LisaG

Hello!

I am planning an itinerary as follows:

Start: Geneva (renting car on "France" side)
End: good question! See #1 below...
Duration: 12 days
Transportation: Rental car
Time of year: late April, 2015
What we like to do: walk/hikes, stay in countryside (perhaps 3 places of 3-4 days each), eat simple/rustic food, see charming towns, bike through the countryside + vineyards.

Here are my questions:

1) Where would you recommend dropping our rental car? We are moving on to Paris for 8 days, but I don't think we want to drive into the city. What is a good train location where we can easily drop the car (Europcar)and take a train into Paris when we are done in Burgundy?

2) What route would you recommend taking from Geneva through Burgundy? We'd like to stay in the countryside and visit charming towns on day trips. Any recommendations for the best countryside areas to stay?

3) What are your favorite charming towns to visit?

4) Do you have any inns or B&B's to recommend (price category: up to €180/night)? We especially would be interested in staying in places where dinner is an option so we don't have to drive at night after drinking wine. And also would love to stay where they might have bikes (or could rent bikes nearby) for good biking in the area.

Background notes: We have been in France many times before, but not to Burgundy so the area is new to us. We will be coming from 6 weeks of travel through Italy, Austria, Budapest. We are in our 60's, independent, and very fit.

Thanks Fordorites! You have already been the source of so many of our favorite places to stay on previous trips.

Travel well,

LisaG

StuDudley

3-4 days Annecy area
3-4 days Burgundy - near Beaune
3-4 days Beaujolais - near Julinas
2 days in Lyon & take the TGV to Paris.

However, in April you might get Milwaukee area weather - not Calif weather.

Here is something I did for a friend about Beaujolais. I have other stuff about Annecy & Burgundy - reply if you are interested in it (it's late here in the Bay Area).

In Lyon, I would not stay near the Part Dieu train station. That’s in the business section of town, and not near the area you probably want to explore. We stayed between the Perrache station & “old” Lyon, at the Des Artistes - [email protected]. We had an excellent meal with great atmosphere at Le Passage – [email protected] There are trains that connect Part Dieu with Perrache – we took the TGV to part Dieu & immediately boarded the train for a 5 min ride to Perrache.

Remember, on Sunday most things will be closed in Lyon.

A good thing to do on Sunday would be to start with a visit to Perouges. This medieval village has been meticulously maintained over the years, and is used as the setting for many movies (Three Musketeers, etc). We first visited Perouges in the 70s, and I was a little concerned that it might have succumbed to “tourist blight” - postcard stands, trinket shops, etc. When we visited in Sept ’06, I was pleased to find out that it had not.

After Perouges, drive through & stay in Beaujolais. Visit some wine villages, admire the picturesque landscape, stop at a few Chateaux, and dine at some of the best-valued restaurants we’ve experienced in France. We stayed 2 weeks in a fabulous Gite (house) on a hilltop near the winegrowing village of Jullie & very close to Julienas. The “complex” may have been a chateau at one time, but the current owners purchased it several years ago, built a home for themselves, developed a winemaking operation, and built a Gite & several B&Bs. All the amenities (except for the building) are modern – the wife is some sort of interior decorator or “collector”. The complex sits on a hilltop surrounded by vineyards & has killer views out over the countryside and nearby villages. The owners speak perfect English. It’s called Domaine de la Chapelle de Vatre. The B&Bs are listed in the Red Michelin Guide – which is a bit unusual since there are very few B&Bs listed in the prestigious Michelin Guide. I think they only started listing B&Bs this year. If you stay there, ask for a tour & a tasting of the various wines produced at the estate. http://www.vatre.com/

