Burgundy

My first trip to France (1960) was with the Experiment in International Living...I stayed for a month with a wonderful family in Dijon, and went back to visit them with my husband five years later. This summer have rented a gite (really an elegant-sounding apartment) on the grounds of a place called Maison Chaudenay, 15 km from Beaune, and am looking forward to day trips around Burgundy. We have rented before (in the Loire, St.Remy, and Dordogne) from a site called ChezNous...properties owned by Brits, and have had really good experiences. Found this one on a different site...will report back after our trip in July (two days in Lyon, week in gite, and five days in Paris).

Welcome to Bonjour Paris mcmlondonltd.

Many people LOVE Burgundy.


I happen to be among them. But, the Champagne region isn't necessarily my first choice! Beaune, on the other hand -- one can do some serious damage.

Hi all

This my first reply and so I chose Burgundy of course.

Fascinating down here in the Swiss alps how many people seek out wines (especially the white variety) from there - not just on price.

When I saw a post suggesting stop in champagne country I thought 'you'll be sorry:-)'

I think it really is worth the effort. Champagne is a brilliant piece of marketing from a region which produces sparkling wines with a great name. Down south of here the Italian varieties can be epic ..... (excuse my Londonese).

Saluti
Jane

Trains from Dijon to Paris run about one per hour-here's a link to the SNCF English website where you can play around and see for yourself:

http://www.voyages-sncf.com/dynamic/_SvTer...=UK&_AGENCY=VSC

Unlike Amtrak, the trains are reliable (about 97% on time) and you can make plans around their timely arrival. They are also reasonably priced.

Can you tell me about the TGV to Paris please? Do trains run regularly from Dijon on Saturday afternoons in the summer? How long does it take Dijon-Paris? I have a group of friends to meet, and I don't want to be late

Thanks

dijon and beaune would be farther to the south, making for a drive of at least several hours the following day. unless your heart is set on burgundy, you might stay instead in the champagne region. you could take the fast autoroute from strasbourg to reims, giving you a fairly short drive to cdg the following day. another possibility in burgundy would be troyes (pronounced trois), but i dont know about hotels there.

the rates at the auberge des templiers are typical of relais et chateaux properties, but you could look for a less expensive hotel in nearby gien (think pottery) and just dine at the auberge. but i think you'd do best by staying somewhere north of paris rather than south so as to avoid the pérépherique in the morning. in the champagne region we liked the chateau de la fere, in fere en tardenois.

sens is another possibility.

Jean,
Thanks for the suggestion. Are the rates there (250+40 for an extra bed) fairly typical for the area at this time of year? We are a party of six, four adults and two children so that would be pretty steep for just one night. Does anyone have ideas that are closer to Colmar where we'll be coming from? I think Dijon, Beaune, etc. would be just as close to CDG. Am I correct?
Oursdor, thanks for the help with the timetable and drving suggestions. Our flight is late in the afternoon, so we should have plenty of time to worry about traffic!
Kathy

Gee, I don't wing it anywhere in July. Before I get going, I'm already looking for another hotel and don't enjoy what I'm seeing.

AND -- please remember BASTILLE DAY on the 14th. All of France will be on vacation and on the roads!

For driving time, if you stay where Jean suggested, you are about 1 hr from the Peripherique, give yourself an hourworst case for traffic to get to the outbound autoroute to CDG, and then about 15 min to CDG. It will take about 15 min to get to the rental car place and check out. Not sure how long to get a shuttle to your final terminal, but make sure you know which terminal you want, since the airlines are not marked on the outside of the terminal! You normally confirm 48 hrs in advance of departure to the states, so find out the terminal then. Whoever is the driver needs to factor that time in so you don't suffer the indignity of having your seats given away.

definitely make a reservation; the place is popular with returning clients. on the grounds are a tennis court, a beautiful pool, a number of flower gardens, and lawn swings for relaxing.

