Semur though is 75 kms due west of Dijon - so I'd drive from Paris and plan to spend the day doing it - stopping by awesome Vezelay just before Semur - Vezelay a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its famous medieval pilgrimage church - the town appears much as it did then - on a hill leading up to the church - once a main stop on pilgrim's path to Santiago because of the local holy relics - a piece of bone from Jesus' mother (I think) but when the relic was proven fake the medieval pilgrim trade dried up, leaving the town rather dead - only revived in 1800s and thus in pristine medieval condition:

https://www.google.com/search?q=veze...w=1280&bih=625

Not far from Semur.

Thanks Pal.

You're right, but how many tourists are daft enough to drive in Bangkok?

It's not the traffic in Paris, it's the attitude of the drivers.

You know, of course, that almost all non-food oriented shops in Auxerre will be closed on Sunday. Vezelay, being a major tourist town, may have shops open on Sunday. Semur is not one of my favorite towns. The outside is quite photogenic - but the inside is disappointing, IMO. Lots of chateaux in Burgundy.



>>We won't be going to Dijon, or any cities or larger towns. My wish list is very short, just as is our weekend. Vezelay, Fontenay Abbey, Poligny Abbey and hope to throw in Auxerre on Sunday<<


Auxerre has a population of 35,000 That seems like a "larger town" to me.


Stu Dudley

It seems so much easier to rent in Paris, although that too would require a taxi to Place d'Italie>

Place d'Italie is a major metro hub and is a short metro ride from most of central Paris.

Once, perhaps 10 years ago, we went south from the car rental near Eiffel Tower toward Burgundy, without GPS. Very tense, eyes darting from map to road to map to road. Not pleasant

Four years ago, we came from Provence to CDG thru Paris at rush hour, WITH GPS. Piece of cake. Smooth sailing. No tension.

Stu Dudley, I'm weighing being in Auxerre on Sunday. Thanks for the population count. Dijon has a much larger metro area, with 250,000.

In any case, I really want to stay in Vezelay, but it makes the excursions more lengthy. Ah, the choices. Lucky us.

I hear you on Semur en Auxois. Thanks. What about Avallon? It is more central for our touring.

We were in Burgundy for 2 weeks & never made it to Avallon. Burgundy is rather large & we were based just south of Beaune - which is 1 1/4 hrs from Avallon. We made 3 day trips to the Vezelay/Auxerre/Ch Tanley/Avallon region but could not fit in Avallon. We will be staying in a gite just outside of Auxerre for 2 weeks this coming Sept - so we'll visit it then.


If you visit Auxerre on Saturday when the tourist office is open, pick up the walking itinerary & follow it. It's quite good.


Stu Dudley

In any case, the A6b branch of the A6 autoroute starts at Porte d'Italie, so taking the A6 could not be easier (the A6a starts from Porte d'Orléans and they merge in the suburbs). Unlike a lot of people, I am fascinated by the transition from Paris through the suburbs to where you finally get to open countryside. The urban blight, the big box stores, the housing projects, the high tension lines all fascinate me since they are all part of urban life just about anywhere in the world, with the little variations that make it more interesting.

Oddly enough, I only visited Vézelay for the first time last year after looking at the magnificent site as I passed it on the autoroute many times.

Vézelay | Any Port in a Storm

Avallon might be a better place to spend the night. Friends of mine had a house there (which they stupidly sold to buy a big house with a swimming pool in a nearby tiny village which they then had great trouble selling a few years later at a loss). Avallon is a real town, whereas Vézelay basically only has tourist shops.

Yes Vezelay is totally a tourist town and small - personally I'd rather stay in a proper town with lots of restaurants, real stores, etc.

Another vote for taking the train to Dijon and picking up the car there. We dropped ours off at the Dijon station last month before heading in to Paris - it was easy.

I have. And from Place d'Italie, I would.

This has helped very much. We will rent at Place d'Italie.

