DanM

In route from Luxembourg to Dordogne, my family of five is planning to spend a night in this area before heading to the Clermont-Ferrnad area for the next night, and then on to four days in Dordogne. I have been thinking about spending the afternoon of Sunday June 25th in Dijon before heading to Beaune for the evening. Two questions:

1) Can anyone recommend a good, but relaxed resturant for Sunday lunch (we will have kids who have eaten with us all over France)? Something with local flavor.

2) Can anyone suggest a good B&B in Beaune or Autun? With kids, I think Beaune will be more of a town just to look at, and that will be easy in the evening on such a long summer day after the day trippers have left.

Thanks,
DanM

ira

ttt

StuDudley

I suspect all the stores will be closed in Dijon on a Sunday, if that makes any difference. Beaune may be more active, but it's only about a 2-3 hr visit at most, unless you want to do some wine tasting.

Boy - you'll be doing a lot of driving - have you considered the train???

Stu Dudley

DanM

Thanks, ira, for topping.

Stu: Thanks for the input. Our group will include a 2 yr-old, 7 yr-old, my wife, my mother, and me. For Dijon, I really just want to find some place to eat. We may go to a museum, we may move on down the road. Not sure yet.

We have discussed taking a train and flying. To drive from my mom's in Luxembourg all the way to Dordogne will take about nine hours. To fly, it would take almost as long considering when we would need to leave the apratment to go to the airport, the layover in Paris, picking up the rental in Dordogne, and driving to where ever we stay. As for the train, the time is the same, and possibly more, becuae we have to change stations, not just trains, in Paris.

As some background, we originally were torn between going to Burgunday or Dordogne. We ultimately decided on Dodogne for knights, castles, and caves. The drive we are now planning will give us the briefest of glimpses into Burgundy, a chance to see the extinct volcanoes and the naural beauty surrounding them, while taking our time getting to Dordogne. We lose a day in Dordogne, but I think we save some sanity. On the day that we drive in to Dordogne, we will be close enough that we can still do something there that day without exhausting ourselves.

We went to Provence last summer (had a great time in part thanks to you itinerary, Stu); Paris in March 05; Normandy, Chartres, Versailles, Giverny, and Brugge in Summer 04; and Luxembourg alone (day trips to a zoo in France and Trier) for Christmas 03.

The trip to Provence has been may favorite. We almost always stay in the same place three or more days, but then we stayed at the same place near Mausanne for seven days. We usually finished eating breakfast and were on our way by 10:00. We would arrive at, say Arles, go to the market (it was Saturday), walk by and see the theater on the way to the cathedral (name slips my mind right now), before stopping for lunch. Then we would visit the coliseum. Then we would head back to the B&B for a late afternoon swim. Finally, it was usually St. Remy for dinner followed by ice cream and a stroll. I write this only to try to give example of how we try to take our time during ach and every day and sacrifice seeing somethings in order to spend more time at the places we actually visit and in an attempt to keep everyone happy with a little down time each day.

I the next couple of weeks, I will post our itinerary, and it would probably be better to save this discussion for then, but I include it here becuase I know so many of you have so much to offer regarding the area around Dijon and the Dordogne. I sincerely appreciate any advice or suggestions any may have.

Thanks,
Dan

DanM

ttt

DanM

Anyone? Anyone?
Buller? Buller?

ChicagoGirl

I stayed at La Villa Fleurie in Beaune for a weekend in October 2001 and it was great. Just outside the wall of the city (but an easy walk into the heart of it), friendly owners and staff. They took our friend's golden retriever so I'm sure they would take kids. Everything was tasteful, clean and well kept and breakfast was simple and tasty. If you drive, there's plenty of parking. If you take the train, you can walk to the B&B.
Have a wonderful time!