Drive from Paris to Burgundy
 

For part of our honeymoon in November, we are picking up a rental car in Paris one morning and driving to Burgundy, specifically Saulieu, for a few nights. I was wondering if anyone had any favorite towns to stop in along the way. We would like to be in Saulieu by dinner, so we would have lunch somewhere along the way as well. At most we could probably fit in two towns, but there are so many to choose to from! We really appreciate any suggestions!

Hi Amy1110, the first thing I'd say is take the N6 rather than the Autoroute - you'll see more. Possible stops along the N6 include Fontainebleau (palace), Sens (cathedral), Auxerre and Avallon. Joigny (between Sens & Auxerre) is a riverside town that is especially picturesque. The N6 skirts around it but it is worth the short detour to pop in for a cafe stop.

As you might expect, there are any number of beautiful villages in the region. But given that you are doing this in a day, two of the nearer ones that I would recommend are:

Chablis - 14k east of Auxerre on the D965 (28k round trip);

Vezelay - 43k after Auxerre, turn right (west) onto the D951. Return direct to Avallon via the D957. Round trip 26k, only 16k more than Auxerre-Avallon direct.

Enjoy!

Hi A,

I think that Auxerre is worth an hour or two.

Plot your route at www.viamichelin.com

I think that you have time for Auxerre, Chablis and Vezelay.

((I))

We recently stayed in the area with friends for a few days. They took us to Semur-en-Auxois. Really lovely town. Quite close by though -- by the time you get there, you'll be almost home. But, it's worth a drive once you're settled in.

My favorite lunch stop is Avallon.

Vezelay is just beautiful. Give yourself time to wander, see the amazing church, take in the views, and have lunch.

www.vezelaytourisme.com/

Last year we spent 2 weeks in Burgundy - and took an overnight loop up north.

Our favorite places that are a little too far from Saulieu to visit from there were:

Troyes
Provins
Auxerre - which can be a day trip from Saulieu

After Paris, however, I would not want to visit large cities right away (Troys & Auxerre are rathar large - Provins has a small town feel). So I would visit a Chateau instead of Auxerre - either Tanlay or Ancy. Both are nice & close to each other & on the way from Troyes to Saulieu.

Visiting Troys, Provins, and a chateau might be a bit too much for someone on a honeymoon. I would drop Provins. Troys is quite different from what you'll see in Paris. If you get an early start, however, I think you could visit all three.

We didn't think Sens was that interesting - other than the cathedral and the covered market - but you'll probably see lots of cathedrals on this trip and if the market is closed - you won't enjoy it that much. The covered market in Dijon is just as interesting.

I though Semur-en-Auxois was an A- on the outside (both front & back are quite photogenic), but the inside was only a C+. Once you entered the main port, the first "square" was OK, but then it got a little too drab for us.

Two nights are not much time in Burgundy.

Stu Dudley

Thank you for the input. We are actually spending three nights in Burgundy, and we plan to do Beaune and the wine road one day, and Dijon the last day and take a late afternoon train back to France. The other day we will play by ear. Any restaurant suggestions? Specifically which restaurants are good for lunch in the towns everyone suggested?

Thanks!
Amy

Stephane Derbord in Dijon is in my "top 5 in France". We usually enjoy 40 or so restaurant meals in France each year (no Michelin 2 or 3 stars).

In Troyes we had an excellent dinner at le Valentino. Very reasonable fixed price menu. The restaurant is small and off a courtyard on one of the streets that is only about 4 feet wide. It’s in the “old town”.


Here are my top choices in Burgundy.

Top 3 restaurants

Stephane Derbord in Dijon – one of the top 5 meals of all time in France (we dine out about 40 times per year in France)
Michelin 1 star

First round of Amuse Bouches
Bite sized squares of Croque Monsieurs
Carp mousse with black & white sesame seeds
Parmesan chip and a bite sized tomato “truffle” with a semi-liquid center
Second round of Amuse Bouches
Sushi (California roll) with cockle, with Asian spices & bean sprouts
Potato puree
Leek Mousse with green beans
55E menu
-Smoked sander – thin rolls stuffed with finely julienned vegetables served with tart greens (incl dandelion greens) topped with paper thin lengthwise sliced carrots. The plate was edged with a piping of honey mustard and crumbled hazelnuts
-Perch with a wild mushrooms and green beans served in a deep plate with a “soup de poisons” reduction sauce
-cheese chariot
-Poached , pealed pear with a red wine sauce in pain epice with sage ice cream – all very refreshing

