Itinerary help for Burgundy, Provence area for 6 Nights/7days before flying out to Barcelona

Provence needs more than 2 nights, so for me it comes down to a choice unfortunately ...
Either, Alsace/Strasbourg (2) >> Burgundy/Dijon (2) >> Lyon (2)
Or, Provence/Avignon (4) >> Lyon (2)

I spent a night in Cluny, 4 nights in Avallon to explore part of Burgundy, 3 nights near Colmar to explore Alsace. Staying in a small town meant faster access to the highways and I prefer to stay in one place and do more driving more back and forth. I skipped Dijon and Lyon, spent only about 1/2 day in Beaune. Both areas were very interesting and enjoyable - chateaux, abbeys, medieval villages and churches. I skipped much more than I saw - there's just way too much to see in a few days.

Thank you so much, David and Chani,
I have looked up the area of Alsace/Strasbourg and it is so lovely. Would it is advisable to rent a car outside of Paris to drive there? or taking TGV train is a better option?
@Chani, Where would you recommend to stay as a home base to explore Burgundy area? Do you like Avallon area? We would love to stay in a small, rural town to explore the surrounding area.
Thanks again,
Lan

I haven't been everywhere in Burgundy and Provence by any stretch of the imagination, but last year we spent most of a week in Burgundy, in a gite we rented in Volnay, just outside of Beaune. We absolutely loved it. We did a private wine tour one day, which was money well spent. I filed a trip report in that section of the forum with details if you are interested. For lavender, I recommend you visit Senanque Abbey near Avignon, but in August it will likely be all gone. In that area we visited Pont du Gard, Russillon and Arles, among other places, and recommend those. We based for a few days in Avignon, which we liked.

Train, in my opinion, would be easier, and perhaps faster and cheaper too.

Day 1 - Train (1hr 50 min) from Paris to Strasbourg (2 nights)
Day 4 - Day trip to Colmar (30 mins by train each way)
Day 3 - Train (2hr 15 min) from Strasbourg to Dijon (2 nights)
Day 4 - Day trip to Beaune (20 mins by train each way)
Day 5 - Train (1hr 30 min) from Dijon to Lyon (2 nights)
Day 6 - Explore Lyon
Day 7 - Depart Lyon

If Dijon, Beaune, and Lyon are on your bucket list then why not just spend all 6 nights exploring those three and visiting nearby towns. I would just use train rather than renting a car. Spend 3 nights in Dijon, visiting Beaune and Chalon-sur-Saone as day trips, then train to Lyon for 3 nights maybe visiting Chambery or Vienne, both lovely towns and then maybe a wine tour or rent a car for just a day to tour the countryside. There is plenty to do in Lyon and Dijon in the evenings, especially if wining and dining are on your wishlist and both are good bases to use for day trips by train. Save Provence for when you can give it more time.

Hi Lan

". . .Alsace/Strasbourg and it is so lovely. Would it is advisable to rent a car outside of Paris to drive there? or taking TGV train is a better option? The train is better. There's TGV service directly to Colmar as well as to Strassbourg, but there are more rental car agencies in Strassbourg. It's about an hour on the main highway (toll-free) to Colmar from Strassbourg. I stayed in Eguisheim, just outside Colmar, there are others just as suitable.

"Where would you recommend to stay as a home base to explore Burgundy area? Do you like Avallon area? We would love to stay in a small, rural town to explore the surrounding area. Avallon was fine for me, since I had a kitchenette and there was a big supermarket very close by. I'm told that Avallon is a very pretty town to explore, but I never did! Vezelay is nearby and seemed to be considerably smaller and possibly a better place to stay. Burgundy is big. In 3-4 days, you'll only be able to explore a little of it. I suspect wherever you choose, you'll find what you're looking for.

The thing I love about Burgundy are the small towns; personally, Provence just doesn't do it for me although we have enjoyed visiting friends there. Here are some of the things we did in a week in Burgundy.
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/category/burgundy/
We particularly like Semur en Auxois and have stayed there a time or two as a last night before Paris and also spent a week in a cottage there and explored the immediate area. We plan a couple of nights there in September on our way to Paris for October. Beune is also a lovely little city and a good spot to spend a night and tour the town center. WE stayed there at hotel de la Paix which has a parking lot (reserve ahead and tight squeeze) and charming rooms and is an easy stroll to the Hotel Diu and other central attractions.

