Still tossing around ideas for my June trip to France. I think I'm back to Paris-Burgundy-Dauphinee.

Would the following route be possible for one day's driving in Burgundy and still allow us to enjoy the sights? Please keep in mind that I needn't spend hours at any one spot, just get a general impression, and that the drive itself is part of the enjoyment for me--

Dijon to Fontenay Abbey to Vezelay through the Morvan hills (stopping to do short hikes) to Autun and back to Dijon.

One day or two? What about adding Charite sur Loire between Vezelay and Autun? Worth it? With that added, is the route doable in a day or two days?

Are there any must-sees I'm leaving out? We love churches, abbeys and charming villages.

I'll be basing out of Dijon, so I would have time to see that city on other days.

ttt

Hi Cimbrone,
I would say 2 days, only one would be too little.
Here is an itinerary I wrote on tripadvisor, it might help you to check the distances...
http://tinyurl.com/yy7cgr

coco

Thanks coco. I knew I could count on you!

Do you recommend Charite sur Loire? Is there a particular place on the route I mentioned where you'd recommend we stay the night?

Hi Cimbrone,

I don't know the area well, but for what it's worth...

I drove from Dijon to Beaune last March-- followed the wine trail and ran off in different directions when we felt compelled. I would imagine the route would be crowded in June, but it's definitely got the charming little towns , churches, and of course, wineries along the way. Despite the cold weather at the time, we loved it.

If in Dijon, there's a great little restaurant, La Mere Folle. It's a charming little place that fills up fast, but it was inexpensive and absolutely delicious!

Thanks Brink!

I'll definitely keep this restaurant recommendation in mind.

brink, The RN74 between Dijon and Beaune is usually busy, but if you take the route des Grands Crus which is parallel and much smaller (D122)you'll be fine. I never saw it busy, even in summer.
La Mère Folle is rue Berbisey. I never tried it because the reviews were quite mixed on cityvox. I should see by myself.
http://www.fra.cityvox.fr/restaurant...1621/Avis-Lieu

I can't help you with la Charité sur Loire because the only time I passed through the town, there had been a huge storm and a lot of houses had damages on their roof. But I'm sure some fodorites here will give you some advice about la Charité.

We just got back from 2 weeks in Burgundy. We did not drive through the Morvan because it looked quite twisty & wooded, and we go to France to see Medieval villages, churches, Chateaux, historical sites - not trees, which we have plenty of in the US. We dipped into the Morvan a little - but cut our planned drive short because of the twisty/trees.

Here are some of our favorite places, and a few "dud" also.

Favorites:
Cities/villages
Dijon
Beaune
Auxerre
Noyers
Chateaux/churches
Fontenay
Ancy le Franc
Tanlay
Rochepot
Cormatin - south of Tournas
Brandon
Sully
Chateauneuf - from the outside
Bazoches

A little disappointing:
Autun
Vezelay - we've seen dozens of churches & abbeys that were more interesting - and the village is quite touristy.
Semur in Auxois - much better from the outside than from the inside

Places we wished we had not visited:
Flavigny sur Ozerain - what a dump - it's surprising that it's so close to Noyers (which people have obviously taken care of) and Flavigny has been neglected & allowed to decay.

The wine villages are just OK - not as nice as the villages in Alsace & Rhone.

Take the back roads thrugh the villages - like someone suggested. We actually preferred the vineyard drives south of Beaune, over those between Beaune & Dijon.

Stu Dudley

Thanks coco and Stu.

I keep waffling back and forth between a return to the south of France and Burgundy!

Both areas are quite nice, but deserve much more than a two day drive-through. You really do need to spend hours at one spot - Beaune, Auxerre, Vezelay, Ch Tanlay. We were in Beaujolais for 2 weeks, followed by 2 in Burgundy (as stated on my prior post). We still did not have time to visit a few places we wanted to see (Avallon, Tonnerre, plus a few chateaux).

I don't know what your entire itinerary looks like, but a 2 day drive through seems like an inefficient use of time. If you go to the south of France (I assume Provence, not Roussillon, Languedoc, or other south places) do what I do & take the mid-day TGV from Avignon or Aix to Dijon. Stay overnight in Dijon your last night, then take the TGV directly to CDG the next morning for your flight home. Trains leave at 6:30am weekdays & 9am weekends for CDG.

Stu Dudley