Burgundy France

Susan and Monte, Could you elaborate on what types of sights you're most interested in? You might have a look at the France 2011 Guidebook, as there's lots of good information there. Beaune seems to be a favourite location for visits in that area. Happy travels!

For some reason I had it in my head that RS book didn't go into the Avallon area, that it was more concentrated on the Beaune area. We have the 2005 book, and it does look like he gives info up into the area we are staying too. So, sorry...I guess I'm ok to concentrate on his suggestions. Any other things not mentioned in his book that may be great? We love castles, nature, architecture, and small quaint villages, plus, good food.

Susan, here are a few places that we really enjoyed visiting this past Sept. The quaint town of Montreal is only 12km/7.5mi northeast of Avallon (pop. 200). Its main street is lined with 15th and 16th C houses. The 12th C church, restored by Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th C, is an example of Early Gothic architecture. The interior has a 15th C altar with scenes from the life of the Virgin and choir stalls of 1522, with New Testament scenes. It was gorgeous. In the church's cemetary, my husband found the gravesite of General Habert (who fought at Waterloo). Chateauneuf-en-Auxois is a hilltop village, with the chateau at one end of the (low) rocky spur on which the village stands. The castle and surrounding village developed in the 12th - 15th centuries (the original castle dates from 1132) and many of the houses in town date from that time. The views of the valley from this village are incredible. We had a great dinner at
L'Oree Du Bois located in the center of town. Their crepes were great and so were their prices. We also enjoyed Beaune which is a nice, compact town. We toured the Hospice in the town center. There are lots of restaurants and shops. On the outskirts of Beaune, the small towns of Volnay and Meursault have several wineries. Visit the ""caves" for wine tasting. We missed going to Dijon which is also supposed to be a lovely town with a great art museum. Guess we have to go back someday. We loved Burgundy and can't wait to return. Have fun.

We also loved Montreal... we stayed there... and Chateauneuf-en- auxois. The little creperie someone mentioned is one of our favorites.. Loree d'Bois. They have a wonderful fireplace in the middle of the room which is great in the Fall. The Morvan Forest is in the area.Other places we loved are Flavigny.. the movie Chocolat, Noyers, Louhans... one of the finest markets on Monday,and Beaune. The backroads are fantastic. The Burgundy canal at the foot of Chateauneuf is great to explore on foot.

Avallon is near Vezeley, Chablis, and the charming towns of the Serien valley. I recommend all of them but it depends what you like to see and do.

Vaison La Romaine would be a good vist...on Tuesday they have the market which has been held every Tuesday since 1500 or there abouts. Be sure to see the Roman ruins and the Citie Medieval (Old city) on top of the mountain.

The medieval walled town of Noyers-sur-Serein. Chateau de Tanlay, Chateau d'Ancy le Franc Montreal--the pew sculptures in the church are treasures, the Morvan National Park, Vezeley, as already mentioned. Clamancy, just west of Vezeley, considered one of the prettiest towns. Quarre les tombes--used to be a stone casket making center in the 5-9 centuries--has about 50 stone caskets lying outside the church. Climb right in. Auberge de l'Atre restaurant, just past Quarre, had one Michelin star but lost it--it's still very good.
Les Grottes d'Arcy--caves with prehistoric paintings. You can take a guided visit, but only in French I believe.

Bets, have you been to the Grottes d'Arcy? I was underwhelmed, myself.

Thanks for all the great ideas!! Now it seems like we need more time! For those of you that know the area, would you have a recommendation on how to divide our time? How do I incorporate all your ideas and RS ideas into three days? Probably too many things to see unless there are many in certain areas where we can do several in a day. We will have three full days with a car, and a half day on our way to Alsace. Maybe this is too much to ask, but I'd love to hear if anyone knows how to design this portion of our trip and incorporating many ideas listed.

Adam, yes. We really enjoyed the D'Arcy. They're still uncovering about one painting per year and believe the walls are totally covered. Particularly liked the child's hand and arm.