Nottingham

Planning a Sept. 2012 trip---have an 8 day "break", before we head to Paris for 2 week stay (apartment already booked). Have spent time in France visiting other regions & have NOT SEEN these areas.
Both regions SEEM to fit the plan of starting out in Dijon-(arrival via TGV) from CDG/Paris-
then getting a car to see a sampling of the area.....then drive over to the LOWER Alsace wine area staying in/near Colmar & seeing 1-2 wine villages etc.--leaving car in Colmar & train back to Paris. Any thoughts/input regarding: crowds (wine tourists)--too much time?--too little time?--Stu Dudley, do you have a route suggestion??--Anyone else who has combined these regions-??. We do not need to visit more than 2 vineyards/tastings etc.---Thanks in
advance for all input.

nytraveler

Well I think missing Strasbourg is a big mistake. Colmar is interesting and the wine villages are cute - but Strasbourg has a ton of great things to see/do and a unique flavor due to its' French/German heritage. I would allow at least 2 days for it.

Also, when in Burgundy I would try to spend a couple of nights at one of the private chateaux that takes guests. We were not able to and I really regret it. Although we did spend a couple of nights at the Moulin des Ruats, which is simple but cute - and has wonderful food. (Many people come from Paris for the weekend just for the food.)

FrenchMystiqueTours

In regards to Burgundy here are links to two threads giving advice about what to see and do in Burgundy that you may find useful:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rom-beaune.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...dy7-nights.cfm

Michael

My impression of Burgundy is that the sight-seeing is better in the northern half than the southern half. But an alternative would be to see the Jura area, with a little detour from Belfort to Ronchamp to see the le Corbusier chapel on the way toward Colmar.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...ith/4861312058

and the next 22 pictures.

Alan_CT

You are on the right track taking the TGV to Dijon. We have not done Alsace, but have found the area around Beaune very pleasant and interesting. Beaune has a large market Saturday mornings, lots of restaurants, wine sellers etc.

We stay in Puligny-Montrachet, at Domaine des Anges, www.domainedesangespuligny.com. Great chambre d'hote run by a fun and charming ex-pat British couple. The village is small, about 400 full-time residents, but has a couple of eating places, a local caveau and several wineries/merchants.

It's too soon to tell now, but if you are going in September, depending on the exact dates you could hit the harvest season. We were there at the very beginning last year. Just means there are a lot of pickers around, many of them immigrants who aren't eager to interact with the tourists.

bilboburgler

Alsace Strasbourg well worth a visit, Colmar not bad but ALsace Haut-Rhin (the southern half) wine area very good. If you want a large general tasting I'd try the Coop in Turkheim, a big tasting area, lots of general information and time to appreciate the wines. If you want to try a higher class of winery I'd look at Bruno Sorg, Rene Mure or Schlumberger but the first two would want you to buy wine, the last would want you to do the same but are a bigger company.

You can stay on the wine route, on colmar or up towards the ballon d'alsace we like www.domainedulac-alsace.com‎ above Guebwiller but many more traditional hotels

bilboburgler

Burgundy you have the northern part of Auxerre and Chablis which I think is by far the prettiest, further south have a look at Nuit-St-Georges and the hotel

Hôpital de Nuits-Saint-Georges which is out the back of the town and less pretentious than the main two restaurants in town

Nottingham

Michael--Burgundy...northern half...where do you draw the line???
bilboburgler--Burgundy--northern part...Auxerre,Chablis, and where else???

Michael--loved your photos...tell me about the Jura area...would/could I pass thru there en route to the Alsace region?

We want to stay away from another large city--ie Strasbourg...and stick to smaller towns/cities
on this trip.

Thanks for replies/input....more questions to come!

Michael

Look at what interests you:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7622755059630/

I think that I geo-tagged all the pictures.

Michael

A geographic way of looking at it is to draw the line between the rivers flowing south to the Rhone or north to the Seine.

A geo-political way of looking at it is to look how Burgundy is divided into <i>départements</i>.

FrenchMystiqueTours

If you looked at the threads I provided links to there are a number of small towns/villages and sites in northern Burgundy that are referenced but here's a summary (besides what has been mentioned above):

