Have 12 full days....
Been to Paris several times and would like to spend most of the time exploring Lyon.

Going in early spring...

Right now I have four nights in Paris, three in Burgundy area, and five in Lyon

Sound good? Bad math?suggestions? Prefer city to countryside...

We recently returned from 4 weeks in Beaujolais & Burgundy. We've visited Paris many, many times & Lyon too.

I think you're shorting Burgundy, and 5 days in Lyon is about 3 days more that I would spend there.

Dijon deserves at least 1 full day, Auxerre 3/4 to 1 day, Beaune 3/4 day. There are scads of very nice chateaux in that region - Tanlay, Ancy le Franc, and Cormatin were our favorites - and there are a dozen or so others worth visiting (we made it to about 15). Cute villages of Perouges & Noyers, plus lots of very pretty countryside and - of course - the wineries. Vezelay is a major destination for many people, and so is Fontenay.

Stu Dudley

We too have just returned from a month in Paris, Lyon and Burgundy. I'm glad Stu said it first, though we only spent 4 days in Lyon , we both felt it was one too many. One day we explored Presqu'ile, another Vieux Lyon and Fourviere, another day the Croix Rousse and a few museums, the next day more museums and the painted buildings. By that time we had just about had enough. While we ate well and slept well and enjoyed what we saw, Lyon just did not have the charm and allure of other places. They do have an excellent transportation system though so getting around is easy , especially if your hotel is well located as ours was, the Hotel La Residence on Presqu'ile.

In Burgundy we stayed in a small town between Beaune and Dijon and , in the car had easy access to many vineyards and other places. we enjoyed our stay at the Parc des Marechaux in Auxerre.

The toursit offices in Dijon and Auxerre can supply maps and you follow a brass marker trail to all the major attractions. we really liked doing that in both places.

I have a short trip report with photos that can be viewed at

http://tinyurl.com/y7l5mw


Sorry my Burgundy trip report had been side-tracked by Christmas!

BTW, we trained to Lyon and picked up our car at St Exupery airport, the journey to Burgundy was very easy. If you do go near Vezelay and Avallon , they would be a must stop, especially Vezelay!

Go to this site for help with Burgundy. http://www.burgundy-tourism.com/index.htm I've used it a few times to plan trips there. I think you can easily do 5 days in Burgundy and perhaps fewer in Lyon. Be sure if you do to spend some time in Beaujolais if you can.

My hubby and I got back from Paris, Burgundy, Provence and Perigord in Oct. You can read his trip report for our details...we loved Burgundy!

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa..._name=jamikins

Jamie

Agree with previous posters - a bit less Lyon, a bit more Burgundy.
So many lovely towns & villages in and around Burgundy:
Auxerre
Joigny
Vezelay
Semur-en-Auxois
Druyes-les-Belles-Fontaine
Noyers
Beaune
Dijon
many others

Many thanks..will re-work the itinerary and print the various trip reports

Also plan to get a Fodor's guide

Hi hotticket

I went to Lyon last fall, arrived on Sat afternoon, left on Wed morning, 3 full days of visiting. If you click on my name you can find the trip report.

I found that amount of time good enough to say I 'saw' the city. I would go back one day, to try some more restaurants and to possibly use it as a base to go exploring. It is a nice city, worth a visit no doubt.

My trip...

Sat 1/2 day
Place Bellecour
Old Town
Walk along Saone to Place Verdun - dinner at Chez Georges

Sun full day
Hotel de Ville
Place Pradel
part of Croix Rousse
Place Sathony
Place des Terraux
Musee Beaux Arts
Place de la Republique
Guided tour of Old Town
Old Towe- dinner Panier et Salade (not recomm.)

Mon 1/2 day in Lyon
more Croix Rousse
Amphitheatre 3 gaulles
walking back to Terraux
Side trip - took local train to Chambery for afternoon. Into mountains, nice views, small villages.
Old Town - dinner at Machonnerie (recomm.)

Tues full day
Fourviere
Roman Theatre
Roman museum
walk down to Old Town
Place Bellecour - shopping nearby
Brottaux - Dinner at L'Est (recomm.)

Wed - TGV to CDG

hotticket-

Just came back from a fall Paris/Loire/Burgundy trip. I have posted 3 trip reports - one for each area. Put drbb in the search box to find them. We stayed in Beaune and loved it.

I'd do more time in Burgundy and fewer days in Lyon.

Happy planning.

You are all terrific. Thanks, Michel, for the Lyon guide.

OK, so how about this: two days in Villenueve sur Yonne at Leslie Caron's auberge then three days in either Dijon or Beune. I am leaning towards Beune thanks to drbb.

Then , on to Lyon for three days.

Once again, thanks.

Welcome to Burgundy! Here is another posting with Burgundy suggestions
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34907221

>brass marker trail to all the major attractions> Jody meant the owl's trail in Dijon. http://www.dijon-tourism.com/uk/dijo...s_chouette.htm

We spent 2 weeks in Burgundy - just 15 mins outside of Beaune, which we visited many times to get the newspaper, farmers market, shop, people watch, dine, tour, etc.

Like I stated earlier - there's much more to do in Dijon than in Beaune. Stay in Dijon & take a 1 hr train to Beaune & back for a 3/4 day trip. You'll see all of Beaune in about 3-5 hrs, IMO (unless you spend a lot of time in wine shops) - then what will you do for the next 2 1/2 days if you stay there (other than a day trip to Dijon)??? From Dijon you can easily get to Dole, Auxerre, etc by train.

Stu Dudley

The Michelin Green Guide to Burgundy is excellent for planning itineraries, including suggested driving tours.

Consider Vaux-le-Vicomte on the way to Burgundy. The small town of Montréal has a nice view over the Serein valley and is worth visiting for the carved pews in the local church on top of the hill.

ttt