, but for me I would ask for the Coordinates for the GPS.Since we pick up our car there we put down a marker....makes things easier.I realize that you are not going to get your car there, but it is easier getting the car there , too, because it is right off the A6 that goes right down to Burgundy.If you will be close to Avallon and have a night or two to stay we love this place... Nabe stayed there many times. www.maisoncremeanglaise

We have been doing more research. We need some more advice. As mentioned, we are staying four nights in Massangis.

Thoughts on our itnerary:

Day one arrive from overseas flight. Settle into the B&B. Have a nice walk and a nice dinner.

Day 2 - We will have a rental car. Massangis to Noyers to Chablis to Auxerre to Vezelay to Avallon.

Day 3 - We drive from Massangis to Dijon. Then drive from Dijon go south and then make our way to Chateauneuf and return to Massangis.

Day 4 - We drive from Massangis and go to Semur en Auxois, Abbé de Fontenay and Ancy le Franc.

That's all the time we have. I know it may sound like a lot. We are very active and usually see a lot in each day. Can you comment on this portfolio and any places you think we are missing that are a must see. A location in the daily itineraries for lunch and for an afternoon treat would be appreciated.
Thank you everyone.

It sounds like a lot. Yep. Two days visit in each day. You need to knock a place out for each day (keep as a plan B)

We were worried about that. Thanks for your comments Bilboburgler.

Day 2 is doable as long as Avallon is not your "top" site for the day. If you run out of time - skip Avallon.

Day 3 - what do you mean by "go south" from Dijon. Beaune??? Where is Chateauneuf?? I could look it up - but there must be hundreds of cities in France starting with Chateauneuf. What's there?

Day 4 should not be a problem at all - as long as you remember that Ancy le Franc closes for lunch & has a guided tour. Find out what time the tours depart. We actually prefer Tanlay.

Stu Dudley

I love Avallon, have stayed seversl times in the woods at the Moulin Des Ruats, because of its bucolic location and because it's the only place I know that serves a real Truite Bleu. The fish must come fresh from the water and into the pot.
POne of my favcorite writers, MFK FISHER, tasted her first blue trout there.

We don't know Stu but thought Chatrauneuf was some place we should go but we understand your comment. Any places you think we should see that are not listed? You have helped us in the past.

Thanks everyone. Always appreciate your comments.

On day 3, get an early start and try to visit both Dijon & Beaune. These are "must sees", IMO.

On day 4, get to Tanlay at 10 & take the 1 hr guided tour (it is closed on Tues). Then over to Noyers for a walk-around & lunch (we had a nice lunch there at an outside cafe). Then get to Ancy le Franc at 2pm for their tour. Then off to Fontenay. Remember to save your admission ticket at the first chateau for discounts on the other chateaux.

Visit Semur en Auxois after Avallon on day 2 if there is time left in the day. Obviously, skip Noyers on that day.

We have not visited Avallon, and our only visit to Chablis was in the 70s. We were in Burgundy for 2 weeks in '09 - staying in a gite near Beaune. We preferred Noyers over Semur - although Semur looked better from the outside.

Stu Dudley

Stu, we are trying to fit your suggestions in our itinerary. Helpful as always. Can you explain what the two tours are about? Thank you.

Interiors of medieval defense castles, which were later transformed into residences. Educate yourself - get a Michelin Green Guide to Burgundy and read about them. There are another 25 or so chateaux scattered around Burgundy & Beaujolais that are quite fascinating. There are brochures in the hotels & B&Bs that describe the chateaux that are open for viewing in the region. We visited at around 15 of them while in Burgundy & Beaujolais for 4 weeks in '08.

Stu Dudley

Thanks Stu. We do have the Michelin book but it doesn't say anything about Tanlay so that is why I asked for further assistance. When I read Trip Advisor, I heard pros and cons about Tanlay. We are starting to do a lot of planning and you're right that is key. We will be going to Dijon. However, we've heard conflicting information - big city - just go to the old part. We've heard go to Beaune but not as nice as Dijon. We will continue to research. Ps we loved Versailles so these chateaus we know will all be very different. Thank you again. Ps if you know a place for lunch I either Dijon or Beaune you'd recommend let us know. We keep our special meal at dinner but always like to find great little bistros for lunch.

Thank you again.

