Help Me Choose an Itinerary - 7 nights in France (Paris/Burgundy/Loire)
 

Hello!

Which would you choose? We are leaving in June.

Itinerary 1:
2 nights Paris
Train to Dijon, car rental, 2 nights near Beaune
3 nights somewhere else in Burgundy
Drive to CDG for flight

Itinerary 2:
2 nights Paris
Train to Dijon, car rental, 2 nights near Beaune
Drive, 1 night Sancerre as stop-over
Drive, 2 nights in the Loire (Chenonceaux probably)
Drive to CDG for flight

One of our concerns is the drive to CDG to get our flight. Things we'd like to get out of the trip...food, wine, see at least 1 chateaux, wander around a cute village, experience the country. We don't mind driving, but don't want to feel hectic. We had originally planned to try and see both Burgundy and the Loire, but wonder if that's not worth the driving.

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated...Thanks!

There are lots of Chateaux in Burgundy, although they are a different style than those in the Loire. I think the countryside & villages in Burgundy are much more interesting than in the Loire.

Another option would be:
3 nights Paris with s day-trip to Versailles
4 nights Burgundy.

Stu Dudley

PS - I've helped a lot of people within the last few months with trips to Burgundy. Do a search on my name, also perhaps the name of "sap" to find some past posts.

Stu Dudley

Hey Suzie,

I think you also posted on Trip Advisor and I just posted something over there. About 20 minutes ago I posted a response to someone who was doing the Loire and Burgundy regions so I just cut and pasted my response to them for you. Here it is below.

If you are spending a few nights in each of these locales then you'll only have time for a "best of" tour, which is fine. I assume you haven't been to these regions before so you should spend what little time you have seeing what makes each region famous. I'm sure others may disagree but everyone has a different way of vacationing. I always say this (forgive me other posters for sounding like a broken record) but use viamichelin.com to get really good estimates of drive times, distances and cost of tolls. Buy Michelin maps of the regions you'll be visiting. They are loaded with icons for things like chateaus, churches, abbeys, scenic view points, caves, forests and a host of other features. If you can't find them in large bookstores in the U.S. then they can be purchased on the viamichelin website. Get the ones with a scale of 1/150,000 (1cm = 1.5km) or if those are not available get 1/200,000 (1cm = 2km). The small investment will reap big rewards when planning your daily itinerary.

When people refer to The Loire they are generally referring to the area located between Orleans in the east and Anger in the west. The main attractions are located between Blois in the east and Saumur in the west. The major sites are generally no more than 10-15km north or south of the river and most are on the south side of the river. The 3 most famed towns here are Blois, Amboise and Chinon. I highly recommend visiting each of these towns and give yourself 2-3 hours in each. Each has old half timbered housing, windy cobblestone streets and a chateau. My favorite of the 3 is Chinon. I am a history buff and this town was the favorite residence of Henry II (king of England but ruler of much of western France). His famous wife was Eleanor of Aquitaine (my favorite female historical figure) and one of his famous sons was Richard the Lionheart. If you've never seen the film The Lion in Winter (the 1968 version) starring Katherine Hepburn, Peter O'Toole, Anthony Hopkins and Timothy Dalton, watch it to get primed for your visit. One of my favorite movies. Visit the chateau ruins in Chinon above the village and enjoy the incredible views. Also, the tower in the chateau houses a small museum dedicated to Joan of Arc. A couple of small but cute villages in the region are Langeais and Azay-le-Rideau. Other posters will tell you about many others.

The most famed chateaus are Chenonceaux and Chambord. Chenonceaux is the most beautiful chateau in the region, has lovely park/grounds and the inside is furnished with different décor from various periods of its history. I think it is worth a visit (2-3 hours). Amboise and Blois also have chateaus with interior décor and if you feel like visiting them they are worth it but if you prefer to admire from the outside then don't feel obligated. I should mention that Amboise also houses the last residence of Leonardo DaVinci (called Le Clos Luce) and makes an interesting visit. It showcases models of some of his incredible inventions.

Chambord is astoundingly elaborate from the outside but I wouldn't bother with the inside as it is mostly empty and uninteresting. The only interior features of note are the double helix staircase, said to have been designed by DaVinci, and a visit to the rooftop. Worth stopping at to take pictures from the outside though and shouldn't take more than an hour. There are certainly loads of other chateaus in the region but in general, after you have visited 1 or 2 chateaus they are really more enjoyable to admire from the outside (IMO). A few that are right along the river and you should drive by are Chaumont sur Loire and Usse. Usse is the chateau which inspired the story of Sleeping Beauty and certainly has the appearance of a fairy tale castle. One other place in the region that is worth mentioning is The Abbey of Fontevraud. I really enjoyed visiting this place not only because it is beautiful and has interesting architecture but because it is the final resting place of Henry II, Eleanor of Acquitane and Richard the Lionheart (well at least Richard's body, I believe his heart and entrails are buried elsewhere).

I haven't written a sampler tour for Burgundy yet but in general a great trip is the north to south wine trail running from Dijon in the north to Macon in the south. With your limited time you probably don't want to go further south than Beaune. If you like a larger city then Dijon is the place for you. It is not a large city so don't think in terms of a "large city". If you want something smaller, charming and easily walkable (about 15 minutes to walk across the city) then you might like Beaune. A cute town to visit between the 2 is Nuit Saint Georges. I wish I remembered the name of the wine store where I did some tasting here because the owner really likes Americans. He sold me a 70 euro bottle of wine for half price after I had just seen him sell the same bottle for full price to some French people.