A good drive through Beaujolais would be to take the A6 north from Lyon, and get off at exit #30 – Belleville. You will need Michelin Map # 327 to follow this route. Head west on the D37 towards the town of Beaujeu. Take the first “Beaujeau Centre” exit (ignore some ugly commerce). Turn north (right) on the D26 to Col de Truges & Julienas – this area is covered with vineyards. At the Col de Truges, stay on the D26 to Julienas. About 1 K past the Col de Durbize (see the map), take the D32 to Fleurie. This is a very scenic section. Drive into the town of Fleurie (see restaurant rec. below), turn around in the parking lot in front of the Church, & retrace your drive on the D32 back towards the D32/D26 split. On the way, you will be rewarded with a wonderful view of a little chapel on a hilltop to the left of the road. At the D32/D26 intersection, take a sharp right on the D26 to Julienas. On the D26, 2K after the D32/D26 intersection, turn left to Emeringes onto the D68E2 & cross the pretty flower-covered bridge & proceed to Emeringes. When you “dead-end” in Emeringes where there is a phone booth in front of you & an Auberge to the left, curve right & follow the D68E2 towards Jullie. Less than 1K past the cemetery on the left, look to the left for a sign to “Vatre” & turn left. When you hit another road in about 100 meters, turn left again. When you see a somewhat dilapidated old farm with a “a Vendre” sign, look up the road & you will see the Domaine de la Chapelle de Vatre – it’s the building with the huge windows. Proceed towards the building & turn left to access the property. If you look at your 327 map, you will see the “Chlle de Vatres” on the map – this is the little chapel that is on the Domaine de la Chatre’s property. It is lit-up at night. These driving instruction might seem a little complicated – but we found the best way to navigate around Beaujolais is to watch for signs directing you to villages. In this case, the signs would say Beaujeau to Julienas to Fleurie to Julenias to Emeringes to Vatre.

After Vatre, leave the complex and turn left. The road will skirt the north side of Domaine de la Vatre where there is a fabulous view of vineyards, the village of Jullie with its church, and a chateau. This view is visible from the Domaine de la Vatre – we spent many late afternoons admiring this view from the grassy hill next to the Domaine’s “horizon-less” pool – while sipping on a glass of Beaujolais. Continue on this road and you will go through a small forest & emerge with another nice view of Jullie. Shortly, turn right on the D17 towards Jullie but follow the signs to Julienas. At the round-about (marked as La Fife) turn left to Junienas. At the stop sign, make another left & proceed into the village of Julienas – this is easier than it sounds. The road will curve to the right through Julienas & you’ll end up in an open area with two restaurants/hotels on the left. Look for the sign to Macon - the D169. The road number changes to D486T (you are crossing from the Dept of the Rhone to the Cote d’Or dept) – just follow the signs to Macon. Pass through St Amour (see restaurant rec. below) and keep following the signs to Macon, angling left as you leave St Amour. The road will become the D186. At a crossroads, follow the sign to Creches & very soon turn left to La Vernette/Chaintre/Fusse (keep the eyeball pealed – this sign is hard to spot). Follow the signs to Chaintre – the D209. Pass through the very cute village of Chaintre (see restaurant rec. below) and then follow the signs to Fuisse. You will see lots of chateaux along the way (not open for tours). About 1 K later, you will get a fantastic view of Fuisse and the Solutre Rock to the west. In Fuisse, turn right & then a quick left to Chasselas (rue le Pouilly-Fuisse on the right & past a church on the left – this will be the D172). You will go through a small forest then some more wonderful views of vineyards. Turn right on the D31 to Tranayes. Soon you will see Solutre Rock on the right. Turn right on the D54 to Solutre Rock & drive past the rock. Many people park the car & walk up to the plateau – we didn’t. Continue, and in the village of Solutre-Pouilly, turn the car around & retrace your route back past Solutre Rock again – back to the D31/D54 split. At the split, turn right onto the D31 towards Serrieres and then on the D185 to Pierreclos. As you approach Pierreclos, you will see the chateau looming. This chateau is open for a self-guided tour. It is not a “gusseyed-upped” chateau. Once past the chateau and the church, turn right to Macon on the D45 and then the D85 left towards Roche Vineuse & through the pretty village of Bussieres (and more Chateau - not open) towards Berze. Go under the bridge, then turn right on the D17 & then right towards the A6 freeway, going under the freeway to get on the N79 towards Macon, and then the N6 south back towards Junienas (well marked) . Don’t worry if you get lost on any of this route – getting lost is the best part. Directions to towns, villages, and freeways are well-marked.