Tanlay is in my Michelin Green Guide. They give it a ** rating - their second highest. When I got out my brochure of "Route des Ducs de Bourgogne" which lists 16 Chateaux that are open to the public in Burgundy (plus Fontenay Abbey) I now see Ch Chateauneuf. Michelin gives it a * rating. Ancy is **.
http://www.chateaux-france.com/tanlay

Just about every large city in France has an old section and a new section. Of course, only visit the old section. Like I've stated may times on Fodors, Dijon is my favorite city in France after Paris. Get a copy of the Owl walk & follow it.

Beaune is different - but it is in my "top 5" list of medium sized cities in France - along with Colmar, Sarlat, Albi, and Vannes.

I never use Trip Advisor, because I don't trust it. As far as I know, there is no way to find out if a person reviewing some site has spent years vacationing in France, or just 4 days and is passing judgement with limited background. I trust the Michelin Guide and Cadogan the most.

Stu Dudley

Thanks Stu. Appreciate the help.

Which Michelin Guide do you have? The one for Burgundy contains information on the Château de Tanlay; it's on page 306. And it's definitely worth a visit, being one of the not very many châteaux that look lived in.

I get excellent information on the TripAdvisor site, and often provide some as well. Stu, look for the Destination Experts, often residents in France. They know their stuff.

Underhill, my husband bought the one called Burgundy Jura. I am thinking it may not be the one you reference.

What I have is the newer version of the Michelin guide to Burgundy/Jura, copyright 2000. Michelin is rather coy about letting you know just which edition you have in front of you. The earlier edition was just Burgundy, and it was hard to find in English.

Stu,

I cannot imagine how you could have been underwhelmed by the cathedral in Autun. For us it ranks right up there with the ones at Vézelay and Chartres.

>>>I cannot imagine how you could have been underwhelmed by the cathedral in Autun.>>>

This is what I stated earlier:
>The cathedral (upper town), however, really was remarkable – enormous and inserting its presence in almost any panorama of Autun. We walked around the interesting small streets adjacent to the cathedral. We then followed the walking itinerary that we picked up at the tourist office, just to make sure we were giving the town a “fair shake”, but we ultimately questioned whether this would really be destination town (except for the cathedral).<<

Maybe this was written poorly - but we were underwhelmed with the town (mainly the lower town), but the cathedral was remarkable.

Stu Dudley

Thank you Underhill. We have copyright 2010. It is on page 244. I was looking under Tanlay vs Chateau de Tanlay. My oversite.

Here is our dilemma everyone. We have 3 full days in the area. We write off day one as we land from an overseas flight and just expect by the time we get to Massangis, it will be around 2pm. We will probably settle in and go for a nice walk and a dinner and rest. Then start fresh the next morning.

We have always been told "don't do too much" and we totally understand it. So given what I wrote a few e mails before about our three days, we were trying to figure out what was "really worth it" and what wasn't. The one day going towards Dijon and it now sounds like we should see Beaune is a full day down that way. Not sure if anything can be seen in that day.

So any comments about the things that are a "must see" (and I know everyone will have their own view point and I appreciate it), is always welcome.

Thanks again. Everyone is always so good at getting us to really think about our itinerary.

Have a good day.

Our favourite things after two trips are:

Day spent in Dijon doing the owl tour you can get from the tourist office, some more reviews
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g187111-d261423-Reviews-Owl_s_Trail_La_Chouette-Dijon_Cote_d_Or_Burgundy.html

Market day in Beaune (although great even without the market) with a trip to the hospice and the marche du vins
http://www.burgundytoday.com/towns/beaune.htm

You must do the wine tasting in the cellars!!
http://www.marcheauxvins.com/vin-beaune-tourisme/en/marche-aux-vins.html

Hospice site in French. http://www.hospices-de-beaune.com/index.php/hospicesdebeaune/L-Hotel-Dieu/Le-Musee

Combined with Beaune you could do a drive through the surrounding vineyards and villages.

My parents loved Fontenay and vezelay as well.

If you mean chateau neuf du pape we thought the surrounding areas were not as scenic as farther north so I wouldn't bother.

Hope this helps!

Châteauneuf-du-Pape is far south of Burgundy, near Avignon.

Thank you everyone. Appreciate the effort you take to respond. It is so helpful.

Châteauneuf-en-Auxois

http://www.chateauneuf.net/

We are back. We wanted to share that the B&B in Massangis called Carpe Diem was outstanding. The service provided by Patrick and Eric was second to none. The dinners at night were the highlight of our eating experience.

We drove to Dijon and alot of the cities, owns and villages all of you recommended. We loved Auxerre, Vezelay, and L'Abbe de Fontenae, Chablis. Avallon was just ok.

Thanks again, everyone for all of your help.