JoeCal

I am going to France next September for a month and staying in Gites for the most part. We will arive in Paris and rent a car (maybe a purchase buy-back option) early in the day - 9:30 am. On the 3rd day thereafter we have to be at our first Gite in the Languedoc. I'd like to split the drive and stay two nights in someplace nice along the way. I have been to Beaune, but not Dijon.

My question is whether any of you have a recommended hotel to stay in for two nights when we arrive near Dijon. (I figure that is about as far as I could drive on the arrival day - 3.5 hours from CDG, jet lag and all - any commnet on that?). If you have a favorite place closer to Paris - that would be fine too, but I have to drive to the Beziers area for my first gite, and don't want the drive on Saturday to be too long. I know I could take the TGV to the south - but I will be there for 3 weeks anyway (the south) and might like the chance to see something along the way a little closer. We don't mind the drive. I'd like to get as nice a place as possible for under E160 +/- a night.

Any recommendations? Thanks in advance.

Joe.

Palenque

me and many other Fodorites will recommend myhomeindijon.com, a nice flat right in the heart of Dijon run by our good friend Coco, who has hosted dozens of Fodorites and all, yes all of them seem to rave about not only the digs but Coco's extrememly personal and helpful service.

some folk will caution you about taking a fairly long drive the day of landing due to fatigue - i would say stay in Paris then pick up the car and do a leisurely drive to Dijon, stopping perhaps at Vezelay, a wonderful old medieval village with one of Christiandom's most venerated pilgrimmage shrines in the basilica, which once hosted one of medieval Christiandom's most venerated holy relics - that is until the bones were exposed as fakes centuries ago and the pilgrim trade dried up and Vezeay did too, until lovingly restored in the last century or so. The basilica is amazing as are the views over the signature Burgundy countryside from this hill town.

then when leaving Dijon take the Burgundy Wine Road south, passing thru neat wine villages and by some of the most prestigious Burgudny vineyards to Macon.

goddesstogo

Absolutely -- myhomeindijon is wonderful!

I would also suggest a stay of a night or two in Auxerre. We stayed at the lovely Hotel Parc Marechaux. Ours was the red room on the website and it was beautiful. It's about a 10-minute walk to the centre of the very charming town.

http://www.hotel-parcmarechaux.net/

goddesstogo

By the way, if you do go to Auxerre, have dinner at La P'tite Beursaude. It's a small, unpretentious place with excellent food. We liked it so much, we had dinner there both nights!

goddesstogo

And while you're in Dijon, stop at the local tourist kiosk and pick up the map for the Owl Walk. It's a charming and interesting walk and you can stop for many glasses of wine en route.

Palenque

I guess the only problem going by car is that Dijon i suspect is like Orleans and other sizeable French towns i've driven in and suffer from horrible traffic in the town center - not sure about Dijon because i have not been there for some years but many such towns are one big Bouchon IME during the day - on Sundays however they seem to be ghost towns. And i'd check on parking opportunities as well - you could pay a ton just to park perhaps as on street parking is often off-limits now in French town centres or spaces don't meet the demand of locals who must park their vehicles on streets as well.

Auxerre sounds like a wonderful town - one of the few French towns i have not seen and am adding it to my list - other Fodorites besides goddesstogo - such as Ira i believe - have also raved about it - those two recommendations alone are good enough for me to head there soon. I suppose it to may be a busy town for motoring but it is smaller and perhaps a bit better?

Christina

Dijon isn't too huge that driving would be terrible, but I think it's always easier to stay on the outskirts, especially when you are just driving between places. I'd probably stay some place smaller. Auxerre is nice enough and smaller than Dijon, it's popular with boating people. I was only there for a day, and didn't drive in it so can't comment on that. It wasn't a place I rave about, but it was nice enough. It is on a river where a lot of boats dock.

StuDudley

We've driven in & out of Dijon many times for day trips & dinner too - never any problem.

There is an 11:21 TGV train directly from CDG to Dijon. I would take that to Dijon instead of driving if the timetable works out.

Stu Dudley

JoeCal

Thanks everybody - I think Auxerre sounds like a good compromise for the jet lag drive - it is only about 90 miles out from CDG (versus another hour to Dijon?). I want to spend 3 or 4 nights in Paris at the end of my trip so I would just as soon get out of CDG - if I can keep my head up. I should be OK for a relatively short drive. (I've done it in England before. I am flying from California).

Auxerre looks beautiful and I can spend one night there and another on the way south. I was looking at Clermont Ferrand and then driving south to Beziers from there on Saturday - on the A 75 I believe. Is Clermont Ferrand nice? Does anyone know if this is a fairly simple drive or am I in the mountains the entire way? (A 3-4 hour drive would be fine on Saturday, as this is my check in day at the Gite - I don't need to get there until 5pm).