While you are visiting the chateau at Pierreclos, see of you can get a copy of “le Route des Chateaux en Bourgogne du Sud”. This pamphlet lists all the chateaux that are open in this region. Our favorite was Cormatin – just north of Cluny. Both the Chateau’s interior & gardens are very interesting.

Restaurant recommendations.
My wife & I usually spend 9 weeks in France each year. That’s 35-40 restaurant dinners every year. We are real foodies. I like to find places that serve creative things I can’t or won’t cook at home or find at other restaurants. When we get to an area (we usually spend 2 weeks in the same area), the first thing we do is to dash around & check out the various restaurants listed in the Michelin Red Guide. We eliminate about half of them because the menu is not creative enough. I look for a multi course (5 or more courses) fixed price menu and reasonable cost. In the Beaujolais area, there are many restaurants that feature Bresse chicken and/or Charollais beef. I think our beef in the US is much tastier, and I don’t think Bresse chicken is anything special (I’ve had it several times). We dined at about 9 restaurants in this region, and I found them all to be superb – perhaps some of the best-valued restaurants we’ve dined at, in France. Here are our top three in the Beaujolais region:

Le Cep in Fleurie. This is a Michelin 1 star restaurant. Menus are 45 to 75 E. A couple of days after we dined there, I told the proprietor at our Gite that we liked the place. She said that the chef (an older woman) is quite the “Grand Dame” of Beaujolais cooking, and serves the best frog legs “anywhere”. I had the Ris de Veau, and they were the best I’ve ever tasted. Recently, and article appeared in the NY Times that profiled about 8 restaurants around the world. To our surprise, this restaurant was featured. They said that the place was formerly a Michelin 2 star restaurant, but the chef/owner wanted to simplify things, take the Lobster & Foie Gras off the menu, and make is more accessible for the locals.

Auberge du Paradis in St Amour. Seven course menu plus 2 amuse bouches for 38E. The menu is fixed – no choices. My wife loved the very creative decor in this place. The locals must like it because the restaurant was “complet” the first couple of times we called to reserve. www.aubergeduparadis.fr

La Table de Chaintre in Chaintre. Another seven course menu plus an amuse bouche – for 49 E. There is a choice of 2 main courses, but everything else is “set”. When we returned from this restaurant, we ran into the proprietors of our Gite. They said it was their favorite restaurant in the region.


1/12/15 note - the latter two restaurants are now Michelin 1 star restaurants.


Stu Dudley

LisaG

Wow StuDudley! What a great reply. I am just now getting on a plane from Narita to SFO, so will look more closely at your recommendations later.

Yes, I would love anything you have on Burgundy and Annecy.

Much appreciated,

LisaG
P.S. After all these years reading your great postings, I can't believe we live just miles apart! I'm in San Carlos.

StuDudley

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


From our 2006 visit

Top 3 restaurants

Stephane Derbord in Dijon – one of the top 5 meals of all time in France (we dine out about 40 times per year in France)
Michelin 1 star

First round of Amuse Bouches
Bite sized squares of Croque Monsieurs
Carp mousse with black & white sesame seeds
Parmesan chip and a bite sized tomato “truffle” with a semi-liquid center
Second round of Amuse Bouches
Sushi (California roll) with cockle, with Asian spices & bean sprouts
Potato puree
Leek Mousse with green beans
55E menu
-Smoked sander – thin rolls stuffed with finely julienned vegetables served with tart greens (incl dandelion greens) topped with paper thin lengthwise sliced carrots. The plate was edged with a piping of honey mustard and crumbled hazelnuts
-Perch with a wild mushrooms and green beans served in a deep plate with a “soup de poisons” reduction sauce
-cheese chariot
-Poached , pealed pear with a red wine sauce in pain epice with sage ice cream – all very refreshing

