Much husband and I will be flying to Paris and renting a car for 3 weeks. We want to return to Bourgogne, probably staging out of Beaune, then down to Lyon, and I really want to see the périgord area for the foie gras farms.
Our first night will be in Nemours, an hour south of Paris, but if someone knows another town for one night, please suggest it.
We chose Beaune over Dijon because it's smaller. We still want to visit Dijon.
After Beaune, anything between that and Lyon? Another town to stage out of (maybe Lyon is too large?)
Is it better to stage out of a large town? Would it be harder to visit a large one or to stay there and stage out of it (parking, etc)?
We know to visit the tourist office first thing anywhere.
We are more interested in small town bars and restaurants than vineyards. We've done that all over Europe, and we live in Santa Barbara, so it's a little old hat to us.
We've also done MANY castles and museums, but we're open to really unusual ones.
Any suggestions are welcome and sought.
Thank you all in advance.
Posted by
Colorado Springs
2951 posts
One planning resource to consider for scenic drives and off the beaten path adventures is "Back Roads France". We've had good luck using the Back Roads books in a few other countries - highly recommended.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
I have preferred to drive in and out of smaller towns. For instance, in the Luberon area of Provence this fall, I was spoiled by the fact that once past the town limits, you were really in the country and the drive felt like sightseeing instead of just transportation. Then, around Avignon and Nimes, I was frustrated by the traffic (and number of roundabouts) in those denser suburban areas. Taking the toll autoroute would have solved part of this, so don't be too stubborn to pay tolls. To and from a city like Lyon, the autoroute does get you into the center of the city, but I'd expect traffic and more expensive parking, so would only stay there long enough to see the city itself.
Posted by
Olympia, WA, USA
6713 posts
I think Beaune is a good choice -- small enough to be easy to drive in and out of, large enough to have good choices for eating and drinking (without driving after), having some attractions of its own (notably the Hospices), and near the junction of two autoroutes to get you elsewhere fast. Dijon is a short train ride away if you want to avoid driving and parking there.
Lyon is less than two hours from Beaune by autoroute, so no need to stage between them. Chalon has a nice church, and Cluny is close to the route, so you could make an easy day of it.
I'd suggest spending whatever time you have for Lyon (a few days?) right in the city, just park the car and use local transportation. Then head for your next staging point. If it's Perigord, I'd suggest Sarlat or Beynac or Les Eyzies.
Posted by
Reston, VA, USA
809 posts
If you're looking for unusual castles, I highly recommend the Chantier de Guedelon, where they are building a castle using 13th century plans, techniques, and materials. My mother and I stopped there in October 2014, and really enjoyed it despite the lack of English guides or signage - but I think if you go in the summer, there are English tours. It was a great start to our week touring the castles and chateaux of the Loire. We spent one night at CDG getting over jet lag, then rented a car and drove to Saint-Fargeau [about 2.5 hours] where we spent the night. It's 90 minutes or so from Nemours and 2 hours from Guedelon to Beaune, if you want to keep your Nemours stop.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15768 posts
I used Back Roads France on my trip in June (Bourgogne and Alsace) and was somewhat disappointed with it. The driving directions were sketchy (thank goodness for the built-in GPS), and it skipped over some great places while including some that I didn't think were so great.
Where have you already been in Bourgogne? I stayed in Avallon and visited small towns and villages. Beaune felt like a big city in contrast, did not get to Dijon.
Posted by
Columbus, OH, USA
2053 posts
With a car, consider the guesthouse Carpe Diem in Massangis, France. Hands down, one of the nicest B&Bs ever. Beautiful building, grounds, rooms, secure parking, breakfast (dinner optional), and wonderful hosts. Excellent price. Other dining options available nearby. We stayed 4 or 5 nights, drove daily with the help of our hosts' Michelin driving tours booklet; saw Vezelay, Fontenay, Auxerre, Autun, others. I was a little dubious of the tripadvisor reviews I read prior to booking, and when I came home wrote one exactly as effusive as those I had read. A quick Look at current reviews suggests nothing has changed since our visit. We are fairly undemanding when it comes to choosing accommodations, and really just anticipate a bed and a bathroom and we'll take it from there. The Carpe Diem was one of those places where our stay truly enriched our touring experience. Good luck, and safe travels
Posted by
Granite Bay, CA
1923 posts
Absolutely agree with Denny! Have stayed at Carpe Diem in Massangis twice. Our favorite of all time and love the whole area to explore by car. I hope to go back again!
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Such great suggestions.
While writing this reply, I can't see the contributors' names or suggestions, so I'll have to wing it:
Thank you for the Carpe Diem suggestion. We've contacted the owners and have all the info.
To the person asking where we've been in Bourgogne: We took a Nivernais canal trip last year from Tannay to Migennes in a rented Le Boat, just my husband and I and a skipper. Quite expensive, quite slow, but really wonderful. We extended the trip from 7 to 10 days, and I'm glad we did. We had bikes on board and sometimes took the tow path (paved now) and into small towns.
We travel on our stomaches, so to speak, and we found little bars and restaurants along the way.
Some highlights were Corbigny, where we stopped for two different nights (coming and going), and found Le Cepage with an interior courtyard and windows to watch the traditional French restaurant kitchen. Another time we dined at a streetside cafe, Hotel Buissoniere- Le Marode restaurant-27€ excellent plat.
Clamecy: L'Angelus- good prix fixe-€19-good Bourguignon cuisine right by the Gothic cathedral.
Auxerre: Le Rendez Vous- 1er Chablis -lunch or dinner (Jean Pierre-chef on No Reservations-old school Burgundy specialties)
Bassou: * this was the first place in France to cook and sell escargots. There's a museum(!!). They sell frozen escargots, and we bought our skipper a pack of 40 to take home.
Thank you for the suggestions about visiting the large cities for a day trip, parking, and using local transport.