CDG to Beaune. Which option is best for first night for jet lag/planning?

I would do option b. Note that last time I checked, Dijon does not have automatic transmission cars for rent.

I'd do option C and not drive at all on my arrival day. Automatic transmission vehicles will be extremely hard to find in Dijon and Beaune. Also, I am not sure if you are arriving on a Sunday, but if you are car rental places will generally be closed.

Thank you for the recommendations! We arrive on a Friday and we do know how to drive stick shifts (no problem). I'm just wondering if it makes sense to train to Beaune (a bit longer train, bypassing Dijon) or not. It sounds like driving from CDG that day is not a good idea with jet lag. I agree there!

Driving jetlagged is the equivalent of drunk driving. You are impaired. Please, please take the train to Beaune and get a night's sleep before driving.

Maybe your B&B can provide transportation from the train station when you arrive and to the car rental the next morning.

If you can't arrange the car in Beaune then spend the first night in Dijon and drive out first thing in the morning. Don't drive jet lagged.

Thank you, everyone! There will be no jet-lagged driving! We'll take a train to Beaune. Sleep! Then rent the car the next day.

I'd go for option D. Spend the nite in Paris, then take a train the next morning to Dijon. This does a couple of things. Instead of waiting in the long line (1 hour or more if you peruse recent posts) to buy train tickets from the staffed booth you just need an RER ticket into town. US chip-and-signature credit cards don't work in the train automated machines (although chip-and-pin do). You can buy an RER ticket if you bring some euros with you, or with any US credit card at one of the TI booths at CDG and there's usually no line (see http://en.visitparisregion.com/practical-info/tourist-information-desks-100180.html).

Staying in Paris gets you out and about to help get over jetlag. By about noon you could be on a RER train into Paris, by 1pm you could have dropped your bags at your hotel (odds are the room won't be ready yet) and then be out walking and drinking coffee at a cafe. A nite in Paris also minimizes time you spend traveling. If you look at the routes on the DB train site it looks like most of options have you take the RER into Paris anyway to the major train stations and take a couple of hours total with the connection times. Instead if you spend the nite into Paris you could take a direct ride on the TGV the next morning and be there in about 90 minutes.

You do not have to go to Paris to catch a train a Beaune. You would catch the train to Lyon and change there for Beaune. However, I do like the idea of spending a night in Paris and train to Beaune or Dijon the next day.

Option D is appealing if your schedule allows that night in Paris instead of in Beaune. Look for a hotel near Gare de Lyon where the trains go to Dijon.

But with only three nights in the Beaune area, I'm guessing you can't spare that extra Paris night -- and for all we know you have some Paris time later in your trip. In that case, I'd recommend either option B or C, depending on train schedules. I don't like driving after an all-night flight but I've done it -- and on the left side of the road in UK which is much harder. The drive from Dijon to Beaune isn't difficult, and people react to jet lag in different ways. Option A -- driving from CDG all the way to Beaune -- would be riskier on the arrival day.