Help with Burgundy itinerary please
 

Hi.

We are arriving on a Saturday evening in July having traveled from Colmar to Beaune. We will be staying in Beaune for 4 nights. ie. 3 full days. We are a family of 5, kids are 15,12 and 10. We like to stay at least one full day in the place of residence so here are my thoughts. Please help with advice and suggestions.

Day 1 Sunday: Morning in Beaune and afternoon hire bikes and do a section of the vine route towards Santenay.

Day 2 Monday.: I really wanted to visit some of the smaller villages. My heart is leaning towards Flavigny-sur-Ozerain[because of Chocolat movie], Semur-en-Auxois and Noyers[because i think they look beautiful]. I'm worried that this is just going to be too much for a day trip though. Advice please!

Day 3 Tuesday: Visit Dijon, do the owl trail etc. Should we visit Dijon as well on such a short trip or rather use that day in a different way.

Wed: Leave for Annecy.

For those who have stayed in this area before, what do you think?

Thanks so much.

In Beaune, the Hôtel-Dieu is THE main attraction. It requires an hour or so to visit. In an afternoon, you should visit the Marché aux Vins - an excellent way to taste two dozen wines and get drunk for a nominal fee.

Biking will be an excellent way to explore the vineyards and small villages. I would not overplan. Just start and see where the (small) roads will lead you to - exploring is the fun!.

If you have a car for a day, visit Clos Vougeot. It is a castle with a little museum and it is the place where everything started. And it is picturesque.

Hugh Johnson has written a guidebook about Burgundy. It is worth reading it and you may pick two or three winemakers an pay visits to them. It is a good way to taste wines and to get in contact with the locals.

We spent some time in Burgundy using Beaune as a base and I think your general plan sounds good.

For day 2, I would note that it doesn't take very long to see Semur or Flavigny, both of which are very picturesque. Near Flavigny is Alise-Sainte-Reine and Alésia where in 52BC Julius Caesar conquered the Gauls. There is an impressive statue of the Gallic chief Vercingetorix at the site and a MuséoParc nearby.

Returning to Beaune from this area you will pass close to Châteauneuf high on a hilltop overlooking the Burgundy canal. Great views from up there.

We went to Dijon for the day by train (30 minutes) to avoid parking problems since there was a great deal of road work going on at the time. The Tourist Office by the station has the Owl Trail information.

We loved our time in Burgundy. If you're interested in more detail, you'll find it in this trip report:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...tober-2011.cfm

Some photos here:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...nce-photos.cfm

Thanks a lot for advice. MaineGG, I had a quick look at your trip and going to go study in further detail now. Thanks a lot. Do you think Noyers is worth a visit or should we skip and try get to Vezelay as well and then back to Beaune.

We didn't get to Noyers. I'm sure it's lovely and well worth a visit, but there were too many pretty villages and not enough time. Vezelay and nearby Bazoches were priorities for me because of a longtime interest in both. It's so hard to advise others what to see and what to skip. One can never see all the beautiful or interesting sites in an area when staying only a few days so just take your pick and enjoy!

Actually, we enjoyed Noyers more that Flavigny and Semur. We thought Saumur was a B+ from the outside, but only a C- from the inside. You might just drive around Saumur and see it from the outside if you are running short of time. We visited Flavigny in '06 and it was perhaps the most disappointing village we have visited in France. There was some construction in the parking lot and there were signs about "civic improvements" - but the village itself had little life. No flowers outside of houses, asphalt streets, many houses that were not "well kept up", etc. It left us quite "cold". Perhaps they have made these civic improvements since we were there.

Here is something I did for a friend who was staying in a gite near Beaune for 1 week.

Burgundy

Visiting Chateaux
Look for a brochure titled “Route des Ducs de Bretogne”. http://www.route-des-ducs.com/
Save your ticket for the first chateau, and you will get a discount on the second chateau. Save the ticket on the second chateau & you will get a discount on the third, etc, etc, etc.

