Hello! We will be driving from Lyon and stopping in Beaune before heading to Vezelay and then continuing on to Paris. How long should we plan on stopping in these two locations? We have all day but would like to get to our CDG hotel before midnight. We will be doing this drive in two weeks time from now, so I know that there will be less daytime. Thank you!
Posted by
Long Beach, Ca, usa
1845 posts
travel love bug 18,
I don't know about Vezelay, but if Beaune is a stop en route, I would try to spend 4 hours there. The Hospice needs about 2 hours for sure. Then I would stroll a bit around the town center and/or have an early lunch there.
My guess, from research on Vezelay, would be the same amount of time. Thus, an early start from Lyon, about 1 1/2-2 hours to Beaune, and the same time from Beaune to Vezelay. Use of the autoroutes between stops gives you a more relaxed few hours in each town. Vezelay to CDG will take about 3 hours. This doesn't take into account gas stops or traffic disruptions, but with a late arrival okay at CDG, you could spend 3 hours in each place. This does require a very early start, in my opinion. (Adding it up, I see about 7 hours on the road, allowing extra time, and maybe 6-8 hours total in stops. So, 13-15 hours from start to arrival at CDG. Definitely doable. Be sure to fit in time for car return that night, if your flight is the next day. Check drop-off hours and how to get to your lodgings from the car return location. All sorts of little things add up. Try to give yourself an hour or two cushion for your CDG arrival.
Enjoy your trip!
Posted by
California USA
4181 posts
It will be a long day. We spent about 1.5 hours with our students at the Basicila in Vezelay and no time in the town on the quiet fall day we were there. If you have a little pair of binoculars it will better help you see the stone detail.
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
6883 posts
Will you want to do any wine tasting in Beaune?
Posted by
OP
Utah
2 posts
jules m We wont be doing any wine tasting. We just want to see the historic center of Beaune, specifically hopital dieu.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10975 posts
Do everything possible to avoid getting too close to Paris especially its periferique, ring road. It can take 1-2 hours to get around from the south to the autoroute toward CDG during rush hour, which begins around 3 or 4 until 8 or 9 pm. Map a wide route around Paris no matter what your GPS tells you is the shortest.
2 hours in Vezeley.
Posted by
Long Beach, Ca, usa
1845 posts
travel love bug 18,
What Elizabeth said about avoiding Paris and its periferique! Times ten!!
Posted by
PA, USA
90 posts
I feel like a curmudgeon for saying this, but Vezelay was not that interesting to us. Does anyone else here feel the same way? We spent about an hour there.
If you're a fan of church architecture or you enjoy touristy shops, you'd probably get more out of it than we did.
I wouldn't dare tell anyone else to skip it because tastes differ.