I will be taking the train from Nice to Paris. Can you suggest a town or village that I might stop off at to spend the night? I'm looking for something "quaint".

Hi Mark,<BR><BR>We have done the drive in both directions multiple times. I would recommend thinking about staying in Beaune, the capitol of Burgundy country. They have some nice restaurants and I would recommend a very nice hotel "Cep" it has three peaks in the Michelin guide and is red " Hotels Agreable". I also think <BR>the restaurant is excellent.<BR><BR>The other advantage of this stop on your way back to Paris is that it's a relatively short drive, around 3 hours, and you can get back into Paris before the traffic starts backing up.<BR><BR>Have fun & Bon Voyage,<BR><BR>RJS

RSJ-thanks for the input. But I will be travelling by train. Is Beaune easy to get to by train from both Nice and Paris? I am really looking for a place that might a train ride wihtout transfers from Nice, on the way to Paris, and then train to Paris from wherever, without transfers. Would appreciate any information. thank you

You can take the train to Beaune but you might want to go up north another half hour to Dijon. It has a major train station and will get you to Paris in under 2 hours. Plus there is lots to do in Dijon.

I don't think you can get to Beaune from Nice without transfers -- you'd have to transfer in Lyon. The train from Beaune to Paris goes through Dijon anyway, I think, although you may need to transfer in Dijon, also. Neither Beaune or Dijon are on the main TGV route that goes down to Avignon, Marseille and then to Nice from Paris (and back). I only know the major stops on the TGV and none are really quaint. The TGV only stops at Lyon, Valence, Avignon, Marseille, and a few between there and Nice. Not all TGVs make all those stops, either, only the ones from CDG. The ones from Gare de Lyon usually only have one stop, either Lyon or Avignon or Valence (before Cannes). So, there really is no quaint town on that rail line to stay in that won't require transfers. If you haven't seen it, you might consider Avignon; it's not quaint but is worth seeing and the best of the choices that won't require any transfers.

I just looked at that rail line and I think they've added Aix to the stops on that route, but that isn't quaint either. However, the TGV line does go through Macon north of Lyon so that could be a possibility, it's probably the quaintest of those major poits on the line. YOu'd have to check if a train from Nice goes there without transfers, though.<BR>The population is about 36K (a little larger than Beaune) and they do have an old town and a few historic things to see. I might go there as that is one of my most favorite wines. This is the best tourism site on Macon I could find:<BR>http://www.chez.com/richez/Bourgogne/Macon.htm