Hi All,

I am planning a trip to Paris and Burgundy (specifically Beaune) and looking for a few recommendations.

(We land on Saturday morning spend the next two days in Paris leaving on Sunday evening to get to Beaune in time for dinner. we then leave Beaune on Tuesday evening to get back to Paris in time for a late dinner, spend Wednesday morning in Paris and return to the states on a 4:30pm flight)

First recommendation needed. A hotel in Paris - we'll only have 2 nights and less than 2 days to explore so we want something centrally located but not a tourist trap. It is my husband's 40th birthday celebration so a little higher end would be nice.

We were planning on taking the train from Paris to Beaune (via Dijon) - is that the best way to get there? Or do people prefer driving?

We'll have 2 nights/2 days in Beaune and are looking for a hotel recommendation. Something in the town so we can walk to restaurants and sites.

We are looking to do a wine tasting tour while down there. There are two tour groups I have found, both look lovely, and would love opinions on both:

http://www.burgundydiscovery.com/
http://www.burgundyonaplate.com/index.html

Also, restaurant recommendations in both Paris and Beaune would be great!

Thanks so much!
Rebecca

In two days only take the train - otherwise you'd spend a day or so driving each way though you could do a one-way car rental and take the train back.

Yes train route is via TGV to Dijon then change to regional trains to Beaune, a lovely city with several wine houses and visits in it - a capital of Burgudny wines. You can take trains also one day to some smaller wine villages near Beaune - like Nuits-Sants-Georges.

Train tickets can be much cheaper if booked far in advance - discounted tickets however are non-changeable non-refundable so best sure of your date and time but you can save a bundle - check www.voyages-sncf.com and www.capitainetrain.com for fares and booking discounted or full-fare tickets from home. For lots of info on French trains check www.seat61.com - great info on discounted tickets; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

We're going to be in Beaune this week-end (three full days) and will be trying a few restaurants -- will let you know what they're like (and ditto for the hotel).

By the way, our trip is a husband birthday celebration as well

What's your budget for the hotels? (We don't know what's higher end to you.)

It would certainly be much easier to just go to Beaune on Saturday, return whenever and leave for the states. You are wasting at least a full day in France with this plan.
You have maybe a day in Paris with your plan and two hotel moves.

I would never even think of driving to Beaune, take the train.

I agree that this wastes time, and why not just go to Beaune at the beginning of the trip, it will save a whole day. And you will have only Sunday morning in Paris before going to Beaune, which is a pretty dull time in Paris, to be honest, and you'll have to spend part of it packing up a bit. Now from Roissy, trains go through Lyon to get to Beaune (except for one around 7 pm through Dijon which is a bit shorter in time) and take about 4 hours. Which may sound crazy, but that's actually kind of how long it takes. Because even if you go into Paris central to Gare de Bercy, where you can get a direct train to Beaune, that alone takes 3:21. So you aren't really much, if any, better off than just doing it from Roissy. Price could be a bit cheaper, I suppose. And you get get trains from Gare de Lyon transferring at Dijon more often, and those only take about 2 hrs total (one leaves around 12:23 pm. arrives in Beaune at 2:30 pm). So it's kind of up to you which method you choose, but I'd still go on to Beaune at the beginning of the trip. YOu can take the Air France airport bus direct to Gare de Lyon, though. There is a TGV leaving Roissy around 10 am, transferring at Lyon and you arrive in Beaune around 2 pm.

You could make an even greater celebration by going to the Gare de Lyon and have lunch at Le Train Bleu before getting on your train to wherever you need to transfer.

Hi Everyone, thanks for your responses! While I recognize it is a lot of back and forth between the two areas, my husband has never been to Paris and it seems a shame to not spend some time there as well as in Beaune so our overall itinerary is pretty firm. At first I was planning on going to Beaune first but it sounds like most of the town is closed on Sundays as are all the vineyards. I'd rather spend Sunday in Paris where at least I know the museums are open and much of what we want to do is simply walk around.

@ Mimar - In regards to hotels - I would be comfortable spending up to $500/night in Paris and less in Beaune.

I'd love thoughts on the two tour groups I posted or any others that people could recommend.

Thanks again!
Rebecca

No need to spend $550/night for a great hotel in Paris - not nearly - in fact IMO the less glitzy hotel which ones in that price range are are more comfy and less pretentious.

We visited Beaune two years ago. For our trip we flew into CDG and took the train to Dijon and then transferred to a local train for Beaune. while in Beaune we stayed at the Hotel le Cep which was very nice and very centrally located. We booked a wine tour through Burgundy Discovery and we were quite satisfied with the vineyards we visited and the wines we sampled. Our guides, the owners, were extremely knowledgeable about the area and have great local contacts.
We also booked a tour through Burgundy Guide which focused on cultural and historic sites. Again we were very pleased with our choice and would do either of these tours again. If you happen to be in Beaune on a Saturday, there is wonderful market to explore.
Following several days in Beaune we took a direct train from Beaune back to Paris.

Sorry for the duplicate post. This later version is the correct one.
We visited Beaune two years ago. For our trip we flew into CDG, took a cab to Gare de Lyon and took the train to Dijon and then transferred to a local train for Beaune. While in Beaune we stayed at the Hotel le Cep which was very nice and very centrally located. We booked a wine tour through Burgundy Discovery and we were quite satisfied with the vineyards we visited and the wines we sampled. Our guides, the owners, were extremely knowledgeable about the area and have great local contacts.
We also booked a tour through Burgundy Guide which focused on cultural and historic sites. Again we were very pleased with our choice and would do either of these tours again. If you happen to be in Beaune on a Saturday, there is wonderful market to explore.
Following several days in Beaune we took a direct train from Beaune back to Paris.

Thanks, @waterdog - this is very helpful! @PalenQ - that is great that we might not have to spend that much money - do you have specific hotel recommendations you can share?

Thanks again!
Rebecca

You say you want to spend time in Paris. Well, the point would BE that you will have MORE time in Paris if you go directly to Beaune and then finish in Paris. Changing hotels usually eats 1/2 day of any trip. Add it up.

Don't miss the wine tasting at the marche aux vins in beaune http://www.marcheauxvins.com/en/cont...it-and-tasting

I recommended L'Hotel des Saints Peres in the 6th to my sister in law last year. She loves the 6th and enjoyed staying on a smaller, more quiet street. She wants to stay there again this fall. I can personally recommend Bourgogne and Montana in the 7th, recently remodeled and just a block off the Seine. Our other favorite hotel is Hotel Relais St-Germain near St Germain des Pres and the Luxembourg Gardens. All 3 are small hotels, have good reputations and full of charm .

We have visited Beaune twice and drove from Paris as we then continued on to Provence. Inwould take the train if only traveling to Beaune.
I highly recommend Hotel Le Cep which is in walking distance to Beaune's historic sites and many restaurants.