The Quintessential, Charming Burgundy Village

Have a look at Semur-en-Auxois . A bit larger than a village ,but not much . Might just be what you are seeking .

Steven: Thank you. I will indeed do so.

Lots of wonderful villages but by far our favorite was Chateauneuf-en-Auxois. Felt like I was in a children's storybook...

Susan: That was on my list. Thank you so much.

We haven't been there, but Auberge de la Beursaudiere in Nitry is high on my list of "next places." It's owned by the Lenoble family, whose daughter (Camille, I'm pretty sure was her name) we met here in Colorado. The inn and restaurant both look wonderful to me (and have good reviews). I don't know if Nitry itself is a recommended spot, but you might want to at least consider the restaurant if it ends up being close to your home village.

There's an app for that! :-) Well, not an app, but an association, with an official website! http://www.france-beautiful-villages.org/en If you click the little Union Jack, you get the English version. Lots of great places listed!

If you can use google maps to see Nitry, you (and Janet too) will see that it is less than charming. My in-laws lived 20 kilometers from there, so I've been through many times including last summer. It has an entry/exit for the autoroute. It's ok for a place to overnight, and this particular auberge could be charming with a good restaurant, the village but not at all charming or quaint. Good access to the freeway though. The other villages/towns mentioned are charming though and Kira's link to the beautiful villages is an excellent one. In fact my husband and I are going someplace this summer which is listed on that website. You mentioned the town of Avallon in a different post, so I supposed you are trying different things.

I'd suggest looking at some of the towns around Auxerre, including Chablis. Auxerre is a bit big and more urban, so I'd recommend staying near, but not in. You can stay in a B&B, or rent a gite for a week. That will be farther off the beaten path than the Beaune/Dijon part of Burgundy. It's really quite beautiful along the Yonne river. Tonnere is a bit further north, but also a nice, picturesque place that isn't really on the (American) tourist's radar. It's a little bit bigger as well, but their tourist website gives you the option to search places to stay around the area. I've had good luck finding lodging this way and have taken friends visiting from the US to the area around Chablis for an overnight. Definitely quiet and calm. One tip - if you do stay at a B&B, or a gite attached to a B&B, see if they do a dinner - table d'hôte. A lot of them will do one/week (or more if they're busy). While it isn't usually cheap, it's a great way to get more of the local culture.

Bets, You said in your response: "You mentioned the town of Avallon in a different post, so I supposed you are trying different things". Although I am reading between the lines, I infer that Avallon might not exactly qualify as a "charming Burgundy village". I would appreciate if you & others could elaborate on this since this will be our first time in the area. I might add that using Avallon as a home base was predicated on several considerations. These included: (1) centrally located in the area we wanted to travel, (2) available car rental, (3) relatively easy rail access, (4) a large enough town to explore & enjoy in the evenings & (5) having a flavor of Burgundy. Thank you!

Some of the towns along the Serien are really lovely. That said, I urge you to consider location and size. If you idea is a base for day trip, you should really think hard about what those trips will be and pick a location that minimizes total trip time. Wherever you stay, there will probably be one or two days where you are traveling far to see what you want to see. That's just how it is. But you don't want every day to be like that. Second, there is such a thing as too small, especially for a whole week. This is subjective, but think if you want to be able to buy coffee, bread, cheese, food, near where you stay. If you want a restaurant or cafe. And so forth.

Adam,
I agree. That was our thought behind maybe using Avallon as a home base for a week.

In Semur-en-Auxois, check out www.experienceburgundy.com - don't think you'd be disappointed.

Yes I think this is a lovely place. we have not stayed there, but have been in It. Semur en Auxois is a neat town...I do not know if I would call it a village though,but the lower part where this house is...is lovely. not a lot of restaurants last time I was there.

Avallon, or environs, is a great base for the reasons you listed but it is a city, not a village. It's good because you can get to many of the other places mentioned for a visit quite easily: Auxerre, Chablis, Tonnerre, towns in the Auxerois (Semur, Chateauneuf), and many places which weren't mentioned such as Montreal, Quarre les Tombes, the Morvan Regional Park, Vezelay, Arcy-sur-Cure and all the villages along the Cure, Noyers and all the villages along the Serein, Guidelon and the villages in the Puisaye, Rogny les Septs Ecluse and so many, many more that you'll find once you are there. (Get the Michelin Green Guide to Burgundy) It's even possible to drive into the Champagne region, which is just up the hill from the town of Tonnerre. Once you are in Chaource, you are in Champagne. The important city of Troyes is only a little further. Driving around, you'll see so many beautiful villages that I'm sure you'll be extremely satisfied. Just google the above places and you'll see that you won't miss the charming village even if you stay in Avallon.
P.S. Except for Vezelay, Chablis, and the occasional barge trip, you won't run into too many other North American English speakers, French and other Europeans, but not too many North Americans.

Seems to me that Avallon is handy to Vezeley and the Cure, Cousin, and Serien valleys, and northern Burgundy generally, less ideal to see the Cote de Beaune and Cote d'Or. But then nothing is perfect.

Exactly. It's about an hour to an hour and a half to Beaune. We go down for the day from our place near Chablis to see friends in Beaune, get bottles, or for work. It's not impossible, but the focus of the trip shifts more to the north.