Burgundy to Heathrow: help me decide

You don't say where in Burgundy you will be. Using rome2rio.com I see there are flights from Dijon to Bologna. You might also consider other airports in Italy - Florence, Pisa, Verona and Venice - even Milan and Rome - are at most a couple hours by train from Bologna. If you go to the wiki page for each airport and scroll down, you'll find a table listing all the airlines and destinations from that airport.

I've only flown through CDG on long-haul transfers, but it was hardly a nightmare. The only difficult transfers I've had in European ports is LHR, and that more than once.

As Chani state, telling us you are in "Burgundy" is like telling us you are in New South Wales and want to get to Melbourne. Tell us what city or town you will be in. It's possible that going to Paris is not necessary.

At what terminal at Heathrow does your flight depart to Bologna?

Only one hotel at Bologna airport?

Don't worry about not speaking Italian. Any real hotel in Europe in or near a large city will have English speakers.

If you want to get from somewhere in Burgundy to Bologna, no way go north to London and double back south to Italy. It would be a lot shorter to go direct to Bologna.
But, exactly what the best route is would depend on where in Burgundy you are starting from, and you have not yet told us that vital bit of information.
An 08:20 from Heathrow, 1½ hour flight would land Bologna ~11:00 local time (1 hour time difference). 12:30-13:00 at hotel in central Bologna.
First train out of Lyon on Monday, 08:37, arrives Bologna 15:37 (look it up on https://www.bahn.de/p_en/view/index.shtml )
Or travelling on the Sunday: Lyon-St Exupery(TGV) 12:36, Bologna Centrale 18:37. Alpine views included. I know which I would choose.

Apologies for my incomplete query. I'll be staying in Vézelay and have a commitment there on that Sunday morning. I am booked on a group tour to Ravenna, The group flight is from LHR to Bologna dep. 8.20 on the Monday morning, arr. BLQ at 11.30. I want to either travel with the group from LHR or get to BLQ early enough to join with them there so as to use their prearranged transport to Ravenna.

I don't know why I hadn't thought of flying from Lyon as I had already booked a HOP flight from BLQ to Lyon for my return to France (see my previous post). Whichever way I go I shall need a taxi from Vézelay to Sermizelles (only 10km), and accommodation for Sunday night to get to BLQ early enough. But it's still a toss-up.
1. I can leave Sermizelles by SNCF bus at 14.32 and go via Auxerre, Paris Bercy, Paris Nord, and Eurostar to arrive at St Pancras at 20.04, leaving plenty of time to get to LHR and have a good night's sleep at the Yotel before the next morning's early start. Advantage is familiarity with the route and no worries about connecting with the group. Disadvantages: more expensive & involves crossing Paris (easy by taxi).
2. There is a HOP flight from Lyon to BLQ that would get me there a little earlier than the group is due, but getting to Lyon from Sermizelles leaving at the same time involves 4 changes, including going into Auxerre and out again, and gets me to Lyon at about the same time as to St P (close to 8 pm). A later journey with fewer changes would not get me to Lyon until nearly 10pm, and in either case I'd still have to get from the train station to an airport hotel that has a shuttle to the airport in the morning. Disadvantages: more handling of luggage en route, uncertainty about accomplishing the connections, late arrival in an unknown city and unfamiliar airport; any airline delay would jeopardize meeting up with the group. Advantage: probably less expensive overall, even with part on TGV and the extra airfare.

I'll be 77 when doing this journey and, even with hand luggage only, I'm inclined to put a higher value on simplicity and familiarity over cost or time considerations.

CG: In you place I would probably opt for the Eurostar, or if the price is right fly from CDG and arrange in advance to spend the night in Bologna. Have a travel agent find a hotel if you are not comfortable; there must be a decent one with a shuttle to the airport.

It sounds like you might be marginally more comfortable with the long train ride to London.

Thanks, Adam. I think you've correctly discerned my state of mind. Although we tend to think of it as being long, Paris to St Pancras on the Eurostar takes only about 2hrs 20. And only 30 mins. for check-in, although of course one should add a generous margin to that. And none of that LAG nonsense or waiting for luggage at the other end.

Apologies to the other posters who took time to check alternative routes/timing for me. I travel alone and have no-one to consult about details of travel plans, so I'm very glad to have this forum as a sounding board when undecided.