Hello fellow Fodorites! We've just decided to switch up our plans for this fall in France. Now we plan to fly into Marseille (7nights?), head to Lyon (4-5 nights), and then on to Paris where we have rented an apartment for a week. I'm thinking a few days in a small city/town between Lyon and Paris might be a nice respite. We will not have a car so it needs to be on or near a train line and walkable. It could even be a country inn as long as it has a good restaurant, and we could get to it with a taxi. Last year we spent time in lovely, small cities in Italy (Parma, Padova, Vicenza) and I am thinking something similar in size, or smaller, would be an ideal way to slow down for a few days. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

Maybe you mentioned it, but how long are you looking to spend in this town? How much distance are you willing to travel to either this mid city from Lyon and then onto Paris?

I have not done the research over how long distances are and/or train line options, but maybe Dijon? Or Orleans?

It's been several years, but we enjoyed Beaune. We had a car but spent the better part of two days exploring the town's sights, visiting the weekly market, going to a wine-tasting event. We had planned to rent bikes one day and cycle to a nearby chateau to see its collection of planes and racing cars, but it rained in the morning so we drove there.

Does your time in Marseille include any day trips? If not, you might trim your time there just a bit. (And I say that as a great fan of that city.)

For Lyon, I found 4 nights insufficient. Five would, I think, have worked quite nicely for me.

If you haven’t already seen it, you might find some useful information in my trip report. The section on Marseille per se begins with post # 126 and the section on Lyon with post # 190.
A stellar month in southeastern France

I was going to suggest either Beaune or Dijon but others beat me to it.

Beaune would be my suggestion. It is definitely someplace I would stay at again.

Strasbourg? There is a direct TGV Oui between the two. Or Colmar, on the same train line.
Strasbourg is lovely, and you can always rent a couple of bikes for a ride along the Rhine, or around the city.

Orleans is closer to Paris, and you can enjoy walking (or cycling) the banks of the Loire.

Thanks to all of you for your responses. Beaune had been on my radar, and my husband's spidey sense says Dijon might be better. Not sure if Dijon fits my idea of slowing down for a few days ...

travelnerd I am thinking two nights might be enough to catch our breath.

Paqngo, joannyc , joan Thank you for reinforcing my thoughts about Beaune.

kja Your TR is what got me excited about going to Marseille! The city itself, plus all the possible day trips make it enticing. I'll take your advice seriously about the number of nights for both Marseille and Lyon. Our travel style is slower than yours, though.

hetismij2 We bookended a walking trip in Alsace with Colmar and Strasbourg. Loved both cities, as well as our accommodations. For anyone reading this we highly recommend both places!

You may consider Dijon, a bit larger than Beaune but still very manageable and full of character. Think medieval streets, great markets, and a strong food culture (mustard capital for a reason). Direct trains from both Lyon and to Paris make it very convenient.

I do travel hard and fast! I'm very glad you found some inspiration in my TR and hope you enjoy Marseille and surrounds even half as much as I did.

Dijon or Auxerre

https://flic.kr/p/7dP7ce

https://flic.kr/p/7dT8Xs

Thanks to all for your suggestions. It looks like we will consider Dijon. We'll go in September with a TR in October, hopefully.

If you're traveling from Lyon to Paris and want to avoid driving, you should look into the regional train (TER) instead of the high-speed TGV. I live in Lyon and know this line well, along with the towns along the way.
It’s a great option because you can hop off to visit a town and catch a later train to continue your journey. Here are the best stops:

- Beaune: The wine capital of Burgundy. It's very walkable and home to the stunning Hospices de Beaune.
- Dijon: A beautiful historic city with great food markets.
- Les Laumes-Alésia: A hidden gem. The village itself is very charming, and it’s the site of a famous Roman battle.
- Sens: I haven’t explored this one personally yet, but the cathedral is historically significant as one of the first Gothic structures in France.

One thing to keep in mind: these specific trains are quite old and dated. They aren't as modern as the TGV, and there are almost no power outlets on board. Just make sure your phone is charged before you board!

You’ll arrive at Paris-Bercy, which is a much smaller and quieter station than the main ones.

I much preferred Dijon to Beaune, there isn't much in Beaune unless seeing a lot of wine shops interests you. Yes, that hospice is there but that's it. I liked Marseille but might not spend 7 nights there although I guess you could do various day trips that you could also do from, say, Avignon (like to Nimes or Arles or Montpellier). If you don't want to stop a lot, fine, but you could do a stopover in Avignon going up (or maybe even Aix but I don't think it's on the main rail line). I wouldn't want to spend 5 nights in Lyon myself.

I would consider Annecy as a potential for a day or so. Went there on a day trip from Lyon last September. I know there are direct trains from Annecy to Gare de Lyon, at least one a day. Bus or train from Lyon to Annecy as well. We took a very early bus ride that was quicker than the train trip to Annecy and caught a late bus back that night, but staying overnight would have been beautiful, especially if you had a view overlooking the Lake.

Thanks again for the great suggestions! We plan to make several day trips from Marseille before heading to Lyon and possibly Dijon. Mountain_Tom Your suggestion regarding the regional train, with interesting stops, is under consideration. I'll research which stations might have luggage storage if we decide to take advantage of a hop on and off as we wend our way back to Paris.

I just returned from 2 weeks in Burgundy, including 4 nights Beaune (including a day trip to Dijon), and 3 nights Lyon. I would highly recommend Beaune if you want a smaller city with a more laid back vibe, at least that’s what I got from our April visit. My planning also weighed choosing between Beaune or Dijon, and ultimately opted for Beaune because frankly there was more to do, at least in terms of what matched our interests, and we liked the idea of the smaller city. While I like wine quite a bit, we weren’t there expressly for vineyard tours and tastings, but we had a lovely e-bike ride one day through the vineyards.

In terms of things to do in Beaune, here’s the highlights of what we did since it’s very fresh in my mind:

• Bike ride as mentioned previously. We spent the better part of a day going to various towns along the bike-dedicated route, impromptu picnic lunch in small town, glass of wine on a terrace overlooking all of the vineyards.
• Walk along (not on top) of the old town walls. There are about a dozen sites and a free tour guide via QR codes along the route. Great way to see the town and get oriented. Then have a nice dinner and talk about all the amazing old city wall stuff you just saw.
• Food food food! I’ll be honest, for a small town they have a great concentration of wonderful restaurants. Dinner reservations were essential.
• Hospice de Beaune: not only is this a beautiful place, the history and details in the audio tour were fascinating. Couple of hours here, followed by a couple of hours talking about it over a French lunch makes for a good afternoon.
• Beaune itself is not large, but we spent the better part of a day just exploring the various nooks and crannies of the town.
• Day trip to Dijon: while we drove because we already had the car, my understanding from previous research was it’s an easy train ride, too.
• Another factor is that we had a car, so we also spent a day exploring (driving) the small villages in the area, which I would highly recommend, even if you just rent the car for a day.

I don’t disagree with others that Beaune might be a little lacking in sights compared to Dijon, but after having stayed in Beaune I have no regrets - for me, it was just more charming than Dijon. From what I could tell, Dijon had more for shoppers and I’m sure a more vibrant nightlife, so that would definitely appeal to some folks more than myself. Also, given your interest in a small town, possibly smaller than Padua, Vicenza or Parma, I’d lean heavily to Beaune.

Either way you’re going to love it! if you opt for Dijon, I would recommend a day train ride down to Beaune if you need something else to do.

Thank you for the great input berntx ! We will be rounding out our itinerary in the next few days.