65E menu
-Sauteed scallops, each served on a cucumber “coin” with a topping of lemon cream & caviar, with julienned apples & dandelion greens
-Sandre on a bed of spinach with a butter sauce accompanied by a small tomato stuffed with diced cepes on a squash “coin”
-Filet of Cerf, served with berries & a dark berry reduced sauce with green beans & wild mushrooms with a ‘grain” of some sort
-Cheese chariot
-pre-dessert refresher
-Chocolate fondant – top & bottom layers of dark chocolate “sandwiching” lighter chocolate mousse with dark chocolate wafers & vanilla ice cream
-Post-dessert refresher

Hostellerie du Vieux Moulin in Bouilland, just north of Beaune
Also a hotel
www.le-moulin-de-bouilland.com
Michelin 1 star

Amuse Bouches
Skewered rolled duck breast slice, with mustard dollop
Homard tartare “confit”
Arugula sorbet with whipped cream top layer & balsamic drizzle (in a glass cylinder)
39E menu
-Seared tuna with fennel sorbet and a side of pickled vegetables
-Supreme de Pintade thinly sliced in a “spiral” presentation on a bed of herbed crushed potatoes, with vegetables in a side casserole
-Excellent cheese chariot
-Seasonal fresh fruit with pepper-flecked yoghurt ice cream

65E menu
-Daurade with vegetables a la Pistou
-Rougets with a confit of fennel and a bouillabaisse reduction with macadamia nuts
-Pigeon with polenta and zucchini “packet” stuffed with caviar d’aubergine and a rich reduction sauce
-Cheese chariot
-Poached plum with amaretto cream and puff pastry triangles

-Post dessert of Marc de Bourgogne ice and assorted sweets


Charlemagne in Pernand-Vergelesses just north of Beaune
Slight Asian twist
Michelin 1 star

37E menu
Six amuse bouches which arrived on a Plexiglas “cube” with holes & shelves to present the various items
California rolls with a “crisp”, held in place by a teeny wooden clothes pin
Fish mousse on a cracker
Parmesan pastry palmier
Pickled fish filling wrapped in a won ton wrapper on a skewer
Marble sized savory (no idea what it was)
Small piece of spiced pork on a bone
Second Amuse Bouche course
Glass of creamy smoked fish puree (to drink)
A herb-crusted langoustine
-Bread presentation – 3 different breads stacked on a skewer, with a wooden base into which a recess had been routed to hold a corked vial with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, which were to be shaken before pouring onto your bread plate as a dipping sauce
-Tuna ceveche served at the bottom of a glass with a smoked tomato cream, slivered green onions, and a dot of washabi cream
-Cabillaud a la vapeur with a vanilla/olive oil drizzle, layered with wild mushrooms, served with a pork bun with a crustacean filling, on a bed of cucumber-wrapped ratatouille. This was not your grandmother’s cabillaud recipe
-Strawberry/red berry gazpacho – heavenly creamy/frothy served in a slanted glass with a brochette of halved strawberries and strawberry marshmallow cubes

45E menu
Same Amuse Bouche courses
-California rolls with snails and langoustines speckled with black and white sesame seeds
-Lisettes (small mackerel) served atop a bone marrow tube filled with spinach & julienned carrots tossed in Asian spices
-Porc cotolet (cutlet/loin) served with artichoke mousse, drizzled with peanut butter with a cluster of small wild mushrooms in tempura
-Pyramid of chocolate with other sweets

Other restaurants – all were excellent
Le Jardin des Remparts in Beaune. We dined here several years ago, and it was one of our top 5 of all time then. It didn’t “wow” us as much this visit. Michelin 1 star.

La Rotisserie du Chambertin in Gevrey Chambertin. It has an upstairs Bistro, and a downstairs restaurant in a wine cave, with animated winemaking scenes as you descend into the cave. We dined downstairs.

Le Montrachet in Puligny Montrachet. It was “complet” the first few times we tried to reserve. Obviously very popular. My St Pierre was overcooked. Lovely setting.