I tried to check drving times on Via Michelin, but I keep getting mixed signals on the driving times. (I must be doing something wrong). Anyone driven this road? If I go to Clermont Ferrand - what would be the best way to get south to Beziers. (3 options - west through Brive and Toulouse way, east to St. Etienne and south through Valence or straight south - no major towns along A75 it seems). I bet Stu has driven this road...

Thanks again

Joe

RedBalloon

Hi Joe,

If you want to avoid mountains and winding roads, I would skip Clermont Ferrand and stop in Lyon instead. The A7 is a much straighter shot, and there are some beautiful places along the way if you want to take your time (Belleville, Tournon, Valence, Mirmande, Orange, Grignan, Nimes, Montpellier....

Lyon is France's second city (unless you are talking to a Marseillais, then it's the third)filled with fabulous restaurants, rich history, and a convenient location. If you decide to stay there, try Le Jardin d'Hiver. Great B&B right near Bellecour in the center of the city.

Jeni

ira

Hi JC,

>....[drive] 3.5 hours from CDG, jet lag and all - any commnet on that?<

Take the train. (CDG/Dijon 2.5 hr 17E at www.voyages-sncf.com.) Rent the car in Dijon.

Stay at http://myhomeindijon.com/

Enjoy your visit.

StuDudley

Yep - we've driven all those roads you mentioned - several times. The A75 is just fine - as is the A20 past Brive (we were on that road in July). The A7 is OK - but a little tedious & unsightly from Beaujolais to Provence (lots of heavy & light commerce, & nuclear power plants). The traffic around Lyon is tough - but not on a Sat when you'll be driving it.

Cleremont-Ferrand isn't that interesting of a city, IMO. However, the area around it to the south & west is very picturesque. We stayed there for 2 weeks in '06. There are lots of private Chateaux open to the public in June through mid-Sept

Here is something I wrote about the area for a previous post.

In July ’06, we rented a Gite near Olby & spent two weeks exploring the area. In this region, the natural beauty is the main attraction. In June through mid-Sept there are many private Chateaux open to the public. Here is their web site:

http://www.route-chateaux-auvergne.o...te_anglais.htm

The Michelin Green Guide has many driving itineraries. Here are the sections we enjoyed the most
1. The D216/D27/D983 from the N89/E70/D941 intersection, past Orcival, all the way to le Mont Dore
2. The D983 from the above mentioned D216 to the N89.
3. The D922 from Tauves to Lagueuille
4. The small D640 from the D996, to the D150 to St Nectaire. This affords wonderful views of both St Nectaire & the distant ruins of Murol chateau.
5. The D36 from Besse en Chandesse to le Mont Dore.

Here are some of our favorite villages
1 Lavaudieu
2 Besse en Chandesse – probably the most interesting of the villages
3 Montpeyroux – this is an interesting village to explore. It’s right next to the freeway with a great view of it from the freeway
4 Brioude – interesting church also.
5 Blessle
6 Champeix
7 Billom – take the Michelin walk. Excellent Monday morning market. Nice store called Maison de Campagne on Rue Carnot

Some of our favorite sites
1 the Church at Orcival
2 Murol – it’s in ruins, but quite interesting.

The views from the top of the Puy de Dome are fantastic. We had dinner at the restaurant on top one evening, and watched a thunderstorm pass. If you get a chance, have dinner up at the top of the Puy. I’m a big foodie, and I expected the restaurant to be a little touristy – but it wasn’t. In fact, it was one of our 4 best meals in the region.

The other 3 best meals were l’Ours des Roches in Courteix near Pontgibaud, Radio in Chamaliers, & La Belle Meuniere in Royat.

Here are some drives/sites/villages we did not find as interesting as the Michelin Green Guide suggests
1. Gorges d’Aveze – especially if you visit the Gorges du Tarn.
2. The countryside east of the A75 freeway
3. Col de Ceyssat (too many tree trunks)
4. The Funiculaire du Capucin ride from Mt Dore. It was OK, but a little too time consuming


If I were to stay in one town, I would choose Besse en Chandesse. There are several Michelin listed hotels in town. Another option would be Mont Dore, but it’s a thermal/spa town and geared to that crowd. It’s somewhat interesting to visit, but I would not want to stay there. It seemed a little too “fake” to me. La Bourboule would be another choice, but it looked a little tattered & worn. Perhaps it was a more elegant town 100 years ago.

Stu Dudley