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Suggestion for a wine destination on our trip

Posted by on

After years of reading the thoughtful advice here, I have my own question. My husband and I are going to France in late September for 9 nights. Our tentative plan is 5 nights in Villafranche-sur-Mer (we got a fantastic Airbnb so are happy to take our time exploring the area) followed by 4 nights in Paris. However, this will be our fourth visit to Paris, and we love it, but seems like we should consider trimming a couple nights from Paris and see somewhere else in France.

Where can we easily fly or train to from Nice and then to Paris, to spend a couple nights and ideally do a small group wine tour on the full day. Lyon seems to be one option, would love to hear what others might recommend. We did a day trip to Reims from Paris a few years ago and enjoyed it, but my husband is looking for something different.

Posted by
20143 posts

There is a direct TGV from Nice to Beaune departing at 7 am and arriving in Beaune at 1 pm. Lots of Burgundy wine tours available from Beaune.
Beaune is just about 2 hours from Paris with local train to Dijon, then TGV to Paris.

Posted by
1321 posts

Beaune is a great choice. Cute town. I was going to suggest Bandol but that's in the south about 2 hours from Villafranche-sur-Mer. We visited last trip and it was fantastic wine. My hubby is a wine judge and always looking to taste something new for us.

Posted by
10205 posts

I was going to suggest Bandol, too. Also, Châteauneuf du Pape.

Posted by
2 posts

Thanks all, I really apreciate the feedback. I had no idea there was a direct train from Nice to Beaune. Longer travel than I had hoped for, but it being direct makes it worth considering for sure. In terms of touring wineries, do you think Beaune/Burgundy is superior to Lyon/Beaujolais? I love both pinot noir (but not chardonnay, which seems big in Burgundy) and beaujolais.

Posted by
5610 posts

We really enjoyed our stay in Beaune. It is historic and charming and you can taste both in town and in the surrounding area. I do like Beaujolais, and haven’t been to Lyon, but I think most would consider Burgundy and Bordeaux the premier wine areas in France. Further, Beaune is so accessible via train, and the train station is quite close to city center.

Posted by
93 posts

Depends which wines you like. Bouche du Rhone has many. I love the wines in Languedoc many have nice hotels like L'hospitalet near Narbonne

https://www.chateau-hospitalet.com/

Its owned by a great entrepreneur who is really turning vineyards into experiences. Ive had hit and miss experiences in Burgundy. I love Pinot Noir and there are some lovely towns and hotels in Burgundy. Bordeaux overall takes the cake in my view as it has EVERYTHING. Burgundy would be a nice stop between Paris and Nice or just stay around the South

Posted by
17 posts

What kind of wine do you like? Since each region is known for particular grape varietals It would be good to know what you like.

Posted by
4412 posts

Beaune was also my suggestion, but I believe you actually TGV to Dijon and then switch to a local.

Posted by
680 posts

Beaune is a beautiful town and the wine road extends between Dijon and Beaune for the burgandies. If you prefer whites, you can go south of Beanue to Macon (and east to Pouilly-Fuisse) You can also consider taking the TGV directly to Avignon and renting a car for a tour of Chateauneuf du Pape and the surrounding villages like Gigondas. You will find some grenache/mouvedre/shiraz based wines here, rather than the pinots of Beaune.

If you want rose, it is possible to book a wine trip to the Var from Villefranche-sur-mer. Or take a drive to the St. Tropez peninsula. There are also a few wineries in Bellet, a district of Nice (in season, a special shuttle bus is running from Nice Magnan), one near St. Jeannet and one on Isle St. Honorat.

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