Dijon, Beaune and Annecy

Rick Steve’s’ books are not comprehensive! They focus on where his tours visit. Dijon is a fabulous city as is the smaller, nearby town of Beaune. We have visited both many times in the heart of Burgundy. Both are major tourism centers.

What Suki said. Dijon and Beaune are also very close together, a train ride less than half an hour I think. We took a day trip to Dijon from Beaune, you could do the reverse. Dijon is a bigger city with direct train service to Paris, Beaune is smaller and more walkable.

Besides accommodation, Annecy is not significantly more expensive than Beaune. Maybe a hair more, but nothing that would throw your travel budget off the rails.
However, it can be very crowded in high summer, and if time is tight, I do not think that you need more than 2 nights to see the town and the lake. There is plenty to do if you stay longer, of course.

Thank you for all your feedback. I'm wondering if we need to go to Annecy. It does sound , however we live in Colorado and can visit mountain town any time. For the people that have been there, how did you like ? I suppose the Alps could be very different from the Rocky Mountains. I didn't realize there was another holiday at that time, either. When exactly is it? We could go the 2nd and stay only one night, so we would be there part of Thursday and most of Friday or leave Saturday morning.

How many days are Beaune and Dijon worth?

Dijon is a day trip from Beaune, Beaune itself takes a few hours to explore. Or vice-versa if you stay on Dijon. I would then add a day from another activity, such as a wine tour, or an excursion to some of the beautiful villages west of Dijon/Beaune. That makes it 3 nights total.

I have never been to Colorado, but based on what I have seen further north, I am pretty sure that Annecy does not compare at all. It is much less dramatic, but it is also very different. In and around Annecy, the landscape is quite densely inhabited. There are lakefront parks, villas on the shore, villages and farms in the surrounding foothills, inns in the mountains. No wilderness to speak of. There are some wild parts of the Alps, but most of Savoy has been "tamed". This does not make it any less interesting to visit, just different.

Annecy is on a lovely lake, and it has a very pretty, if extremely touristy, historical center. It's not actually in the mountains (thus the importance of an air-conditioned hotel room if you're heat-sensitive). I don't think you'll find it particularly similar to Colorado.

We spent one night in Chamonix and one night in Annecy a few years ago. (preferred Annecy, Chamonix felt like a typical out-of-season ski town). One full day in Annecy was plenty of time to explore the charming little canal area and enjoy a cruise on the lake. I couldn't find any hotel in the canal area with parking that I liked, so I booked a side-view room at the Imperial Palace at the head of the lake. They upgraded us to a suite with a lakeview!

I feel as if I may be the only person who didn't enjoy Annecy much. I did a lot of research, and thought I'd love it. I brought my 21 year old daughter, last year, and we explored for about 3 hours. Neither of us could figure out what the fuss was all about and definitely ready to leave. It was very, very touristy and small. There area a couple of pretty areas in the historic center. However, we did not go out on the lake, as it was too cold that day, so I am sure that made a world of difference in our perception. I wouldn't go for the historic center alone. My son went to CU Boulder and now in Denver. You can't compare Annecy as Annecy has a beautiful lake and feels more resort-ish. To ME, the flatirons in Boulder are much more dramatic.

My reaction was somewhat like Marie's. I hit Annecy during a heat wave (fortunately, I had an air-conditioned hotel room), which made walking around outdoors for very long uncomfortable. I did take a boat trip on the lake, and it was very nice. For me Annecy's a no-more-than-one-day sort of place unless the weather is conducive to a lot of outdoor activities like biking around the lake. But I don't react well to small places packed full of visitors and without many indoor attractions I'm interested in.

I have decided against Annecy. Thank you for all your help.