Wine tasting via a day trip out of Paris
 

My wife and I are visiting Paris next week and would like to spend 2 days wine tasting. Any ideas on where to go? Should we rent a car or go by train? Places to stay etc.?

thanks,

Hi,
grandmere who is a regular member on fodors is in Dijon now and is having a wine tour today with Burgundy discovery wine tour. If I remember well, they had to take a train to Beaune this morning to meet them at 9.30am and the tour ends round 4.30pm.
Here is their website :
http://www.burgundydiscovery.com/
Maybe grandmere will tell us more about it. :-)
coco

Possibly the closest and easiest to get to from Paris wine region is champagne. Sounds good, huh? You can easily get a train from Paris to Reims and spend a day there tasting champagnes at a couple of houses and if you stay two days you could taste even more. Enjoy.

You might also consider the Champagne region, which is closer to Paris than Burgundy, Loire, etc. Unless you prefer to go on your own, it may be possible to book a wine tasting tour when you arrive in Paris.

If you take the TGV to Dijon you can rent a car at the train station and begin your own wine tour of Burgundy before noon. Get a good guide like Hugh Johnson's and enjoy. There are many places tp stay, although I prefer Beaune which is a short drive south through some of the world's best wine country.

In the Loire Valley, you can also go to the various Maisons du Van, where you can taste for free a wide variety of wines from local vintners and buy the ones that you like best. The easiest Maison du Vin to visit is in Angers--90 minutes from Paris by TGV. The MdV is well located right across the street from the famous chateau and is an easy walk from the train station. So you could have a nice day trip that combines wine tasting, sight seeing in an attractive, friendly city, and a good meal at any of the city's several excellent and inexpensive restaurants.
Otherwise, I'd second the Dijon/Burgundy option if you want to do an overnight stay.
The champagne region I would save for another trip unless you're really into champagne. You could always try glasses of several good champagnes at the elegant, all-champagne bar in the Sofitel Dokhan in the 16th arrond.
Champagne lovers should try to visit Paris in December, when most wine shops will offer free tastings, usually a different champagne every day (the tasting area in the basement level wine store at Fauchon's pours very generous samples...chat up the sommelier and you might find yourself drinking almost an entire bottle on the house).

Thanks everyone, we have decided to visit the Burgundy region and will likely stay in Dijon or Beaune. Any specific recommendations regarding nice places to stay? We looking for something other than a hotel. B&B, Chateau, etc. Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks again!

Hotel Grillon - Well located, good value, we loved this place, very charming
http://www.hotel-grillon.fr/

Hi S,

>...will likely stay in Dijon or Beaune.

This has gotten good reviews here:
http://www.myhomeindijon.com/

((I))

We have been in Dijon France for the past 4 nights and have been staying http://www.myhomeindijon.com/.This is Corinne Jacquin's flat. It is lovely for 2 people--immaculately clean and located centrally but very quiet. It has ample room,adequate kitchen,all newly redecorated including the bathroom.Most important Corinne is a superb hostess and has helped us in many ways.She served as our guide to Hospice de Beaune and Chateauneuf de Avaux.We went on a guided wine tour on Tuesday with http://www.burgundydiscovery.com/.David and Lynne were excellent hosts and they knew the vineyard owners personally which really allowed us to see first hand how a vineyard operates at harvest time.We truly enjoyed this day also. This tour really expanded our experience.

Hi, i m from singapore. going to dusseldorf then to paris. can advise places of interests in this two great city?

Hi janjan and welcome on board.
Dijon has so many things to offer ! Stick to the historical center between Place Darcy and St Michel church (from west to east ) and from Place de la république to Place Emile Zola or Dijon port (N-S) but you can spend a few days in that perimeter !
I always suggest to go to the tourist office and ask for the owl’s trail to see most of Dijon nice sites. http://www.dijon-tourism.com/uk/dijo...s_chouette.htm