hopingtotravel

Have just started thinking about this alternative. I'd like to rent a car as far south in Paris as possible, then find the least stressful highway to exit town on. Would Vezelay (spelling) or Beaune be a good 1/2 way overnight on the way to St. Remy. We want to avoid Lyon and Avigon if possible. On trips to the UK and Ireland we usually took the small highways and avoided the larger towns--would like to do that here unless it takes too long. Also, I already know I can't afford to stay at Chateau de Bagnols (may not have that name right) but might try to find it for a drink or lunch on the terrace if they do that sort of thing. Anyone been there?

Underhill

Either Vézelay or Beaune would be a good stop, although you would have more lodging options in Beaune. However, stopping in Vézelay would let you visit the historic and lovely cathedral.

You can easily avoid Lyon and Avignon; just stay on the Autoroute du Soleil, the big toll highway, and you will mostly bypass the cities. You might still need to go through part of Lyon unless the route has changed since our last trip, however, but it's on a large main road and won't delay you.

Most hotels that have restaurants are open for lunch, but I don't know whether you could just stop for a drink if you're not staying.

yawning

Vezelay is a small town about 3 hours south of Paris with a nice Romanesque cathedral (Saint Madeleine). You'll also find a good restaurant by one of France's well-known chef called L'esperance and next to it is a much cheaper (but very good) version at La Pres de Marguerite (sp?). Marc Meneau (sp?) owns these restaurants.

Whereas Beaune is a very nice winetown in the middle of Burgundian Pinot Noir country. Very nice brasseries at the main square of Place Carnot (Ma Cuisine and Le Gourmandin serve good value Burgundian cuisine with terrific wine lists). Things to do include visiting the Hospice in the square plus winetasting great Burgundian wines.

I would suggest Beaune as the better one for overnight as you will be, compared to Vezelay, about halfway to St. Remy.

Also, it will be difficult to avoid major highways (A6 and A7) as the small side roads will consume a lot of your time travelling such a long distance.

Underhill

Are you flying into CDG? In that case you might think about getting your car right there and going right around Paris on the major periphery road, then picking up the Autoroute du Soleil for the south. That would allow you to avoid driving in Paris at all and get you quickly on your way to Beaune or wherever.

RobynFrance

I agree with Underhill on the car approach--we've done it that way many times. Beaune is an easy stop==Vezelay--one of my favorite places--is lovely but not on the route if u r hoping to make the trip to St. Remy in reasonable time.

hopingtotravel

Thanks. 4 days in Paris first (without car) to recover from jet lag and walk along the Seine, etc. I haven't planned that part yet. I'll have to plan loose and casual--my husband doesn't do 8 a.m. patisserie, 10 a.m. Louvre, etc. I've tried that kind of planning and see about half what I want! Sounds like we could lunch, walk around in Vezelay and maybe stay in Beaune. We spent a few days in Dublin then rented at the south of town with the car pointed the right way which worked out. However, Dublin is about the size of inner Portland. On our first trip to London we took the bus to Bath then rented the car just to avoid driving out of London.

Underhill

Okay--then what you want to do is take a taxi to the Orly airport and pick your car up, or take the train to a city of your choice and set out from there. I think you could quite nicely manage a stop at Vézelay for lunch if you spend the night at Beaune.

This is just about what we'll be doing in September, except that we'll be coming by car from Normandy, stopping at Versaille, and spending the night at our favorite country inn near Dijon. From there it's about a 4-hour drive via the autoroute(lovely scenery) to the St-Rémy area.

You can do the trip all in one day, but it's much nicer to break it up as you suggested.

hopingtotravel

Underhill, that's good to know. Hopefully it would be easy to navigate out of Orly. If It's not easy to return the car there, would probably have to drop off at CDG as that's probably where our flight will be.

yawning

For the sake of convenience, you will be better off returning your car at the airport where you will be flying out of. Why the need to unload and re-load baggages just to get from one transit point to another?

