Burgundy without a car?
 

Hi all,

We are planning about 4 days in Burgundy in June on the way from Provence to Alsace. We will take the train from Avignon to Lyon, and we're planning something like: 1 night in Lyon, 1-2 nights in Beaune, and 1-2 nights in Dijon.

From Beaune and Dijon, is it possible to explore the surrounding area without a car? It appears that there are regular trains to many of the smaller towns, and I know biking the canals is an option as well.

Will we be foolishly limiting ourselves by not renting a car, or is it possible to do some wine tasting and exploring of interesting villages and sights without one?

Thanks in advance.

I've been to Burgundy twice and would really recommend a car. The villages are wonderful but I think it would be difficult to get around on only public transit. Beaune and Dijon will each take a day - but you will likely want to drive through the countryside on the other days.

Beaune and Dijon are not that far apart so what you see from one town is what you will see from the other. Dijon is bigger with more museums and restaurants/cafés.

If your objective is to simply explore the area, a car is useful but not absolutely necessary. As you mention bicycle rentals are a possibility but the canal passes through Dijon, not Beaune.

If your objective is wine tasting you will definitely not want to drive. You can be arrested for driving under the influence with as little as .05 blood alcohol. This is the time to find a guide and take advantage of his expertise and access to places you might not otherwise see:

http://www.toursetdetours.com/

http://www.burgundydiscovery.com/

http://tasteburgundy.com/

Here are several sites with about information about vineyards and wine:
http://www.burgundy-wines-tourism.fr/
http://www.route-des-grands-crus-de-bourgogne.com/

Do not overlook the Offices de Tourisme which offer practical information and guided tours as well:

http://www.ot-beaune.fr/
http://www.dijon-tourism.com/

Why pack and unpack while Beaune and Dijon are only 45km away from each other? Dijon has also a great bus network, you may check the map here http://www.mobigo-bourgogne.com/part...-2009-2010.pdf
and bus schedules here http://www.mobigo-bourgogne.com/transco-lignes.htm . you may even go to Citeaux abbey South East of Dijon with bus 43 and to Beaune with bus 44. Tickets are 1.5€ only to everywhere in Cote d'Or.
As for wine tours from Dijon the guides get good reviews on tripadvisor, you'll find them on http://www.visitdijon.com/en/dijon_vignoble.htm
Also don't miss the "Owl's trail" in Dijon to discover the main sites at your own pace. http://www.travelsignposts.com/Franc...jon-owls-trail
You'll see that 4 days are not enough!
Have fun!

Definitely recommend the marche aux vins in Beaune:
http://www.marcheauxvins.com/vin-bea...-aux-vins.html

For €10 per person you get a tasting cup and get to go down to the caves to taste a bunch of ones - its very atmospheric and great fun!

Bookmarking

bookmarking

I stayed some time in both Beaune and Dijon. Liked Dijon, loved Beaune. I took one of the jeep tours of the vineyards offered by the tourist office that included an English-speaking guide who took us through the various appellations, fascinating, and also tasting at a small winery. There were just 3 of us on the tour. Perfect.

If you tour the vineyards as I did I don't believe you'll need a car. Beaune is very walkable and, as mentioned above, Dijon has good bus service. I didn't have a car and don't feel I was deprived at all.

The tourist offices have companies that do bus tours to some vineyards so you don't have to have a car if you don't want one. I don't know about "exploring" villages, though, that isn't really possible as villages don't have train stations. But if you see train stations in places you want to go, why not, sounds good to me. I didn't have a car but am not interested in wine tasting, more in the sites within a city/town.