I'm still researching our base, but it won't be any farther south than Semur en Auxois.

Stu_Dudley, what were the day trips you made in the Vezelay and northern areas?

We have been to Beaune, and while we loved the Hotel Dieu, the rest of what we saw was too wine-centric for me. I don't drink and wine isn't my reason for visiting the area. We like churches, abbeys and cathedrals, as well as any ancient or historic sights.

This is from our original itinerary. Only "north" Burgundy stuff. We spend most of our time in southern Burgundy. We also spend 2 weeks in Beajolais on this trip.

Sept 20 Wed - Drive 3 Auxerre, Chateau, cute small towns TC 58
Auxerre** pg 82 1 ½ hrs on Freeway
Market day – W Centre Ville, Tu, F Pl Arqubase
Use Map 319
Ch Tanlay** 1 hr tours, Cl Tu, lv at 9:30, 11:30 2:15, 3, 3:45, 4:30, 5:15 call 03 86 75 70 61
Tonnerre
Ch Ancy le Franc** 1 hr tour 9:30-12 2-6
Noyers **TC pg 61
Montreal - Birnbaum

Sept 21 Thurs - Drive 4 not Tues map 319 TC pg 75

Samur en Auxois* pg 297 Market Th-Sa
Epoisses pg 195
Chateau * only open July & Aug
Abbey de Fontenay*** 10-12 2-5
Chatillon sur Seine* pg 153 in GG Perhaps skip to shorten drive
Busy-Rabutin Chateau* pg 135 45 min guided tour 9:30, 10:30, 11:30, 2, 3, 4, 5 call 03 80 96 00 03
Flavigny sur Ozerain* pg 198




Sept 28 – Thurs – Morvan pg 250 – Map 319 Too much forest ????
Ch Chinon to Vezelay Route 1 pg 249 in reverse
Chateau Chinon* pg 150
Ch Bazoches* Vauban’s Chateau pg 318 9:30-12 2:15-6
Pierre Perthuis*
St Pere* pg 288
Clemacy pg 155
Vezelay** pg 315
Avallon*

Stu Dudley

You might want to consider visiting Guédelon, where a ch teau has been under construction for the last 20 years using medieval construction techniques exclusively.

Guédelon - a medieval construction project | Any Port in a Storm

Chalk and cheese though.

I would only drive in Bangkok if I was picking up a Hire Car [preferably a BIG 4 X 4] at the Airport, and driving straight out into the country. Driving into Central Bangkok, if there such a thing as Central, and then navigation about is the stuff of nightmares. A lot of taxi drivers haven't even got a clue. Have an accident, you're the Foreigner, so it's your fault.

I would drive in Paris if I had to, but wouldn't get a right lot of pleasure out of it. And if you've got a Hire Car, be prepared to pay for any damage, damage that could easily occur between parking-up and returning to the vehicle.

We are talking about a grand total of 10 minutes to get out of Paris from Place d'Italie, so I don't think one has to worry about the "pleasure" of it. Frankly, a Gare Montparnasse pickup would be just as easy, since it is a straight shot to Porte d'Orléans.

From either place, once you are on the main avenue, you don't even have to make a turn a single time.

Thank you StuDudley and Kerouac.

kerouac: Guedelon looks to be closed when we are in the area, during the first weekend in March. I did want to go there.

Alesia the old battlefield where Romans clashed with Gauls (I think) is another possible day trip - some old remains - though exact site of battle is up for debate but it was a nice rural setting - takes just a short time.

Alseia ? No French knows where Alesia is. Gergovie, yes. Austerlitz, yes. Fachoda yes, Alesia, no. Sedan neither.
Now that I think of it, I think it is fake news that the Gauls were beaten by Caesar there. Vercingetorix was never vanquished, He died of old age in his bed. I saw his interview on foxnews.

Thousands of French do drive in Paris daily. Not all of them crash or scratch their cars. By a margin.