We are planning to rent an apartment for the last 5 nights in March then to rent a car and drive to Alsace via 1 night in Champagne region (hotel?) and on to 2 nights in Colmar? or elsewhere? Lodging suggestions? Then back thru Beaune (1 night) Hotel? and on to Paris for 1 night. Hotel? Does this sound like a do-able itinerary. What are the travel times like?Any recommendations for Hotels, Restaurants, wineries, sights not to miss etc. would be greatly appreciated. Thank you1

Colmar, wll woth exploring, is a cute town but Strasbourg has much more to see and do.

As for hotels - it;s very difficult to provide recos without knowing 1) how many and who "we" are and 2) your budget.

Hi ediemay,
We stayed in Obernai in the Alsace region and really liked it. We also liked Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg. We went there on a very foggy day. It just added to the mystery of the castle. We had a wonderful hot lunch in their restaurant. Strasbourg is very nice also. The buildings reflecting into the canals make for some greats pics.

We very much enjoyed driving around the vineyards and tiny towns surrounding Beaune. We stayed at the Hotel Grillon http://www.hotel-grillon.fr/ just outside Beaune.

Instead of taking the A6 immediately from Beaune to Paris, take some of the back roads out of Beaune and meet up with the A6 farther west. It is a wonderful drive through the vineyards. Make at stop at Semur en Auxois on your way to Paris. Lovely little town.

Drive times: 2 1/2 hrs Colmar to Beaune, 3 hrs Beaune to Paris

Happy planning,
Michele

I wouldn't want three one-nighters so close together, but it doesn't bother some people. It's just that you usually can't check in until mid-afternoon and usually must check out before noon. Short time to be there. I would probably have less ambitious plans: one night Champagne region, then 3 nights same place in Alsace and forget Beaune this trip. Or forego Champagne, go straight to Alsace for 3 nights, then on to Beaune.

Have fun!

Thanks to all for info. We have been to Buggundy several times and I guess we didn't realize how short a distance it was from alsace to Paris. We really don't need an overnight in between. Would rather go right back to Paris. Thank you Michele for your input and ny traveler as well. We are also grands and are looking for reasonable but comfortable lodging and good but not gastronomic experiences. Not that we don't enjoy them but affordability is now a consideration (hate fixed income limits).

Champagne region-town of Ay, across the river from Epernay and it's champagne houses, Le Manoir des Charmes.Good rating on Tripadvisor, lovely place.
Liked Strasbourg over Colmar. Enjoyed the small villages on wine route.

We stayed in a lovely place in Dambach La Ville. It has a lovely small town feel. Interesting church you can walk to easily above the town and visit. We sat on a bench one night for a couple of hours and watched the town go to sleep from there. Great walled city for strolling around and an easy drive to Haut-Koenigsbourg which I will second as a great destination. Also we spent several very interesting hours at Mont St Odile. Outstanding location and some stuning art work.

I should add that we drove from Paris to the Alsace, dropped our car in Strausbourg and took the high speed train back to Charles de Gaulle. The drive had nothing to recommend it, except of course if you really want the time in Champagne. I would take the train both ways and rent a car in Strausbourg, it will give you an extra day on the pretty wine route roads through the Alsace.