One of my favorite days in Burgundy was done on foot walking between the small villages of Gevrey Chambertin, Brochon and Fixin. Just tiny places (but cute) but while walking along the back streets there were several people who sold wine and did tasting from their homes and cellars. The town of Gevrey Chambertin has a nice chateau as does Brochon. These towns are located on the route D122, which runs south out of Dijon. Lots of other small towns along the D122.

Something I like to do, using my Michelin map, is just get lost. Pick a designated scenic road at random that is near you (highlighted in green on the map) and just see where it takes you. I like to pick a road that goes through lots of small villages. Good luck.

That's it. Hope you have fun!

I second StuDudley's recommendation of Burgundy over the Loire valley. There's a wider variety of sites to visit. And definitely do a search of his posts about these areas.

It would be difficult to visit both Burgundy and the Loire valley in just seven days. I traveled to both a couple years ago, but I ended up spending eight or nine days on that part of my trip and never made it south of Vézelay so missed a lot of Burgundy. So if you really wanted to, you could visit parts of both areas but it would be more relaxing to just concentrate on one.

Hi, Suzie: If you didn't find the specific post, I'll tell you what that Burgundy itinerary was that Stu and others helped me configure. (I think it was a good one, but I sadly postponed it and opted for Provence & Dordogne instead.)

First Day Burgundy:
TGV from Paris to Auxerre (1 1/2 hour trip).
Auxerre Walking Tour and then pick up car
Vezelay and its Basilique (spend two nights)

2nd Day Burgundy:
Chateau de Tanlay
Chateau de Ancy-le-Franc
Noyers-sur-Surein
Vezelay for the night

3rd Day Burgundy:
Depart Vezelay (check out)
Fontenay Abbey (Montbard)
Semur-en-Auxois
Beaune for 3 nights

4th Day Burgundy:
Dijon for most of the day
Route des Grand Crus (Cote d’Or - N74)
Le Chateau de Gevrey-Chambertin?
Cellar of Chateau du Clos-de-Vougeot?
Back to Beaune and do a walking tour of the town

5th Day Burgundy:
Market Day in Beaune
Chateau La Rochepot
Chateau de Sully
Pommard (try to find the walking trail through the vineyards; see Fodor’s Short Escapes)
Beaune for the night

If you end up doing anything like this, please post back with a report as I still plan to use some form of this itinerary on a future trip.

Great replies! Yes, I also posted on TA (I found myself looking through a lot of Fodor's forums though, so I thought I should give this a try).

One thing that concerns me is the drive back to CDG from either the Loire or Dijon/Beaune area. Has anyone done that? (i.e. driven to CDG from the countryside to catch a flight home)

I have taken the TGV fron Dijon directly to CDG twice - with no problems. No need to drive there.

Stu Dudley

If you finish in Beaune/Dijon, I would think you could just drop off the car and take the TGV back to CDG. Ditto re: coming back from the Loire.

Whoa. Posting in same minute. (I was pretty sure that's what Stu would say.)

Yeah, I posted and a bunch of people followed! sap - I love the looks of that tour. We might do it the other way around (end in Vezelay).

From what I can tell, the train from Dijon to CDG only goes twice a day on weekdays. Early or late. It might not match up very well to our flight...

Stu, you seem really helpful! Off to search the forums again...

Has anyone done the tour of the guided Seine Tour that leaves from the Eifel Tower. We are staying at the Hilton and will only be in Paris two days. We are looking at the hop off hop on bus, really enjoyed it in Barcelona.

Sorry Eiffel Tower should have re read!!!

You would get a lot more responses if you posted a separate thread asking this question.

Hi, so just to follow up...here is our new modified itinerary:

2 nights in Paris
Train to Dijon, rent car, drive to Beaune
2-3 nights in Beaune (thinking of staying for 1 night in the countryside)
2 nights at a country inn near Vezelay
Drive to CDG, flight home!

Why drive to CDG when you can take the TGV there?? Does the train schedule not fit with your flight time??

Stu Dudley

I like that itinerary. I think that is a better way to break up your time here. Beaune and Vezelay are beautiful and you'll love the countryside around each of these places.

Suzie: If you haven't already chosen your inn/B&B near Vezelay, these are three I was considering. (Of course, I was looking for places that could accommodate a family of three.)

Le Moulin des Templiers, 10, route de Cousin, Pontaubert, 89200 Vezelay, France

La Cimentelle, 4, rue de la Cimentelle, Vassy-les-Avallon, 89200 Avallon; and

Carpe Diem, 53 Grande Rue, 89440 Massangis (near Noyers). http://www.acarpediem.com/index.php

Re: the train. From Beaune or Dijon, or Montbard, the schedule doesn't work with our flights (either very early in the am, or very late during the weekdays). Plus, the cost is such that it's actually cheaper to drive and return the car at CDG.

For a place to stay near Vezelay, thanks for the recommendations! Care diem was booked, so we chose Le Moulin des Templiers.

Great, Suzie. I'm glad it's all coming together. I hope you have a wonderful time and please post a trip report when you get back home.

French Mystique Tours I have a great photo I took of the sun hitting the effigies of Elinore, Henry and Richard if you would like me to send it to you.

Hi Glaciermeadows,

Yes, that would be a lovely photo to have if you wouldn't mind sending it to me. Can that be done here thru the forum or do you need my e-mail address? Thanks for thinking of me.

I think you should check out www.cityfreetour.com
My family and I, we were with them in Paris, this guy has nice tours of the city. It could might help, just to save up some time.