Wine trips in France- logistics?

We will be in Paris for 6 nights and want to do a day trip to wine country, possibly Burgundy (we are not big fans of Champagne in general).

We have found a lot of tour operators who do full and half day trips but they seem really touristy and (IMO) overpriced. 180 euros and up!!!

Since we won't be driving, does anyone have any ideas? TIA

Re: Wine trips in France- logistics?

I did a wine tour of Burgundy last year in May and it was one of the best vacations I've ever had. However, I didn't do a day trip; we stayed there for 3 nights. Is there any way you would want to stay for more?

DH and I drove from Frankfurt b/c the train was a pain in the neck from Frankfurt to Beaune (you'll want to base yourself there). All trains go through Paris, so it will be easier for you since you are in Paris.

Anyway, we stayed for three nights in a very nice B&B, but it was a bit over our budget. We planned it last minute on a holiday weekend, so that was our fault. One thing I found out was that "wine tours" aren't really popular there. DH and I decided to rent bikes and we did our own tour. We did two days of that. We went from Beaune to Pommard to Volnay to Meursault to Puligny-Montrachet (forgive my spelling ). The guy who rented the bikes to us gave us the names of the wine houses to visit and we went from there. I can give you the names of the places we went to if you'd like.

The bikes are good b/c there is a separate bike path you you drive through the vineyards. However, it's different in the fact that the vineyards are not where the wine is made. So for example, a family owns land in Pommard, Beaune, and Mersault but they make the wine in Mersault for example. One thing I found is that many people at the wineries only spoke French. DH and I used our bad high school French, but a lot of meaning was lost. Luckily the B&B where we stayed offered us a private tour of the cellar and he gave us lots of information in English. He also let us taste the wine out of the barrels, something that is really amazing!

Anyway, I'm rambling, but here are some pics that you can look at of our trip. Let me know if you need any suggestions for restaurants, wine houses etc. I highly suggest you stay there for two nights and get out of Paris to experience some other part of France.

Burgundy

Message edited 3/18/2011 2:30:20 PM.

Re: Wine trips in France- logistics?

Wow, you're awesome!!!! Even though I took 6 years of French, I don't trust myself to lead us through the countryside. Plus I'm not much of a biker ;) Maybe we reconsider and go to Brugges instead. Something to consider... Thank you so much and your pictures are gorgeous!

Re: Wine trips in France- logistics?

Message edited 3/18/2011 3:57:16 PM.

Re: Wine trips in France- logistics?

Message edited 3/18/2011 3:56:55 PM.

Re: Wine trips in France- logistics?

When I was in Paris we took the train to Dijon, in Burgandy. The ride was about an hour and a half.

We didn't necessarily do a wine tour or anything, but we certainly drank our fare share

Dijon was very quaint and breathtakingly beautiful and we spent our day and a half there walking around, shopping and drinking. It was probably my favorite part of the whole trip.

We stayed at Hotel Phillippe Lebon. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was clean and comfortable.

We also ate dinner at the hotel's restaurant, Les Oenophiles, which was absolutely amazing.

While everyone we encountered in Paris spoke English, Dijon was a little tougher, but not impossible. There was alot of gesturing, but everyone tried to be very accomodating and we were able to get by with my seldom-used high school French.

Message edited 3/18/2011 4:12:32 PM.