Given our date, July 13, do you think we will need reservations or could we "wing it?"

since you'll be heading up to cdg the following morning i would suggest staying in the part of burgundy that's not far from fontainebleau, the little village of les bézards, at the auberge des templiers. it's a lovely complex with different styles of buildings among the grounds, and the restaurant is excellent. the hotel is part of the relais et chateaux group and is one of our favorites--in fact, our favorite hotel room anywhere is in a bungalow there. game is a menu specialty, and the cheese trolley will make you weep tears of joy.

Hello all,
Kathy again with another query. We are spending a week in Paris, as you know, then renting a car. We will head for Arnhem, seeing the Battle of the Bulge sites and the art museum there, spending two nights. From Arnhem we head to Luxembourg, to visit the American Cemetery where my mother-in-law's cousin is buried and to visit the Medieval Castle and other sites, again spending two nights. Then it's back to France. We will spend two nights at a lovely-sounding B&B, Chez Leslie, in Colmar. We will have one night left, Bastille Day eve, July 13. We wanted to spend it in Burgundy-one last terrific meal, some great wine, etc. We will be leaving fairly early the next morning to get to CDG, drop off the rental car and catch our 4PM flight. Any suggestions for reasonable accommodations in the Burgundy area, given it's a holiday? We don't want to spend too much as it's only one brief night. Any suggestions for dinner that night?
Thanks in advance,
Kathy

I agree with you, Karen Often they are pensioners, then they dont abduct jobs!
They like the sweetness of life in our country, the least taxes and the kindness of neighbors... generally

Hate to say it -- but c'est normale. France (for many) is the best place on earth to live.

Happily, these home buyers add to the economy, for the most part don't usurp jobs from the French and aren't a drain on the social security system.

Karen
You are right. nevertheless, since few years, we notice many foreigners (Swiss francophone and germanophone, and Germans) prospecting all the marketable estates... whence serious enhancement
Soon Burgundy and Franche-Comté will become Swiss colony

The area's rolling hills are lovely and it has spectacular scenery.
There are still real estate "buys" to be had in this area. Not that houses are cheap. But, they're less than Provence and located so much closer to Paris. It's a short ride on the TGV to Dijon.

Laidback,
The sign I saw relating to Margaux was in 1996, so faulty memory can hit anyone. I can only assume that the winery from the south bought some vineyard in Burgundy. I still could be mistaken and misread the sign. Still, its a beautiful area to get lost in or just kick around. I like the area between Autun and Dijon, because there are fewer tourists, and the people on the way south or north on the big highway just want to get to their destination, whether Lyon or Paris.

Joe

Sorry about the typo, Nanacy you are correct.! Naturally it should have been Chateau Haut-Brion!

BP Chuck

Dear Golden Bear,

Thanks for confirming my wavering memory; I was positive that I saw a sign relating to Margaux while we were near Autun, but I haven't been able to find any info about it until your post.

Chuck, I assume you just hit the wrong key, but for our pals who might not know, it's Chateau Haut-Brion. Cheers!

Al, I am not surprised that you are confused. The Chateau Margaux is one of the 4 "Premier Crus" rated extates of the Haut-Medoc district of the Bordeaux area, according to the 1855 official classification. (the other 3 are: Chateau Lafite-Rotschield, Chateau Latour and Chateau Gaut-Brion

BP Chuck

There isn't any Margaux area north of Autun. That is like saying Napa is north of New York City.

My favorite place is in the Vallée du Cousin in Avallon, The Hostellerie du Moulin des Ruats. I'm sure I have mentioned this bucolic place ages ago. It was where I tasted (as my favorite food writer did, MFK Fisher) the Truite Bleu)

Actually, there are (or were) some not far from the present Archeodrome, north of Autun. My Paris friend chided me for not stopping there when I was in the area wine tasting. I did see a sign for the vineyard, and assumed that it was an offshoot of the ones elsewhere. After all, the French would NEVER allow such a noted name to be casually ripped off.