We would like to ask for suggestions for places to stop and things to see while driving from Lyon to Chartres. We like charming villages. We'd also like ideas for things to do and places to eat in Lyon and in Chartres.

is this a 1, 2, or 3 day trip? Here are some places I actually prefer over Chartres.
Beaune
Dijon,
Auxerre
Bourges
Troyes
Chambord Chateau


These are the places we visited - with some comments

-Les Halles indoor food market. This was very disappointing. We've visited about 15 other Les Halles type markets in France, and this one was very poor

- From the Michelin Green Guide, walk #2 Les Cordeliers & walk #3 From Bellecour to Carnot

- Old Lyon from the Michelin Green Guide. Walk # 1 & 2. We especially enjoyed the Traboules. Get a map at the tourist office
https://www.francetoday.com/learn/hi...n_s_traboules/

- Musee des Tissus - my wife spent 2 hrs there while I sat at a cafe outside. She loved it
- Musee des Arts Decoratifs - very interesting

- La Croix Rousse
Walk # 1 in the Michelin Green guide. We enjoyed this area of Croix Rousse - especially the southernmost section.
Walk # 2. We did not enjoy this area of Croix Rousse. A little too grungy for us.

- Maison des Canuts. My wife was very interested in the silk history of Lyon. So we visited this museum & took a tour - in French (my wife speaks French - I don't). The visit consumes a lot of time, and many people were bored. My wife enjoyed it.

- Ateliers de Soierie Vivant. There are 2 places that you can visit that still have the silk making machinery set up. People actually lived in the same room/building as their machinery, and the entire family lived there also. It was an "eye opener" for us. We enjoy visiting places where people lived & worked a century or so ago. The second house on Rue Richan was the most interesting - but both were perhaps more enjoyable than the Maison des Canuts if you want to see the machines in action.
https://soierie-vivante.asso.fr/

We dined at Leon de Lyon & enjoyed it. We also dined at Les Loges for my birthday. Fabulous & expensive. We dined at l'Alexandrin & it was excellent.


Stu Dudley

If you prefer villages/small towns over cities, then two come to mind, both wine-focused: Sancerre and Beaune. Sancerre is a pretty hill village, with a good selection of restaurants. A visit to the Vacheron winery is highly recommended.
The other choice is Beaune, which is, of course, world-famous to wine lovers. Lots of restaurant choices. A pleasure to stroll through, nice son et lumière shows at several places around town. You don't say what time of year you'll be there, but both places can get quite hot and muggy. We were lucky to be in Beaune in June during a five-day cool period between two heat waves.

If going in one day you'll have to go the most direct routings and it seems the Loire Valley would be a natural stop - say Chateau Chambord as Stu suggests and or Amboise - nice regional town with its own imposing chateau and also the Clos Luce where an aging Leonardo da Vinci lived his final years - the villa has copies of his inventions and works on display.