Travel in Burgundy France

Hi, Kate - If you like wine, take a drive down into the Beaujolais area. You can see the actual windmill that the varietal "Mounlin à Vent" is named for, and when you get down to Romaneche-Thorins (I hope this is right - we did it two years ago), you can go to Georges DeBoeuf's "Hameau de Vin" - a really fun museum about wine making in general and Beaujolais in particular. He must have spent some time at DisneyWorld, because there are 3D movies and animated, talking vines. It is really well done.

Use Rick's book as a guide.

Kate, I spent 8 days in Burgundy 2 years ago. What sorts of sights interest you and your husband?

Reserve a rental car before you leave. Autoeurope is a good site. It's much more expensive to rent once you're there.

Hertz has a rental location at the train station and one down the road from there near the old city walls. As stated by others here, make your reservations before leaving the US or expect to pay quite a bit more. I rented in Beaune from Hertz last time I was there. I made the reservation for the train station but when I got there they just referred me to their other location. It was only a short walk away (three blocks then left a couple of blocks. I had planned on taking the train back to Paris after my stay in Beaune but a train strike forced me to use the car and drive into Paris. I would try to avoid this at all costs. Paris is nearly impossible to drive anyhow (and park) but in the middle of the train strike when even the metro was down, everyone was on the road.... it was crazy. Beaune and Burgundy area are great with a car however and you will have a great time.
Have a great time.

CORRECTION:
Thanks Kate!

Right you are. Hertz only has one location now in Beaune and it is not at the rail station. It must have been Avis I used because they do have one at the rail station:

Avis Locations in Beaune:

Railway Station Gare SNCF - GP2
Beaune, 21200 , France
(33) 03 80 24 96 46
Sun Closed; Mon-Fri 08:30AM-12:00PM
02:00PM-05:30PM; Sat Closed

4 Bis Rue Jules Ferry - BE5
Beaune, 21200 , France
(33) 03 80 24 96 46
Sun Closed; Mon-Fri 08:30AM-12:00PM
02:00PM-05:30PM; Sat Closed

I have a rental coverage through American Express that is above and beyond the normal credit card rental coverage. You can call them about it. It costs around $20.00 automatically charged everytime you rent with the Amex Card. (you have to call and enroll) Remember to pay off your rental with the same card. I have a friend who has returned a rental and the rental company discovered the windshield was cracked later and AMEX couldn't do anything for him because he paid at the end with cash. Also important this coverage is not valid in Italy.

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Sent: Wednesday, January 9, 2008 1:13 PM Did you have any trouble with renting a car. I have read so many horror stories of people getting ripped off in Europe. Avis offer 4 additional insurances...liability, collusion, etc. Did you purchase any? Thanks, Kate

I did not purchase additional insurance.

Vezelay - About three hours I think from Beaune. Magnificent church on the top of the hill. Crusades began there. King of England denounced there by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Area dates back to the Romans (and before!). Countryside is fantastic.

Montreal - very small village, with a church - one of the few with an 'original' rose window (not all the stained glass as I recall, but magnificent.

The area is beautiful!

Burgundy is our favorite area in the fall. We will be there in October. We fly into Paris for a while and rent a car-picking it up at Orly. It is very easy to get on the A6 from Orly. We take the shuttle from our hotel in the Rue cler area. We love the area around The Burgundy Canal. It is lovely. We always go to Chateauneuf-en Auxious, Flavigny ( there is a great little winery there where they speak English), Montreal, etc. There are lots of back roads- with places to picnic and hike. Of course, you must have a car to get the real flavor of Burgundy. There is even a town that is almost all potters.