dperry

We are a group of 10 taking an A&K barge tour in October 2016 ending in Venarey, France.
We would like to rent a house for a week afterwards, in either Burgundy or Loire Valley.
Is there an advantage to either region at this time of year? What towns would be best?
Ideally we would like to rent a house where we could walk into town, enjoy local restaurants and purchase provisions. Will will not be renting a car, and will arrange transportation for day tours or other activities.
Our interests include touring vineyards, bicycling, visiting castles, cathedrals, cooking classes.
We also want to cook at 'home'.
Can anyone share their experience renting a house in these areas?
I have never been to either, so I am a bit lost. Would love to rely on the experience of fellow Fodorites.
Any recommendations would be appreciated.

PalenQ

http://translate.google.com/translat...m/&prev=search

Start with the Gites de France - often vacation homes in small villages owners rent out when not using - there are a ton in the Loire and Burgudny - having been in the Loire in October the weather can be pretty grim or it may be nice - I think Burgundy may have better warmer weather but the Loire has more castles but not so many vineyards

I'd say the Loire sights are easier to get to by public transit although if you stay along the Burgundy Wine Road from Dijon to Beaune there are several famous wine villages with train stations and rail service. Beaune is a bigger city that is really nice.

Amboise would be a great base or smaller towns near it like Onzain - with rail service and easy hops by train or bus to several famous chateaus of the Loire.

http://translate.google.com/translat...m/&prev=search

Gites are self-catering and can accommodate varying numbers of people - many in smaller towns with all you will need.

StuDudley

We've rented 59 gites through Gites de France for a total of 97 weeks. Only 1 was in a city/village where we could walk to town for food, provisions, etc. They are typically called "Gite rural".

The gite we rented in Burgundy was a 10 min drive to Beaune. We've rented three in the Loire and all were at least a 10 min drive to places were we could get provisions.

IMO, the Loire is all about the Chateaux. The cities/towns are really not that interesting IMO (except perhaps for Chinon & Angers) compared to other cities/towns we've visited elsewhere in France. As you can imagine, these chateaux/towns are spread out along the Loire, and getting to them can consume some time.

Burgundy has different types of chateaux than the Loire, and also three of our very favorite towns/cities in France - Dijon, Beaune, and Auxerre. I think the countryside in Burgundy is a lot more scenic than the countryside in the Loire. We stayed in the Loire for 2 weeks in Sept last year (near Blois), and we passed miles & miles of open fields with stubs of harvested corn stalks and dried out sunflowers.

I can't offer any advice regarding public transportation in these regions - we always rent a car. There are frequent trains between Beaune & Dijon, however. The train we took through the famous wine villages to get us from Beaune to Dijon to CDG for our flight home, was outside of these wine villages quite a bit - perhaps not within walking distance of several of them unless you consider 3-10 K to be a within walking distance. It did pass close to 2-3 wine villages.

Unless you are big Chateau fans and want to visit around 7-10 chateaux in your 6 days there, I would recommend Burgundy. Stay in Beaune or Dijon.

Stu Dudley

JAMH

It may be because of my love of Pinot Noir from France and Pouilly-Fumé, but I would pick the Burgundy region in a flash over the Loire. I find the Loire Valley to be all about the chateaux, which don’t thrill me. I wouldn’t go too small on the town that you pick as your base. The French countryside/village vacation without a car is not as good an idea as it may seem. I have done once and it was a complete pain -- poor mass transit connections for sightseeing and not enough to do in the village for more than a day or two. Having said that, I suggest that if you decide on the Burgundy region, you look at Dijon. If you decide to go smaller, Autun has a good market and an active center of town. Others have suggested Beaune and that has been a good choice for many although my family found it just okay. You could also look at Nevers, which is technically in the Burgundy region but is far enough west that you are basically splitting the difference between the Burgundy region and the Loire Valley.

Jean

How late in October? I might pick Burgundy if only for slightly better weather prospects.

Wherever you choose, I think it would be a mistake not to rent a car.

nytraveler

Going without a car will work only if you rent a house in quite a large town/small city - not a small town or village - or you will find yourself hostage to local transit that may run only a couple of times a day - heading through a number of small places to the local larger market town.

StuDudley

The OP said that they will not be renting a car - and would "arrange" for transportation elsewhere. That might mean hiring a car/van/bus with a personal driver.

I too would not visit either of these areas and only rely on normal public transportation to get me to vineyards, castles, & cathedrals.

