Travelling to Burgundy
 

My husband and I are travelling to Burgundy for 2 days in early March, and I'm looking for suggestions on wine routes. We will be staying in Paris, and I'm wondering if it's best to rent a car or go by train. We're most interested in wine tasting. Does anyone have any suggestions and/or know of a good wine route to take either by train or by car?

Thanks much,
Amanda

Unless you are part of a commercial tour, Burgundy can be very confusing. We navigated the area by car and were never quite sure what to see or where to go next. There is a "wine route" but it is not clear what you are supposed to see while on it. Unless you are going to focus on Beaune and Dijon, I would definitely not try to see the area by train. Only a car will give you reasonable access.
On our visit, we simply drove through towns with names that would be familiar to any wine connoisseur. We took pictures of the vineyards, even drove through a few, and the wine estates.

You won't find a lot of tourist shops, etc. Places that sell wine for hundreds of dollars per bottle are not going to be bothered with selling refrigerator magnets. We saw plenty of people on tours (wine tasting, bicycle groups, etc.) but Burgundy does not seem to have a well-developed tourist infrastructure for independent travellers.

in the green michelin guide to burgundy you will find suggested routes for touring the cote d'or and the cote de nuit, the two primary regions other than macon and beaujolais. with a car and basing yourselves in the beaune area you can cover both in a few happy days.

I suggest taking the train from Paris to Dijon, picking up a car in Dijon and driving to Beaune where you can base yourself as Underhill recommends.

We used the touring in wine country, BURGUNDY by Hubrecht Duijker. Beautiful photos with rstaurants and hotels suggested.

I also used that same book that Cigale mentions, as well as Michelin Green Guide. I based in several places (Beaune would probably be best if you only have a couple of days)- and I drove around Burgundy for about 10 days. I absolutely loved the Burgundy countryside. I did lots of research before I left, and knew pretty much what I wanted to see, and I was never disappointed. Taking the train to Dijon is probably your best bet. I would love to go back,and plan to someday. Have a great trip.