My two sisters and I are traveling through Burgundy (by car) in April. Any recommendations for sites to visit, places to stay, would be greatly appreciated. We are food and wine people and are looking forward to a gastronomic adventure!

We loved the wine market and hospice at Beaune. The wine market, unlike other wineries, is a coop and charges an admission (about $9) which was well worth. You go through a candlelit cellar where about 40 wines from different vineyards are described and arranged for you to taste on your own. There is no pressure to buy. It's great.

The hospice particularly appealled to me because I am a nurse. It is a medieval hospital, and surprisingly luxurious. Costumed mannequins make it all quite real. It's a fascinating look at medieval health care.

Please e-mail me if you'd like further info. Have a great trip.

Beaune is nice and so is the suroundings but there are so many tourist! Fortunatly you are going there in April when it's not so crowded.
I think you should focus on the southern part of Burgundy. Cluny is a nice friendly and very genuine french town with an enormous abbey ruin (once the biggest church in the world next to St Peters in Rome). The food at Hotel de l'Abbey is excellent. Between Tournus and Cormatin lies the little hilltop village of Brancion. It is a very romantic place with a castle ruin, an old romanesque church and a wounderful view. In Cormatin there is a beautiful old castle with an lovely garden with peacocks. On the border to Beaujolais (the most southern part of Burgundy) there is a beautiful rock formation called Solutre. The view from the top is magnificent and it has a thrilling history and an interesting museum. The wine that is grown around the rock (Pouilly-Fuisse) is the best in the region. A few miles south of Solutre lies Julienas with one of my favorit restaurants in this part of France, Le Coq au Vin. If the weather is good you can have your meal inte the lovely courtyard and almost believe you are in Tuscany. I do love this part of France and spend every summer there in a small vineyard we bought a couple of years ago.

You're headed to Burgundy during one of the most delightful times of the year - vineyards greening up and no tourists. Two recommendations: one of the world's great restaurants is Cote d'Or in Nuits St, George. Fax them now for a reservations. We had lunch there many years ago when it was still "only" a one-star restaurant (now three); it ranks as one of the most memorable of meals. Lodging: Chapeau Rouge in Dijon is very nice; large rooms with silk wall coverings, high ceilings, etc. Very "old world" and a treat for any American traveler. The restaurant (same name) is a cut above as well. Have a great trip.

On the Burgundy Canal in a little place called Velars-Sur-Ouche we had the best meal in France in a little restaurant called ' L'Auberge Gourmande' run by a Portuguese/French couple. It was a nice break during our barging down the canal and the food was aexceptional ...