Stu Dudley

dperry

Wow, I appreciate all the thoughtful and quick responses, lots of good information here to consider.
I spoke with some of my traveling friends earlier tonight and they do prefer to stay in Loire rather than burgundy since we will have toured some of the burgundy region by barge for a week. (I think I would have preferred to stay in burgundy, but am sure we will have a great time nonetheless).
Yes, StuDudley is correct, we will hire local guides/drivers for day tours to castles and wineries.
I want to avoid local transportation for sightseeing. Would like to be able to ride bicycles Into town or walk.
Our barge tour is scheduled for the week of October 23-30.
While doing preliminary searches before this post I found some housing possibilities in Amboise, will take poster suggestions and search for gites as well.
I am open to further suggestions, and will post final choices
Again, thanks very much everyone.
I will save the burgundy suggestions for a future trip ...

MmePerdu

I suggest you make your decision by what's available to rent that meets your criteria. See if you can find a house large enough within walking distance of what you'd like to walk to and go from there. I frequently make my decisions by narrowing the field to rentals that appeal in towns that are big enough/small enough and look pretty on Street View. Since you have no personal preference, I think it's as good a way as any, maybe better than most.

StuDudley

November in the Loire??? Similar, weather wise, to November in Canada.

Stu Dudley

sugarmaple

In my patch of Canada, November is dreary, dreary, and dark with either rain or snow. Worst month of the year.

Jean

In November, it won't be fully light until 8:00a, and sunset will be around 5:30p. It might be a little too chilly for cycling.

bilboburgler

You also get fogs in the Loire more than Burgundy

traveller1959

<<<In my patch of Canada, November is dreary, dreary, and dark with either rain or snow. Worst month of the year.>>>

Here in Europe, it is exactly the same. I wonder how many things will be closed in November in the Loire Valley (at least most of the castles will be open).

According to my experience, it is not a good idea to rely on hired drivers. I cannot imagine to stay in the Loire Valley without a rental car. And riding a bicycle in November storms and pouring rain is not much fun either.

I would stay in a large vacation rental with a bathtub and a fireplace. Since daylight in short in November, you will spend much time in your home. Make yourself cozy in the afternoons, sip a cup of a warm drink with a generous shot of cognac or cointreau and spend the evening with a multicourse, self-prepared dinner with high-quality ingredients from a hypermarché. But how will you get these ingredients if you don't have a rental car?

dperry

Perhaps we will do the week rental before the barge trip, although I don't know two weeks would make a big difference weather wise
Weatherbase shows highs of 51 in November and lows of 42. We would be there the first week of November
We don't mind cool weather and fog, but rain is of course a problem
We live in the Florida Keys so a change from constant heat and sun is appealing.
The vineyards are open, but many are closed on Sundays
MmePerdu I like your selection approach...

MmePerdu

I'm glad you do,dperry. I think it's an easier way, especially if an interesting accommodation is as important a part of the experience as where it is. I'm NOT one of those who say "it's only a place to sleep".

I'm often on my own which simplifies things. For a large group it makes even more sense, I think. Do have a look on Airbnb as the map makes moving around to see what's available throughout a region much simpler. And you can narrow the criteria (bedrooms, baths, etc.), along with price, when you start.

traveller1959

Two weeks will make a big difference weatherwise. In October, you often have beautiful weather - with autumn colours, mild sunshine. In November, the leafs are gone, days are shorter and weather will have abruptedly worsened. Believe me, I have been living year for more than half a century.

PalenQ

Yup the weather in France's Centre Region - the part of the Loire Valley with the famous chateaus - can see weather and daylight deteriorate prodigiously as fall goes on. For those months and even October can be dank and cool - never gets cold really at lest in northern Michigan terms of what cold means in winter - but can be cool at any time of year - Id' head south to Provence, the Cote d'Azur and even Burgundy I believe has much better and warmer weather then getting the remnants of the Mistral blowing warmer air up from the south.

MmePerdu

Loire and Burgundy seem to be about the same temperature-wise. http://www.weatherbase.com But "average" so often isn't accurate for a given week.

I agree with heading south. Avignon, Uzes, Arles - an instant 5-8º bump (hopefully).

StuDudley

If dperry's group of 10 wants to go south and not rent a car - I would go all the way south to Nice & the Cote d'Azur. Lots of diverse things to do along the cote by train and bus. The Nice Cours Saleya has a morning outdoor food market 6 days a week. Check Nice Pebbles for accommodations for 10 - but check back here on Fodors for location advice/comments for the apts. We like Nice - Carre d'Or area. http://www.nicepebbles.com/

You might have trouble finding a place in Nice for 10 - but Antibes is my second favorite city in this area of the Cote & this place seems to fit:
http://www.nicepebbles.com/nice-fran...t/rentals/187/

25 min walk (or less time by bus) to the center of town - which also has a very nice farmer's market.

Stu Dudley