When you get near Paris via A6 from the south, you will approach and navigate the Paris peripherique (sp?), a major roadway around the city which has exits to major roads leading out of Paris. In your case, you'd be taking A2 that goes directly to CDG. It's easy and the signs along the peripherique are quite good.

Granted that the peripherique is not completely stress-free, you can plan your driving such that you attempt to get to Paris during non-rush-hour times and avoid some, but not all, of the traffic stress.

Underhill

Depending on the time of your flight and the need to be at the airport 3 hours in advance, you might want to think about staying near the airport the night before you leave.

yawning

Sorry about the typo, it's A1 (not A2) that goes to CDG.

hopingtotravel

Thanks for the helpful suggestions. It all sounds doable--assuming the peripherique is no worse than the ring road (I believe M25) around London. We'd try it all in one day but being the first morning in a strange car and not used to French road signs it may be a but much. Do they really not put the highway numbers on the road signs?

Underhill

French highway signs are a bit like those in the métro: they give the names of the destinations rather than numbers. It's actually pretty easy to follow; as you leave the pérépherique you just follow the signs for Marseille. That will get you onto the autroute, and you would just stay on that the whole way unless you're making stops. Those too will be posted with town names, such as Vézelay, Dijon, Beaune, etc. Then when you want to get back onto the autoroute you look for the signs saying "péage" (toll road).

We got used to this system in England and still jerk to attention when we see "The West" in a television program on the BBC.

hopingtotravel

I think I'm going to make a list of driving terms for my husband to study. He drives; I'm the navigator. I'm studying French tapes but realize that won't get me far. Underhill, in case we decide to do this on the way south or on the way back to Paris, is your favorite inn near Dijon a secret? I've been doing searches through old posts and appreciate the quantity of info from you and St. Cirq.

AGM_Cape_Cod

So that is what "péage" means. I wondered and it wasn't in the admittedly limited dictionary we had brought with us. The sign we wondered about was 'rappel'.
I made my husband take a picture of the sign which appears before each rotary (Vous n'avez pas la priorite) so I can post it in my office!

Underhill

Rappel" is "reminder."

Any time we drive in a foreign country, the first thing my husband insists on is a copy of the driving code. For France it's the Code Rousseau, and very useful it has been. Our particular favorite is the sign with a bent arrow that looks exactly like a fish; on spotting one we both yell "Fish ahead!"

Underhill

Our favorite inn near Dijon is in the hamlet of Bouilland; it's called the Hostellerie du Vieux Moulin. It began as a small restaurant next to the tiny river Rhoin and its trout, then expanded to an 8-room inn with a good restaurant. Then the restaurant got one Michelin star, then two, and the hotel added rooms--now there are about 20, I think, and an indoor pool. It's an absolutely bucolic spot; the only entertainment is watching the cows go up to their pasture in the morning and come back down at night.

The restaurant now has 1 star because the chef didn't want to stay in the competitive rat race and went back to cooking what he likes. Then last spring Jean-Pierra Silva sold the operation and moved to Provence to open a very small restaurant near Grasse. However, last fall someone to whom I recommended the Vieux Moulin stayed there anre liked it very much. We'll be staying there ourselves in September.

I hope the people in your office understand the "priorité" sign and follow the instructions!

yawning

I have to disagree with Underhill, but when exiting into a major highway, French signs provide both the alpha-numeric highway name (eg "A7&quot and the name of the farthest city (eg "Avignon&quot covered by that highway for that particular direction (in this case A7 Sud).

AGM_Cape_Cod

I am sure they don't understand which is why I need it. One can be hopeful.

hopingtotravel

Underhill, thanks for the name of the inn. I still have a few months to "finesse" before I start booking, but I think trying to go through the Dordogne was going to be biting off more than I could chew. The pictures look so beautiful, I'll have to plan a second trip. From past experience, when I'm gone longer than 2+ weeks, I start to miss the dog, 2 cats, and worry about my house, my 87-yr-old father, and my son.