65E menu
-Sauteed scallops, each served on a cucumber “coin” with a topping of lemon cream & caviar, with julienned apples & dandelion greens
-Sandre on a bed of spinach with a butter sauce accompanied by a small tomato stuffed with diced cepes on a squash “coin”
-Filet of Cerf, served with berries & a dark berry reduced sauce with green beans & wild mushrooms with a ‘grain” of some sort
-Cheese chariot
-pre-dessert refresher
-Chocolate fondant – top & bottom layers of dark chocolate “sandwiching” lighter chocolate mousse with dark chocolate wafers & vanilla ice cream
-Post-dessert refresher


Hostellerie du Vieux Moulin in Bouilland, just north of Beaune
Also a hotel
www.le-moulin-de-bouilland.com
Michelin 1 star

Amuse Bouches
Skewered rolled duck breast slice, with mustard dollop
Homard tartare “confit”
Arugula sorbet with whipped cream top layer & balsamic drizzle (in a glass cylinder)
39E menu
-Seared tuna with fennel sorbet and a side of pickeled vegetables
-Supreme de Pintade thinly sliced in a “spiral” presentation on a bed of herbed crushed potatoes, with vegetables in a side casserole
-Excellent cheese chariot
-Seasonal fresh fruit with pepper-flecked yoghurt ice cream

65E menu
-Daurade with vegetables a la Pistou
-Rougets with a confit of fennel and a bouillabaisse reduction with macadamia nuts
-Pigeon with polenta and zucchini “packet” stuffed with caviar d’aubergine and a rich reduction sauce
-Cheese chariot
-Poached plum with amaretto cream and puff pastry triangles

-Post dessert if Marc de Bourgogne ice and assorted sweets


Charlemagne in Pernand-Vergelesses just north of Beaune
Slight Asian twist
Michelin 1 star

37E menu
Six amuse bouches which arrived on a Plexiglas “cube” with holes & shelves to present the various items
California rolls with a “crisp”, held in place by a teeny wooden clothes pin
Fish mousse on a cracker
Parmesan pastry palmier
Pickled fish filling wrapped in a won ton wrapper on a skewer
Marble sized savory (no idea what it was)
Small piece of spiced pork on a bone
Second Amuse Bouche course
Glass of creamy smoked fish puree (to drink)
A herb-crusted langoustine
-Bread presentation – 3 different breads stacked on a skewer, with a wooden base into which a recess had been routed to hold a corked vial with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, which were to be shaken before pouring onto your bread plate as a dipping sauce
-Tuna ceveche served at the bottom of a glass with a smoked tomato cream, slivered green onions, and a dot of washabi cream
-Cabillaud a la vapeur with a vanilla/olive oil drizzle, layered with wild mushrooms, served with a pork bun with a crustacean filling, on a bed of cucumber-wrapped ratatouille. This was not your grandmother’s cabillaud recipe
-Strawberry/red berry gazpacho – heavenly creamy/frothy served in a slanted glass with a brochette of halved strawberries and strawberry marshmallow cubes

45E menu
Same Amuse Bouche courses
-California rolls with snails and langoustines speckled with black and white sesame seeds
-Lisettes (small mackerel) served atop a bone marrow tube filled with spinach & julienned carrots tossed in Asian spices
-Porc cotolet (cutlet/loin) served with artichoke mousse, drizzled with peanut butter with a cluster of small wild mushrooms in tempura
-Pyramid of chocolate with other sweets

Other restaurants – all were excellent
Le Jardin des Remparts in Beaune. We dined here several years ago, and it was one of our top 5 of all time then. It didn’t “wow” us as much this visit. Michelin 1 star.

La Rotisserie du Chambertin in Gevrey Chambertin. It has an upstairs Bistro, and a downstairs restaurant in a wine cave, with animated winemaking scenes as you descend into the cave. We dined downstairs.

Le Montrachet on Puilly Montrachet. It was “complet” the first few times we tried to reserve. Obviously very popular. My St Pierre was overcooked. Lovely setting.

Relais de la Diligence in Meursault. Excellent value. It was the “sleeper” of the group

Les Gourmets in Marsannay la Cote. Michelin 1 star. Very nice

We “checked out’ about 10 other restaurants in Burgundy (including 1 stars) and the menus did not seem interesting enough to make us choose them over the ones we selected. There’s a lot of Charollais beef on menus in this region. I have not experienced any beef in France that’s as good as the beef we have in the US, or beef I’ve tasted in Italy (one exception may be Aubrec beef). Bresse chicken is also a very popular item on menus. I’ve tried this several times in other areas of France & thought it wasn’t really that much better than a good farm-raised chicken.

Stu Dudley

Poulet de Bresse IS farm-raised chicken, under very strict conditions. Those are the checkens with the blue legs that have an actual appellation-contrôlée.

