joanw

We will be taking a barge trip leaving from Tournus in Burgundy, France. We are flying from NY.
What would be the best way to get there, NY-Paris, then train to Lyon to Tournus,
or NY to Geneva, then train to Lyon to Tournus? Or something else?
We'd like to drive around for a week after the cruise. What 2 towns would be good bases in the area?
Any hotel, b n b or apartment rentals you could recommend? We prefer small towns rather than cities.
Thank you so much.

Magster2005

Sounds like a great trip! You may want to take a look at flights into Lyon from JFK (haven't done it yet, but I was very happy to discover this route).

Here are two highly recommended places we have enjoyed:

La Closerie de Gilly: wonderful B&B with one apartment, great location in Vougeot (especially good if you like wine!)
http://www.closerie-gilly.com/en/index.php?id=9#

Les 4 Saisons en Morvan: B&B plus an incredible house for rental, in the countryside but near lovely Vezelay
http://www.4saisons-en-morvan.com/sp...age=sommaire-1

jpie

You could consider open jaw in via Lyon out via Geneva or Paris-depending on where you want to spend that time after. Beaune is lovely in Burgundy-not a small town but only mid-sized.

If you go out from Geneva you could also explore the wine areas near there for amazing white wine:

http://www.region-du-leman.ch/en/gas...Lavauxunescoen

If you do that-I would suggest taking a train to Switzerland though to avoid the drop off charge if there is one for picking a car up in France.

tower

JoanW:
we've tried a few smaller towns in which to base ourselves during the times we've been in the Burgundy region..most recently in '09 (No! not 1909!!)We favor Beaune (Bone)...not too small, certainy not too big. It's definitely a town, not a city, in my mind.

Using Beaune as a base has some advantages we found. The "in" and "out" access is an easy one. Parking in a municipal lot is free (and from there the above town entrance is very closeby).

There are several fine dining places and more snacky spots within the town. The historic and famous Hospice is in the very center and offers an interesting walk through.

Wineries, both in town and along the higheways out of town, are plentiful, many offering tours and tastes. I'm a barge fan and I would hope yours is a colorful and intersting one. The last one we did was in Alsace, through wine country also.

I would recommend Le Patriarche family winery on the fringe of Beaune... certainly the largest and most comprehensive in the district. We were all alone on our visit and treated like royalty (or at least my wife thought so)...about $12 per person. There is another much smaller one in the heart of town just outside the hospice, but that was so crowded there was a wait and two tour busses waiting around the corner (and this was in harvest season.

There are many small towns offering wineries all along the Cote de d'Or. We did drive to some of the regions larger cities and none was as appealing to our taste as friendly Beaune. I'll post some pics below. You would thnk that The Chamber of Commerce pays me $50 for every recommnendation I make for Beaune. Wrong! It's only $10, hardy worth the trouble.

We stayed in a small hotel just a block or so from the Hospice. B n B rates. The hotel's breakfast prices were stratospheric, but there are a dozen small cafes for breakfast all over town which we frequented.

Enjoy barge and Beaune!
stu

tower

https://picasaweb.google.com/stuartt...eBurgundy2009#

FrenchMystiqueTours

This thread might give you some ideas on where to stay and where to visit in Burgundy:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...-Burgundy.html

joanw

This is why I love this forum and base all my travels on what people hear say. Thank you for such detail and sincerity. You've given me a lot to research.Joan

MarySteveChicago

If you decide near or in Beaune I highly recommend http://www.graperentals.com/home.html.
We stayed at the apartment in town and loved it. Franck and
Laura live in Canada and were delightful to work with. They even provide a parking ticket for use in our rental car. We were centrally located in town and walked to everything. I can't wait to return. Mary

xcaba

From NY, unless you can find a direct flight to Lyon, I would recommend flying to Paris (CDG) and catch a TGV to Tournus. If you're interested in visiting Geneva, then fly to Geneva and catch a train to Tournus but it may end up being longer.

As for a base for visit after barging, depending on where you end up, there are many choices. In the south, Cluny and Tournus are great. Further north I recommend Fontaines, Santenay, Rully, Chassagne-Montrachet, and of course Beaune (more further north but I don't want to overwhelm you!). Most of these small villages have B&B's and Beaune (being a bit larger but still walkable from one end to the other) has some great hotel options. In Santenay I recommend Prosper Maufoux B&B (part of my family) and in Beaune, depending on your budget, I recommend Hostellerie Le Cedre, Le Cep and Hotel de la Poste.

Feel free to contact me directly. Have a good trip!

joanw

Thank you again for all your advice. So far, here's what we're doing. Because we're using miles on AA (which are very limiting), we will fly in and out of Geneva, renting a car on the French side of the airport to avoid drop off fees between countries.( I just learned that on Fodor's) We will spend June 25-July 4th in the Swiss or French Alps. Then drive to Lyon to drop off the car and train to Tournus to get the barge. On the 12th, after the cruise, we'll pick up the car again, base ourselves in Beaune(?) till the 15th and drive back to Geneva airport on July 15th. Any ideas on where to base ourselves in French Alps or Switzerland- Small scenic towns with light hiking ? Advice on any of this or recommendations?

Underhill

On your way back to Switzerland, spend some time in the beautiful town of Annecy.

FrenchMystiqueTours

The area around the Lac d'Annecy is lovely and not too far from Geneva. The village of Talloires is lovely if you want someplace small and it's right on the lake. Check out the tourist office websites:

http://www.talloires-lac-annecy.com/

http://en.lac-annecy.com/

I wrote a photo report about spending two weeks on the Lac d'Annecy if you want to have a look. There are great hikes around the lake that are easy and they're covered in my report as well as explorations of the area: http://tinyurl.com/7er3tjn