Recommended lodging and location for short stay in Burgundy.

It's at least an hour and a half from Guedelon, in northern Burgundy, to Beaune, in southern Burgundy. This may be a case where it's worth staying in two different places. I'd stay the first night in Auxerre because it was first a Celtic town and then settled by the Romans. Not only can you still see some vestiges, but there is a very interesting model of Auxerre in Roman times in the museum. This way you wouldn't be rushed at Guedelon, a place that deserves several hours. The second night I'd stay in southern Burgundy after stopping at Fontenay and Alesia on the way south. Fontenay is not an very long visit, so it's not unreasonable to do it and Alesia in the same day. For lodging, you could look at the Logis chain of hotel/restaurants. These are independently owned and run, usually by families, but inspected and rated by the Logis group.

Thank you for your reply. This is exactly the thing that is so helpful to know. This gives me some target areas to look at for lodging.

I think Bets has a good plan. We spent a week in Beaune, renting an apartment and exploring Burgundy by car each day. We loved Alesia and Fontenay, you could easily see both in a day, coming from Auxerre or nearby, and still have time for the Hospice in Beaune.

Autoroutes make a fast trip, though the back roads are more interesting. On the autoroute you'll pass a sign as you cross the "continental divide" where the drainages of the Seine, Loire, and Rhone meet. Helps you understand Burgundy's historic importance as a crossroads in western Europe.

We have stayed a couple of times in Semur en Auxois -- once for a night in transit and another time for a week in a cottage at the foot of the walls. It is not far from Fontenay Abbey. It is just a magically beautiful little town with a fair number of decent restaurants and the chance to stroll the ramparts, walk down to the 'river' etc etc. You can see snapshots of the town as well as of Fontenay Abbey here:https://janettravels.wordpress.com/category/burgundy/

Another possibility after Guedelon and only fifteen kilometers from Auxerre is Chablis. It's been built up for tourism and now has a lot of hotels and restaurants. The Michelin red guides, whose info you can access on viamichelin.com, has hotel and restaurant listings for all the places you want to go.

I would nominate an overnight in Vezeley, if the idea of a stunningly beautiful hill town with a famous cathedral appeals to you and yours. Get an early start the next day and make for the Fontenay Abbey and Alisia.

Hard to chose between Semur and Beane for night number 2.

Also loved Vezelay. We stayed at Moulin des Ruats in the forrest nearby -- a lovely little hotel with an excellent restaurant (people come from miles around) right on the stream. It is a good base for walking in the forrest preserve or traveling to Auxerre, Vezelay, Avalon etc.

These are wonderful suggestions. We are looking in the area between Auxerre and Avallon for night one and I think I have found a place about 15 km north of Beaune for our second night. Even if they two hotels are only an hour apart, it is one less hour on the road the day we drive to Chamonix, so I think it will be worth switching. Also, given the current time of year (brrr...) I forgot how late it will be light in summer, which means we really should not have to rush in Beaune before we leave on our drive. I think if we are on the road by 2:30 pm we should be just fine getting into the mountains, into our rental and finding dinner.

Once again, thank you!

Abbaye de la Bussiere outside Dijon/Beaune is wonderful