Some more on Burgundy, from one of my articles:

Long the fiefdom of the Dukes of Burgundy--second in power only to the king--the region of Burgundy is ideal for discovering France outside of Paris and the Loire Valley. The past still lingers in Burgundy's splendid castles, châteaux, magnificent churches, and ancient abbeys, giving the visitor an appreciation for the history of this diverse region. If that isn't tempting enough, classic Burgundian cuisine is famous as some of the best France has to offer. Restaurants offering memorable meals abound, as do delightful inns and hotels. The wine country is another major attraction: the Côte d'Or, Chablis, the Côte de Nuit, Beaune, Clos de Vougeout, the Beaujolais, to name only a few of the many communes that call seductively to wine-lovers.

Because Burgundy is so large, seeing it all by car in a just few days is not possible; approaching the area on a smaller scale allows far greater appreciation of this beautiful region. Part I of a tour of Burgundy is focused on the region covered by the Michelin map #65, Auxerre to Dijon, and takes four to five days.


The first stop on this journey from Paris is actually located in the Ile-de-France: the splendid royal palace of Fontainebleau, begun by François I. Seeing the principal rooms and gardens can take three to four hours, best done with a break for lunch at a nearby café before continuing down the N7 into Burgundy itself and the small town of Les Bezards. The town is home to the Auberge des Templiers, a member of the Relais et Châteaux group, known both for its classic cuisine (one Michelin star) and its ambience. The inviting grounds are ideal for a stroll after dinner in the restaurant, served with elegance by the very professional staff. In the winter months game is featured, but at any time of the year the food is memorable—as are some of the special implements for eating it, such as a flat sauce spoon.

The hotel rooms, in buildings of varying architectural styles, are charming. One of the bungalows houses an especially attractive room, entered through its own lobby that is lined with closets. A door leads to the bedroom, where the deep orange walls are set off by the gleaming white bedspread. A burnished wooden bombé chest glows against one wall, and two padded armchairs covered in a floral pattern create a sitting area. The large, luxurious bathroom is a dream.

Day 2 begins with a hearty breakfast,or even a swim in the lovely pool, followed by a visit to the city of Gien, well known for its characteristic faience (porcelain). The N7 and scenic smaller roads (marked in green on the map) lead through wooded countryside to the old city of Auxerre. Here the Abbey of St. Germanus and the Cathedral of St. Stephen, which has a Roman crypt, can be visited, if parking is available, before continuing to the town of Chablis, noted for its fine white wines. Not far beyond Chablis is the moated and domed Château de Tanlay, a true Renaissance stately home still filled with period furniture and tapestries; it is open to visitors. Following a tour of the château and beautiful park, a stop for dinner and the night might be at the Hostellerie des Clos in Chablis, which has a one-star restaurant.

On Day 3 the route proceeds south to Vézelay, site of the Basilica of St. Mary Magdalene, one of the greatest Romanesque churches in France. The façade of the church has a fine tympanum, the pillars of the interior are covered with wonderful sculpted capitals depicting Biblical scenes, and the Gothic choir is magnificent. Medieval days seem very near in Vézelay: it was from this Basilica that St. Bernard preached the Second Crusade in 1146, St. Thomas à Becket proclaimed the excommunication of Henry II of England, and Richard the Lion-Heart and Phillipe Auguste of France set out on the Third Crusade.

Thanks, Underhill. I'm aware that Bresse chickens are farm raised.

I should have said that the (farm raised) Bresse chickens I've had (restaurants & cooked at "home"), were not much taster than farm raised chickens I've purchased at dozens of outdoor markets & groceries.

Stu Dudley

As I said, there are any number of beautiful towns and villages en route Paris-Saulieu, but I stuck to just those larger places or places of interest that were actually ON the route, plus two smaller places (Chablis, Vezelay) very close to the route. Seemed to me that large places OFF the route (Troyes etc) while well worth a visit, couldn't be done justice to in the time available (next time I'm there I plan on overnighting), and many of the other visitable villages (Semur-en-Auxoire, Noyers-sur-Surein, Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, Druyes-les-Belles-Fontaine etc etc) are just that bit further off the route than the two I mentioned.

Last time I was in the area I stayed in Avallon and found it to be very well placed for daytripping to all these places; the time before I overnighted in Beaune and then in a small farmhouse Chambre-d'Hote in la-Roche-en-Brenil.

Thanks for all of the suggestions. We are thinking we will have lunch in Auxerre or Chablis that first day. Any specific recommendations for lunch in those towns?

Thanks!

For lunch in Chablis, the 1* Hostellerie des Clos.