Relais de la Diligence in Meursault. Excellent value. It was the “sleeper” of the group

Les Gourmets in Marsannay la Cote. Michelin 1 star. Very nice

One day we took an overnight trip to Troyes, and dined there. On another occasion, we met some friends at a Michelin 1 star restaurant in Macon – which is not in Burgundy. We also spent 2 weeks in Beaujolais

We “checked out’ about 10 other restaurants in Burgundy (including 1 stars) and the menus did not seem interesting enough to make us choose them over the ones we selected. There’s a lot of Charollais beef on menus in this region. I have not experienced any beef in France that’s as good as the beef we have in the US, or beef I’ve tasted in Italy (one exception may be Aubrec beef). Bresse chicken is also a very popular item on menus. I’ve tried this several times in other areas of France & thought it wasn’t really that much better than a good farm-raised chicken.


Stu Dudley

StuDudley

Annecy

Standard warning about visiting cities & villages in France
Almost all non-food shops will be closed on Sundays, and most will be closed on Monday morning also. Some will open Monday afternoon around 2:30. Large grocery stores are usually closed Sundays. Most Mom & Pop groceries are open Sunday morning, but close around 1PM. Villages that almost solely depend on tourism may have shops open Sunday & Monday. Old Town in Briancon will have shops open, but most shops in Beaune will be closed. Everything will be closed in Dijon on Sunday. We never visit a large city (like Dijon) on Sundays or Mondays. Annecy has a farmer’s market on Sunday – so some shops will be open in the area where the market is located (canal area), but most of the shops on the pedestrian shopping street will be closed.

The word “Col” is used frequently. In France, a col is a mountain pass. The “highest” point on a mountain road where the road stops going up & starts going down. Often there are monuments, cafes, viewing platforms at cols.

Sunday
Annecy market on Sunday morning– one of the best in France according to the GG
Gorges du Fier** pg 144 9:15-5 www.gorgedufier.com after the market

Tours – in order of preference (roughly)

Tour 1 – Mt Blanc*** – the tallest mountain in the Alps. Page 430 & 255
This will be an all-day event, and only do it on a clear day. It will take about 1 ¼ hrs to get from Annecy to Chamonix – mostly using the freeway. Head north from Annecy, and catch the A41 heading east to Chamonix. There is really nothing of interest in the town of Chamonix – it is only a base for Mt Blanc. Take the two lifts up to the Aiguille du Midi*** . Also, take some other lifts – perhaps le Brevent***. If it overcast when you get to Chamonix, don’t go up & find something else to do.

Tour 2 – do on clear day and get an early start (8-9am) so the sun won’t be in your face for the most scenic part..
Take the N508 southeast from the south part of Lake Annecy. Go to Ugine. Take the D109 northeast from Ugine to Flumet. Now the most scenic part starts. Take the D909 northwest from Flumet over the Col des Aravis**. If you want to hike, the Col des Aravis wold be a good place for one. Just past the Col, take the D16 west through Manigod to Thones. Then back to Lake Annecy on the D909. Once on the lake, take the lake road clockwise. Stop & visit Talloires (it is on the east side of the lake). Then continue clockwise back to your Gite.

Tour 3 – Route de la Forclaz*** pg 150 (but the map route in the GG is not correct). Do this on a clear day and in the morning. It will only take a half-day
Head southeast on the N508 again. Take the D42 (just past Doussard) north over the Col de la Forclaz. Stop at the Col for great views. Continue north & follow the road back to the lake. Head clockwise, and visit Talloires if you have not visited it yet. The views from the east side of the lake are better in the morning.

Tour 4 – best in the afternoon. Perhaps visit Annecy in the AM
The Semnoz** pg 153. Follow the route in the Green Guide

Other things you might want to do:
- Boat trip on the lake – but you can see everything from the shoreline.
- Drive around the lake – but you will probably do this going & coming from your tours
- Chateau de Menthon* close to Annecy Pg 152. We enjoyed this chateau. Nice views.

Stu Dudley

mountainshadow

Stu - thanks for giving this info. We are planning on visiting the Beaujolais and possibly the Annecy area on our trip this fall.

As always, your have very informative responses; appreciate your taking the time to post those kind of answers.

LisaG

Stu,

Wow! That's such a great amount of useful info! I so appreciate this and the detail. Off to digest the "big meal"!

Many thanks,

Lisa