dac

I would love to have some feedback to the following tentative itinerary:
June 3 - arrive CDG, pick up rental and drive to Beaune (Hotel Le Cep)
June 4 - Beaune
June 5 - Beaune
June 6 - Drive to Annecy (Hotel du Palais de L'Isle
June 7 - Annecy
June 8 - Drive to Le Puy-en-Velay (Regina Hotel)
June 9 - 15 Sarlat (Clos la Boetie)
June 16 -Drop off rental at Brive rail station and take TGV into Paris (Hotel Lutece Ile St. Louis
June 17 - Paris
June 18 - Fly home

Please feel free to give me the good, the bad and the ugly regarding this itinerary. Also, anyone who has stayed at these hotels or can recommend others - all suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Dac

dac

ttt

ira

Hi dac,

It's about 3:30 hr by car, almost all of it on highway, from CDG to Beaune.

If you are coming from the US, do you want to drive that distance in a jet-lagged condition?

You can take the train from CDG to Beaune (4 hr) or Avignon (3:30 hr, 25E).

See www.voyages-sncf.com and enter Roissy for your departure point.

We very much enjoyed our stay at www.hotel-grillon.fr in Beaune.

See my trip report for details:
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=35014078

Enjoy your visit.

traveller1959

For my taste, it is too much driving. You will have hardly a chance to see something.

I would skip Le Puy-en-Velay. I don't find it too exciting. Better spend another day in the Alps. One full day for Bourgogne is too short. Skip one or two of the Sarlat days and take a little more time for Bourgogne and/or Paris.

TuckH

> I would skip Le Puy-en-Velay. <

We went out of our way (en route to the Provence) to go there and were quite disappointed. So - yes - I would skip Le Puy-en-Velay.

> Better spend another day in the Alps. <

We stayed near Annecy and, from there, had a wonderful day above Chamonix. So - yes - Better spend another day in the Alps.

dac

Thanks for your replies. If I skip Le Puy en Velay, then I guess I will just drive from Annecy to Sarlat. I know it is about a 5 1/2 hour drive. Anyone have any other suggestions or comments about the itinerary?

bilboburgler

Well I go on about Chablis and Auxerre though others are probably bored with my views. I find Beaune a bit dull and at least Chablis is small and pretty. Also there are a few lovely monesteries around and hollowed out hills filled with wine (Isigney for example).

If I had gone down this far by car I would pop over to Bescancon, look at the fortress and then the chapel at the end of the Vosges then back via Champagne to Paris.

hausfrau

dac, we drove from the Rhone Valley (Cliousclat) to Domme in a day with no trouble. I have been to Le Puy en Velay too and it made for a nice day trip, but we were not awe-inspired by it. If you want to break up the trip you might consider spending a night in the Massif Central region a bit further west, south of Puy de Dome - a gorgeous, scarcely populated area quite unlike anywhere else I have been in France. There are lots of quaint towns to choose from; Le Murol and Besse-en-Chandesse come to mind. I think the route from Annecy would be through Clermont-Ferrand to Puy de Dome and then it would be an easy drive south to the Dordogne.

RJD

It is rather a long drive from CDG to Beaune. I have a few times taken the TGV to Dijon and rented a car there at the train station. From there it's a pleasant 40 minute drive to Beaune.
Your time in Beaune seems about right to sample the town, which is not big, and tour the nearby vineyards. Sounds like a fun trip.

dac

Thanks to everyone for the advice. Anyone else?