We will be traveling on our last leg of our trip from Beaune to CDG airport hotel. It is a 3 hour drive. Any recommendations on where to stop and sightsee/have dinner for a few hours before heading on to the airport hotel? Thanks!
Semur en Auxois is stunning with its medieval walls and is not far off the A6 -- we have stopped there for the night once on the way from Provence to Paris and later spent a week at a cottage at the base of the walls. It is quite. sight at night with the light on the walls. There are several restaurants in the walled town. We have eaten at several right near the town square of the old intramuros ville but alas can't remember names -- and restaurants come and go. Here are some snapshots of Semur. https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2010/08/25/medieval-towns/
And good idea to get dinner before reaching the airport hotels where good food is not really available.
Dijon is a nice walkable city to see and not too far from Beaune.
Fontainebleu -- both the town and the château -- would make a worthwhile stop, and it's not much of a detour from a straight shot from Beaune to CDG. You could visit the château, stroll its gardens, and then walk into town for dinner before taking the 1.5 to 2 hour drive to CDG.
Beaune to Fontainebleu should take 2.5 hours or so.
Fontainebleau definitely, or Barbizon, home of the 19th C painting movement, more a village than a town but with a lot of nice restaurants because it is a weekend getaway spot for Parisians.
Why are you asking them to defend their decision to you?