Four nights in Burgundy - where to stay, and what to do?
 

Hi all,

My fiance and I will be in Burgundy next June (2011) for four nights - it will be our first time in France (we'll follow it with a week in Paris). Can anyone suggest or recommend:

-places to stay (either towns or specific hotels/B+Bs)
-towns that we should visit
-vineyards, wineries, or other sites to see

We'll be there for three full days and have a car for two of them, so ideally we'd stay in a town that's large enough to explore for a day (Beaune, Dijon, others?). Price range for a hotel isn't super high ($100-150/night, if possible). We're interested in seeing a mix of things while there - beautiful scenery, good food/wine, and some history as well.

Thanks for the advice!

We loved Burgundy. We have been twice and stayed in Beaune both times. We also loved Dijon (definitely worth a day to do the Owl Trail throughout town) but prefer Beaune to stay as its smaller, but still has plenty of restaurants etc.

Definitely do a drive through the vineyards on the Cote d'Or around Dijon and Beaune. Another thing we love is the Marche du Vins in Beaune. For €15 you get a metal tasting 'cup' and you go down into the cellars and they have I think 15 wines throughout the cellars on barrels and you just pour yourself a taster and sample as you like! Its great, and you get to keep the 'cup' - we hang ours on our xmas tree as they are quite pretty.

What is the Owl Trail, jamikans and is the "Marche du Vins" all year long or just in a certain season? We visited Beaune very briefly on our way to a river cruise departing Macon - this post is making me really want to go spend more time. Our initial impression was that Beaunne and the area were a lovely part of France.

The Owl Trail is a fabulous tour of Dijon that the tourist board has organized. You pay I think around €2 to get a booklet and it starts right from the tourist info centre. Small metal owls are set into the pavement and you follow the route through town. The booklet points out the many places of interest and gives a description and pics so you can easily follow the self-led tour. Takes about 2 hours if you just walk it, but we spread it out for the whole day!

Marche aux Vins is a place where the wineries bring their wine to be sold and is open every day: http://www.marcheauxvins.com/

Hope this helps!

<i>Beaunne and the area were a lovely part of France</i>

You are so right on that one Sue. We loved Burgundy many years ago, and decided to re-visit last October, just after harvest time. In five days (we had a car) we used the town as a base and spent late afternoons and evenings there as well, and one full day besides. It was a perfect sized town for our taste.
..and speaking of tastes, Jamikins, even in October there was a giant busload of people going into Marche du Vins, which was across the street from our hotel. We went back and asked the desk people if there was a good alternative, and they pointed out "the best wine cellar experence in Beaune", The Patriarche Family establishment about three blocks away from the center. Indeed, it was a great experence, especially after visiting so many other "caves" on our drives. Yes, the silver tasting spoons were there also, and we were the only visitors..gave us a delightful private tour through what they dscribe as "3 miilion bottles of wine"..didn't count them, but I'll guess he was correct, give or take a few. He then sent us on our own for additional tasting areas that were set up (we were lost for a minute or two, but signs were more than adequate..at least we wouldn't die of thirst!)It is an enormous complex..highly recommend it.

I can also recommend a quiet hotel in the center, just two blocks from a free public parking lot, The Athanor. If I recall, the tariff was about €90..we had the only downstairs room, very large. They have a bar, pool table, lounge..and the staff was very cordial. Breakfast was pricey @ €12, so we later opted for one of the many little places offering ample breakfasts in town.

http://www.hotel-athanor.com/the-hot...1_1_84527_.php

On our day trips, we went pretty far afield, then decided to stay closer to the Cote'..the town of Pommard just a short drive down the Cote" was rife with wineries to visit (as you can see by the signs in pix below)and we also liked La Rochepot and Mersault

...many very reasonable and excellent eating choices in Beaune..our favorite was La Grilladine.and we also enjoyed Ma Cuisine in town.

http://picasaweb.google.com/stuartto...eBurgundy2009#

Ok, OK..so I overdid the Hospice pix..notice, hardly anyone visiting at the time.,,same with Patriarche.

Stu Tower

If you want to stay in a very historic, central spot in Dijon, www.myhomeindijon.com is a wonderful apartment. Many of us have stayed there, and the very charming and helpful owner, Coco, is a frequent poster.

Stu: your photos look great! The Hotel Athanor is along the lines of what we’re looking for in a hotel. Do you know if the standard rooms have A/C or a safe?

All:

It sounds like Beaune is the place to stay. I hadn’t heard about the owl trail though, but it sounds like a great way to see Dijon – thanks for pointing it out!

Should we leave a full day to explore Dijon or Beaune, or for either town is ½ day enough? Given that we only have 3 days to see the region, we want to maximize our time.

Also, my fiancé wants to see Fontenay Abbey. Has anyone been and if so, do you recommend it?

Thanks again for the advice!

Dan

If yu stay in Beaune, I would not alot any time to see it - you'll see it enough at the start and end of the day - especcially if you have dinner there. If you don't stay in Beaune, around 1/2 day there and 3/4 to 1 day in Dijon is enough time if you are only staying in the region for 3 days.

If you like Abbeys, Fontenay is fine. Perhaps add a Chateau also.
http://www.routedesducs.com/Les-membres

Stu Dudley

We stayed in Beaune and Dijon last September... I would like to highly recommend Hotel de la Paix in Beaune - nicely redone 'inn' style, small courtyard parking (daily fee), Avis car rental about 2-3 blocks away, train station is doable by walking if you packed light. The hotel is just outside the 'wall' and near a grocery store (kind of 'hidden' behind a wall and parking lot driveway/arched entry). We stayed in the little upstairs suite you can see at the back of the parking, to the right of the mural - our rate was 128€. We made our own coffee and bought pastries from the boulangerie across the street for breakfasts. Also, food at Brasserie la Belena on the walk into town center was good for dinner.

We visited the Chateau Savigny-les-Beaunes for the museum collections - - very interesting and fun place, which is also a working vineyard.

http://www.hotelpaix.com/
http://www.restaurantlebelena.fr/
reception-aviation.chateau-savigny.com/
burgundytoday.com/historic-places/museums/sa…

laufd:

I didn't see or ask for a safe...and it was cold enough in October where we didn't need A/C..don't know if they had it.
I'm sure the desk would store your valuables.

bookmarking

One thing we've done twice in Beaune is rent bikes and ride through a number of the nearby villages. There is a paved, dedicated bike path through the vineyards linking the villages. It's really quite spectacular.

The bike shop is right off of the main drag in Beaune. Website is www.detours-in-france.com. They have really well-maintained hybrid bikes and the owner Florent will give you maps, itinerary advice, winery info. etc.

We love this place just a bit outside Beaune. The little village, Puligny-Montrachet, is one of the premier white wine villages, filled with wineries. Or visit the caveau for tastings of your choice.

The Olivier Laflaive hotel in town (walkable in this village of about 400) hosts a 15-wine tasting dinner.

The hosts are wonderful and for 30 euros plus wine you can feast on the table d'hote. Rooms are newly renovated, nicely appointed and reasonably priced.

From here you can tour numerous other villages, drive to Beaune (Saturday market) or even Dijon for a day. Rent or bring a GPS and you can wander at your leisure.

www.domainedesangespuligny.com