A Little Taste of Burgundy To Start Our 2016 Trip...Questions.
 

Bonjour. Yes, I know I haven't finished my trip report, but I am multi-tasking. Scary thought.

We are planning a trip to Burgundy, Provence and a splash of Languedoc next September (good time to go?). We will end up back in Paris where I will apologize to all the Parisians I got sick last year, and also buy Kerouac a bottle of wine.

If all goes according to plan (with us, always a question mark), we will land early at CDG, pick up a car and drive to Auxerre vis Fontainebleu (yes, I know I shouldn't be driving right after flying, but French coffee is strong).

My question...in my initial perusing of Burgundy sights, there seems to be a lot near the Auxerre/Vezelay area. For the four nights, would it be better to do three nights in Auxerre, and then travel to see Dijon and spend a night in Beaune (or Dijon) before traveling south to Provence. Or would 2 and 2 be better?

This will be my first of 1,000 questions, so please be patient. Merci beaucoup.

((H))

I would split the time evenly. When we were in Burgundy for 2 weeks a few years back, we spent too much time on the A6 traversing between the Dijon/Beaune area and the Vezelay/Auxerre area. See the sites around Auxerre, and then on day 3 determine if it's time to head to Beaune - or spend more time in the Auxerre area. More chateaux near Auxerre & more wine stuff near Beaune.

Stu Dudley

Stu puts it well. Auxerre is at the centre of some lovely grand buildings but the local wines are less well known. That is not to say that Irancy, Chablis, St Bris etc are without value, but they are less fashionable than say those of the Cote d'or. half and half.

It's been a long time since we were in those areas.. but whatever you do don't forget to buy mustard in Dijon. Nothing I buy here has even come close in taste.

Thanks guys. How about wineries (caves) in either locale? Any recommendations? I was looking at something called Les Caves Bailly Lapierre, which seemed interesting.

((H))

When we stayed in Beaune we did a lunch with wine tasting in Puligny Montrachet at Olivier Leflaive http://www.olivier-leflaive.com/en/p...amily-history/

It was a most excellent way to spend an afternoon!

I agree with Stu - I would split the time evenly.

Read The Road to Burgundy, then call the winery and see if you can get in for a tasting. Great wine and interesting story.

Shoot, now I think I will have to finally get around to writing a report about our Burgundy trip last year!

Be warned - we stopped at a rest area when driving from Beaune back to Paris and the "toilets" were all "squatters." So plan accordingly! :-)

Not many vineyards about Auxerre if I recall right but the Burgundy Wine road is loaded with vineyards and small producers you can tour - Dijon to Beaune has numerous towns that are famous names on vintages of Burgundy wines and Beaune, the commercial capital of this part of the Burgudny wine industry has more and is a neat small city to stay in - keep going south of town on the wine road to Macon and then head to Provence - right on the way via Lyon area.

http://www.burgundy-tourism.com/disc...undy-wine-road

https://www.google.com/search?q=burg...=1600&bih=1099

We enjoyed the Auxerre/ Vezelay area with it's many charming villages. The stories of the pilgrims leaving Vezelay's Cathedral to walk to Santiago de Compostela ignited our interest in visiting there also. My father'so regiment liberated this area in WWII and we were tracing his journey from Normandy to Germany.
We also have spent time in Beaune, two visits, more wine centered, and it's surrounding villages. Both parts of Burgundy are very worthwhile visiting. I would split it 2/2.

Great memory. We also did the Olivier Leflaive lunch and probably should have napped on one of their cots!

Thanks everyone...I might have to add time to this trip...don't tell my corgis, they're already upset.

And sandralist, I'm going to tell Tracy it's your fault I have to buy a $24 book on wine. Hope you don't mind.

We are looking at mid September. Any problems with a visit that time of year, and I suspect there might be a wine festival or two?

((H))

Mid Sept might be Patrimoine weekend. If so, Dijon had many sites open that are not normally open to the public. Beaune had very few (if any) sites open.

You'll miss the Provence lavender in bloom in Sept.

Here is my wife's Shutterfly book from our Beaujolais/Burgundy four week trip. Click on "Full screen". Because of Shutterfly software problems, captions are missing or truncated. Might not work in IE either.
https://stududley.shutterfly.com/38

Stu Dudley

burgundyeye.com for a little info.

I'll live with the blame.

mid-September should be great - and yes I would suspect some wine festivals along the Burgundy Wine Road.

I stayed in Avallon twice at the Moulin des Ruats, in a bucolic setting. The only place where I could order an authentic Truite Bleu.

http://www.travelpod.com/hotel/Mouli...e-Avallon.html

We were there middle/end of September and it was great. The weather was glorious and harvest was winding down.

I assume a visit to the Hospice du Beaune is on your list?

Don't neglect Dijon though a large city one of the nicest cities in France - get the Owl Trail from the tourist office or online and follow it - it's great hoot! Maybe a few hours if taking the train back to Paris from Dijon.