Hi everyone,
I am in the process of planning another trip to France. I will be travelling between cities by train (I don't like driving). Can anyone recommend a good town to stay at between Strasbourg and Lyon that is accessible by train? (The train ride b/w stras and lyon is 5 hours according to the sncf website, so I would like to stop on the way to see one of the towns). I would prefer to see a town that is as different from Paris, Lyon, and Strasbourg as possible because I don't want to 'waste' any travel time by seeing a town that is too similar to what I have already seen.

Question about town(s) that you recommend:
1. is it worth staying overnight in this town? If it is not worth staying overnight, do you know of any lockers/luggage service where i can store my bags?


Thanks so much for your advice!

It depends what route you take on the train. I think the train from Strasbourg to Lyon normally stops in several small towns, of which you might stop off in Mulhouse or Besancon (Colmar would be possible, but it's not far from Strasbourg to begin with). I haven't been there, but Wikipedia says Besancon has one of the best provincial fine arts museums outside Paris and has one of the best historic town centers in France.

Otherwise, you can take a train to Nancy, and change there for a train direct to Lyon. Then you could spend time in Nancy, where I have been and enjoyed very much. That trip takes a little longer time total than the train through Colmar/Mulhouse/Besancon.

I wouldn't want to place cities on a scale of being alike or not. Strasbourg is different because of Alsace, I'll say that, and Nancy is different from it and Lyon, also, I'd say. But I don't know what you'd consider similar in towns. Nancy and Lyon have different geography.

Here are cities we've enjoyed spending time in:

Besancon
Dijon
Beaune
Nancy
Auxerre

Dijon is by far our favorite in this group. We've also visited Colmar everal times, but that's somewhat similar to Strasbourg. We've also stayed in Strasbourg & Lyon & we think Dijon tops both of these.

Stu Dudley

Hi ! I would recommend Basel=Bale. You can reach by S-Bahn ( local train)from Mulhouse. From Bale/Switzerland you can travel by train to Lyon as well. Bale is the "border town" to France, about 35 Kms south of Mulhouse. Totally different. May be at the Basel SBB railway station you may find any luggage deposit.

I would definitely recommend Dijon--very nice city. Beaune's Hospice de Dieu is definitely worth a visit. Easy access to restaurants and hotels in both places. I posted a trip report on Burgundy--it is dated sometime between Oct 22 and today.

More votes for Dijon and Beaune. Beaune is unique and small. The train stops in each.

Hi RB,

I suggest an overnight stay in Dijon.

You ought to consider http://www.myhomeindijon.com/