Feedback on proposed itinerary, Paris to Lyon

You shouldn't try to wing it on accommodations in Annecy, which is extremely popular. Lovely, but pretty likely to be very crowded; it was beyond "crowded" for me last June. It was also very, very hot. As for other possible stop-overs, I have no experience looking for last-minute rooms in small French towns with a car at my disposal, but I'd urge you to at least book the night before via the internet.

Someone suggested Oignt as an alternative to Annecy.

Oingt is nice, but it's just a tiny village. I'm not sure how many accommodations it has; we stayed at a winery on the edge of the village. Annecy is a small city which can get very crowded. We've stayed there in April and May, and it was still pretty crowded. On one of those visits we had to make reservations at the last minute because a volcano in Iceland derailed our return. We didn't have too much trouble, but that was May.

I haven't been to Annency or Lyon but, with that caveat, I'd suggest three nights in Beaune and three in Lyon. That means two full days based in each city. Annency is east of Lyon, not on the way there from Burgundy.

Lots of possible stops between Paris and Beaune, depending on your interests -- Fontainebleau, Vezelay, Semour-en-Auxois, Alesia, Fontenay Abbey, even Dijon. And some of them can be visited on day trips from Beaune. Beaune isn't what I'd call a village, it's a good sized town, but no so big you'd want to be outside it. There's a ring road and you can get in and out of town pretty quickly. Beaune itself has the Hospices, a wine museum, an interesting church, and lots of tasting rooms where you can sample as a pedestrian. A full day there might be too much, unless the sampling takes over your agenda.

Lyon has many interesting sights which I hope to see one day. Sorry I can't help you more there. I'd like to spend at least two or three full days there whenever I make it.

Nancy,

I don't think you have budgeted enough time for Beaune + Lyon + road trip. 2 nights (one day!) is especially impoverishing for Lyon. And I don't see how Annecy fits in at all: it's not in any sense enroute between Beaune and Lyon.

How about this: Take an early train to Auxerre and pick up a rental car. Drive to Chablis for lunch, and from there make your way through the lovely towns of the Serien valley and then over to the Cure to spend the night in Vezeley.

Reservations definitely required in Vezeley, and worth doing so. Hint: The crowds get better once the tour buses leave.

Drive to Beaune next and spend 2 nights. There's a great bike rental shop in town that will suggest routes depending on your interests and abilities. Then just go straight to Lyon for your remaining 3 nights (which is only 2 days). If I knew the rest of your itinerary I might make other suggestions.

If you don't like Vezeley, then to save time take the train and go straight to Beaune, then to wherever you'd like next. Looks like it's about 3, 3-1/2 hours to Annecy from Beaune, with a pretty drive through the Jura.

But Vezeley is a knockout. And don't short-change Lyon, you'll regret it.

My initial reaction to your described route, colored perhaps by the fact that I'm a former Lyon resident (and an Annecy skeptic) is that A5-A31 is not a direct route to Beaune from Paris. Rather, a direct route would be A6. I also would forget going to Annecy on this short stay. It's not worth it. It's not worth it generally (in that there are better choices) and it's totally not worth it in the summer unless you really, really love idling behind a line of little French diesels waiting for your next chance, in a sequence of chances, to find that, yes, this parking lot is full too.

I would recommend maximizing your time in Lyon (feel free to ask questions on how to enrich that time). There are some nice bike tours one can take from Beaune, and I recommend doing that.

Sorry to jump in...we are planning to celebrate my husband's 50th birthday. We have about 10 days. We would like to spend a few nights in Paris and then drive through the French Countryside. This itinerary looks good to me but we will be going in Mid-November. Any recommendations - we love beautiful scenery and want just a relaxing time...we are splurging and just want this to be a special romantic vacation.

I started with a train to Auxerre, then drove from there. I really like the countryside between Auxerre and Beune. My favorite stay was in Semur en Auxois. I enjoyed visiting Vezelay, Avallon, Autun, Bibracte, Alesia and others. I love Burgundy but least of all Beaune. The small towns are each prettier than the last and the rolling hills are green and most typically treed or farmland with farm animals. The vine acreage is limited to keep from overproducing Burgundy wines. Beaune didn't appeal to me (except a few sights) because it's not medieval like the small towns. It's an 18th century look and is rundown outside of the immediate area of the main tourist sights. I prefer Dijon's center (but Dijon is a larger city with modern suburban areas). I was there in May and it was too early. June should be really nice.

Lyon has it's charms too, particularly cuisine and Roman ruins. In the area are Oingt, Perouges and Vienne for more medieval towns and Roman ruins.

Annecy is out of the way. It's a pretty place. I've only visited in mid September and it was nice then, not empty but not too crowded. There was a little rain that may have kept the crowds away.

Where do you plan to stay in Lyon? Parking ?? We enjoyed Lyon, but would only return WITHOUT a car. I booked a Citadines apartment-hotel with a great location but which DID NOT GUARANTEE parking -- after driving around and around, we dumped the car in a city parking structure, then walked to find the hotel and ask about parking at the hotel. Yes, we got it, but by the time we retrieved the rental car and followed their complex instructions to access the in-hotel parking, new arrivals were told that parking was "complet" (full)

Driving Strasbourg to Baden-Baden to Gengenbach to Beaune, no problem. Driving in Provence, based in St-Remy, delightful. Lyon, however, made Paris look good.

would it be too risky to only book stays in Beanue and Lyon and take a chance on finding a place in between, giving us the freedom to meander and be spontaneous?

Mid June, sounds like a risky time to 'wing it'