I've spent a lot of time in Provence, but lately more time in Burgundy, and I've grown to love the Burgundy villages. I'd suggest skipping Provence for a number of reasons, including the fact that it is incredibly crowded and hot in the summer. The following link to my travel blog covers our most recent trip to Burgundy, principally northern Burgundy, and includes the lovely town of Semur en Auxois (see the post above). http://mainelywinenews.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2013-01-01T00:00:00-05:00&updated-max=2014-01-01T00:00:00-05:00&max-results=21. There are so many charming places to stay and visit in Burgundy.

Thank you everybody for your advice/recommendations,
It is very obvious that Burgundy is everyone' favorite here. Because of the heat and the crowd in the Southern in August, we have decided to postpone Provence until our next visit. It is a perfect excuse to be back again.
@djp_syd, Thanks for a detailed, well planned itinerary.
@Chanti, we will checking out Avillon and nearby areas for lodging.
@Nancy, thank you for suggesting a 3 nights stay in each location to really enjoy the area. Sometime, we try to do so much in so little time and ending up missing the simple pleasure of just relaxing.

@Janettravels44, I love your blog and have read them even before your answer to my post. Enjoy travelling.
@SherrieF, love your well written trip report. I will make sure to visit Senanque Abbey on our next visit to Provence for the lavender. We have two different types of lavender in our back yard but not French lavender and the pictures of lavender field are so gorgeous.
@Robert, Love your blog and the beautiful pictures of Semur en Auxois. This is the type of town that I am looking for and we surely will visit this coming August.
Lan

If I were going to Burgundy then, I'd plan my trip around the Vézelay music festival 18th-21st August, but your musical taste may differ.

Just back from a trip that included some Burgundy and Lyon (also with 18-year-old daughter), and had been to Burgundy before.

I'd suggest 3 nights in each. Lyon is just fabulous and, if this matters, the shopping is good.

Your Burgundy itinerary should be based on your priorities (Vezeley? Fontenay Abbey? Cote de Beaune?), but I'd suggest basing yourself near or in Beaune for at least 2 of those 3 nights (you can see Dijon as a day trip). You might rent your car in Auxerre or other northern town if you want to see some of those sites enroute, or in Beaune if you don't.

The Lyon airport is outside of the city and I'd suggest returning the car at a train station in the Beaujolais country (or in Beaune if that does not appeal to you) and taking the train into town. You'll arrive a metro ride from your hotel, and the train is very reasonable.

My personal favorites in Burgundy were Beaune, Vezeley, the Fontenay Abbey, and some of the small towns in the Serien valley.

We spent a night and a whole day in Dijon; it was pleasant but that is all. (To be fair, I think I might have gotten more out of a longer stay. Some places take longer to yield up their treasures.) Semur-en-Aixois is also charming. 3 nights is 2-1/2 days if you organize it right and you can see a lot.

FInd a comfortable place to stay, you'll need to recharge.

I hope your family has a lovely time.

Beaune is a good base, but I was not that wowed by the town itself. We did enjoy the chateaux outside of town, La Rochepot, and the Medieval hospital in town. Fontenay Abbey is spectacular in my opinion. We had lunch in Semur-en-Auxois and I might consider staying there the next time we go. We pretty much followed Rick's recommendations in the region and found them good. On a separate trip we blasted through Provence in a two nights (just one full day). We found Arles to be a very nice base, and the town itself was plenty appealing (although the parking was a pain). We went to Pont du Gard, which is one of the great sights of France IMO. Also the town of Le Beaux on a day trip—highly recommended. I could easily do a slower saner itinerary splitting two weeks between Provence and the Riviera. I have never been to Lyon but my research suggests it would be a very worthy stop for two or three nights. (Nearby, I also think the French alps (Annecy/Chamonix) are very underrated. Also, Alsace is very nice, but we actually preferred Strasbourg to Colmar. Not that there is anything wrong with Colmar, and the Unterlnden museum there is wonderful. Many of the towns near Colmar, while largely interchangeable, were also pleasant stops on a day trip).