Monday (remember, shops close in Dijon & Beaune in the AM).
Leave the Gite & take the D17 south to La Rochepot – this is a pretty drive. The town of Orches is quite cute. Continue on the D17 to La Rochepot or Nolay.

Market in Nolay. This is a very small market, but the town has several antique shops. If this interests you, go there. I think the shops are open on Monday because there is a market there on Monday

Vist Chateau Rochepot*. Pg 279 in my Green Guide.. Note that it closes for lunch

Visit Chateau Sully* (pg 305 in GG) or Chateau Couches .

Tuesday
Visit Beaune*** in the AM. This is one of our “top 5” medium sized cities in France. Spend the better part of the morning there. The “popular” Hotel Dieu*** gets a lot of attention and it is quite elegant from the outside – but only OK on the inside. But it deserves a visit on the inside.

Afternoon – one of the chateaux you didn’t visit yesterday.

Wednesday.
Head out northwest on the A6. Get off the A6 at Exit # 21 and head towards Tanlay

Get the “Route des Ducs de Bourgogne” brochure. Remember about saving the entrance tickets.

Visit the Chateau de Tanlay**. This was our favorite chateau in the region. Tours start at 10 – so get there then . It is about a 1 ¾ drive from the gite (1 hr of freeway).

Next, drive to Noyers & explore this cute village. Note on villages in Burgundy - compared to Provence, Dordogne, and many other places you have visited in France – there are not as many “cute little villages” in Burgundy. This is one of them, but not in the “top 50%” in France.

Visit Chateau Ancy le Franc** Note that it closes for lunch – that’s why I have you visiting Noyers during lunch. If you can get to Ancy le Franc by 11:30 when their last tour of the morning departs – do that if you don’t mind back-to-back chateaux.

Visit Abbaye de Fontenay*** if you like abbeys.

Take the D980 south from the Abbey to Semur en Auxois*. See pg 296 in the GG. This village is more interesting from the outside than from the inside. As you take the R de Paris from the D980 toward Semur – there is a very nice view of the perched village. If you want to see the “scene” pictured on pg 298 of the GG. Circle clockwise around the exterior of the village to where I have marked “fantastic view” on the GG map of Semur. Next, drive toward the informatioin center (marked on map) & park your car outside the “gate” of town & explore the old section of Semur if you like.

Thursday
Visit Dijon*** This is our favorite city in France – after Paris. Find the “Dijon the Owl’s trail” brochure I sent you & follow this walk. The walk is fantastic. The “centerfold” has the route for the walk.. This may be market day in Dijon at Les Halles – but only in the AM. Lots of interesting sites to visit.

Friday
Head out north on the A6. Take the exit #22 and find your way west to Vezelay** pg 314. We did not approach Vezelay from this direction – we visited Vezelay after Auxerre. But I figured that on your last day in the gite, you might only want to do a half-day – so I “cut out” Auxerre – which is too bad because we really enjoyed Auxerre.

After Vezelay, head south on the D958 on a pretty drive to Chateau Bazoches. I mentioned Vauban earlier – this is his chateau. There is a “self guided” tour, but note that it closes for lunch.

If you don't mind a small drive, visit the Chateau Cormatin** – this is one of our favorites. The interior & especially the gardens are fantastic. http://www.castlesinsouthernburgundy...rmatin_uk.html

Stu Dudley

A lot of the tourist stuff is north of Dijon, which, for that reason, might be a better base.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...755059630/show

The children might enjoy Guédelon

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/4083925884

http://www.guedelon.fr/en/

We also give Noyers a higher charme rating than Flavigny.

Thanks for advice. Maybe Flavigny is not worth the visit then and Hollywood did a great job of selling it to me. Maybe a better option would be go to Noyers and Vezelay as a day trip. Or just hop in the car and drive and see what we come across. Rambling can sometimes turn up great gems.