Noyers-sur-Surein, Semur-en-Auxois, Châteauneuf-en-Auxois, Vézelay, Avallon, Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, Epoisses (for its château:

http://www.vezelaytourisme.com/

http://www.ville-semur-en-auxois.fr/

http://www.noyers-et-tourisme.com/

http://www.avallonnais-tourisme.com/

http://www.alesia-tourisme.net/index.php?id=40

http://www.linternaute.com/sortir/es...evaux/11.shtml

http://www.chateaudepoisses.com/sites-fr.html

http://www.epoisses.fr/Main.aspx?num...18&transfert=1

Here are links to noted châteaux/abbeys:

http://www.abbayedefontenay.com/abbayedefontenay.htm

http://www.commarin.com/

http://bussy-rabutin.monuments-nationaux.fr/fr/

http://www.chateaudetanlay.fr/

http://www.chateau-ancy.com/

http://www.chateaux-france.com/bourbilly/

You can read a trip report I wrote about visiting some of these places that is full of photos and descriptions:

http://tinyurl.com/6dkeozh

FrenchMystiqueTours

Let me just add that if you were looking for advice from Stu Dudley he gave plenty of it in the first link of my first post.

bilboburgler

Michael's views on the Chapel and the Jura are a good idea, the Jura even has its own wine types, cheese and very pretty to drive through and walk in the meadows etc.

I could happily mix southern Alsace, Jura and northern Burgundy

kat4kat

Keep in mind that all the roads are torn up around the Dijon train station making it VERY difficult to get a car in and out of there. I realize you aren't going until next year but it doesn't look like it will be done for quite a while. You may want to check on that as your trip gets closer and if its not done, pick up your car at an alt. spot. We rented a car from the airport (Orly) and hit some of the spots on the way down that FrenchMystiqueTours talked about above. We stayed in Beaune (loved that) then dropped off car in Dijon (hugh mistake) and TGV to paris.

carolannflicker

We just returned from a trip to Burgundy and started out from Dijon by car. The rental agency was in the train station and it was no problem getting out of town.On the way back, we dropped the car at the train station with no problem at all. Our GPS really helped.

Geonev

In "northern" Burgundy (Auxerre and Chablis), other places not to miss are Vézelay (for the basilica) and Avallon, which has a very pretty old section. For me, Auxerre is really rewarding (a lovely riverside setting) but Chablis not so much (it sustained WWII damage and really is not picturesque). Also in the general area are Noyers (a Most Beautiful Village) and Semur (dramatic setting, and if it's still there, try the restaurant Calibressan, run by an American named Jill and her husband, who is French).

In the Jura, try Arbois, particularly for the "reculées, steep-sided valleys that lie just to the east of town. Besançon is also worth visiting for its dramatic citadel, high above the town (fortified by Vauban, of course).

You could easily include the Jura as you go from Burgundy toward Alsace. Along the way, Dôle is also pretty.

I agree with whoever said not to miss Strasbourg. The cathedral there is world-class, and the canal area with its half-timbered houses is a marvel. Though fairly large, Strasbourg is not so difficult to get around in. Highly recommended.

Finally, if you get a chance, just southwest of Colmar (which itself is very worthwhile) is the very pretty wine village of Eguisheim, quite lovely and for some reason overlooked by the hordes who visit the other pretty villages nearby (all of which are, still, worth visiting): Kaysersberg, Ribeauvillé and Riqueville.

If you wish, email me after you have your itinerary and I could suggest hotels and restaurants – [email protected].

Nottingham

Many thanks....and more questions to come!
There is a small "hamlet"/"village" that is connected to where an ancestor came from--located
in the area on the way towards Dole....will check the maps again & get exact location.
Thinking we want to GET the car in Dijon and Drop-OFF in Colmar--then train back into Paris.
Does that make sense....or should we push on to Strasbourg and drop car off there?
8 days enough for this loop?? Have not booked any air yet, so can adjust the front end of the trip
and give ourselves more time. How much time at a minimum should we "plan" on ?

Michael

Ithink that you can pick up a TGV in Colmar.

FrenchMystiqueTours

I think without giving at least a rough itinerary of what you want to see and do it is hard to say how much time is enough. Any of the regions you want to visit has enough to keep you occupied for well over a week. You'll never see it all so decide what is most important and post an itinerary and it will be easier to help you with a time frame to cover the places that most interest you. Have you got any guide books and maps for these areas yet?

The other alternative to a fixed itinerary is to just decide when you are arriving and when you are leaving and have a list of all the places you could visit wherever you go. Then do things on the fly, deciding each day and through the course of the day what you will do. Make sure you always know the opening days/hours of any attractions you want to visit and take your time enjoying what you are seeing without being in a rush to get to the next place. This is how I travel but everyone has their own style. Remember, you'll never see it all so don't try.

I suppose the last alternative is to let someone come up with an itinerary for you but following someone elses itinerary is not something I would want to do.

bilboburgler

I think Chablis is nicely pretty like many burgundian wine village, it has a pretty little river, church, it is on the Camino, roman wine press, The Chablisienne wineery (part of the super-coop for Burgundy). With Puligny abbey just up the road. There are some good links that you can find from this web site
http://www.mybikeguide.co.uk/Yonne_Guide.php
(just ignore all the bike orientated bits)