When is the best time to travel to Burgundy, France?
Any suggestions on places to stay - one couple in their 50's -will have car?
Interested in Wine, Food, History, Culture, Bike riding too - we are very active
Any ideas on what to do?
We want moderate to high end accomodations - like off the track places too. The Jewel in the rough
Would love to hear stories
Thanks
Anne

How many days will you be in Burgundy???? If you can do a Sat to Sat stay - rent a multi-bedroom Gite.

Stu Dudley

June or early September are pretty good.

Have a look at

http://www.mybikeguide.co.uk/Yonne_Guide.php

Hi end is harder to find in the country but you will find Michelin 1 stars a-plenty.

I also recommend these guys http://www.gaultmillau.fr/

The best time to travel just about anywhere in France would be between April and October. It's a rather broad question you asked but if you look at the link I'll provide below you'll get some ideas. In the thread you'll find links to all the major tourist office websites in Burgundy and you'll see the names of many of the well known towns and sites worth visiting plus info about biking, wine, châteaux etc.:

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

You'll see links to the tourist office websites for Beaune and Dijon and these are two of the most centrally located bases for exploring Burgundy. Beaune is a very pleasant town and Dijon is a charming small city. Start your research by looking over the tourist office websites for these places and you'll get a good idea of just how much there is to see and do in Burgundy and also what an excellent resource tourist office websites can be.

We stayed in the lovely apartment in Beaune. Laura and Franck live in Canada so renting and converting $ was simple. They are delightful too! And they provide a parking sign for your car to park free of charge.
http://www.graperentals.com/properties/index.html

La Côte Saint Jacques in Joigny. Great Hotel and great restaurant.

Wonderful one or two day stay over place.

Le Moulin Ruat in Avallon - old mill converted to a charming hotel restaurant. Many people come out form Paris for the weekend to stay here and eat the great dinners, walk in the adjacent National Forest and visit a number of the local towns and wineries..

We found it a great center for touring by car and esp loved visiting Vezelay

Thank you for all your replies - we will be staying for 10 days - 2 nights in Paris, 7 nights in Beaune (will this be a good base to explore the Burgundy region? or should we stay at 2 different places? We are currently looking at B&B's in Beaune for accommodations) then back to Paris for 1 night before we fly out unless our flight is very late in the day. We will rent a car. Our goals are to learn some history, visit wineries - drink good wine, see the countryside, rent bikes, hike, eat great food, take some cooking classes, relax and have an awesome vacation.

We rented a gite near Beaune for 2 weeks a couple of years ago. We spent a little too much time on the road doing day-trips to Auxerre, Tanley, Ancy le Franc, Vezelay, Noyers, and a few other spots - all more than 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hrs north of Beaune. We never got to Avallon because we just didn't want to do another 1 1/4 hr drive to get there. I would stay in 2 locations - 3 nights near Auxerre & 4 in Beaune.

Stu Dudley

Burgundy -- harvest time, of course!! Do look in Epernay at the Royal Champagne, the beautiful Relais et Chateux, for at least for 2-3 nights, then amble down the Cote D'or to Beaune. We left Paris spending 2-3 nights in Dijon then over to Epernay and south, winding up in Loire before our return to Paris. Another gem was the charming inn in Chenonceaux, (sp?), Le Bon Laboureur, where you just walk across the street to the chateau. Both above had restaurants onsite. I would not stay the week in Beaune, but we prefer one-way-only driving when possible and we did so in a clockwise direction from Paris.