Q & A

Subject: Honeymoon in Paris and Flavigny.

Question: My fiancé' and I will be traveling to Paris in late July for our honeymoon. Our vacation will last 7 nights and 8 days. We would like to spend 3 or 4 nights in Paris and the remaining 3 or 4 days of our vacation travel to the western most points of Switzerland and Italy, just so we can say we were there! We are on a budget so please keep that in mind. Could you please offer your advice on the following topics? - Tips on what to expect regarding crowd size and how to avoid/ handle them while seeing the sights - When we leave Paris after the 4th day, we would like to see the city of Flavigny, where Chocolat was filmed. I believe it's near Dijon. Do you recommend we rent a car or get a train ticket? How much can we expect to pay? - We'd then like to travel through small towns, getting a taste of the small villages in France, en route to Geneva Switzerland area, possibly staying overnight in one of these towns. Do you recommend any? Is it easier and/or cheaper to rent a car or get train passes? - Our budget for accommodations is approximately US$80 - 100 per night - We would also like to do some wine tasting at vineyards - Do you recommend any particular towns or sights. We are also photography hobbyists! Thank you very much for your help!

Answer: There are two towns named Flavigny in France, Flavigny-sur-Ozerain and Flavigny-sur-Moselle. Flavigny-sur-Ozerain is in Burgundy and in the Côte-d'Or department, I could not find it on my map, but from what I saw on the Internet it looked close to Dijon. Flavigny-sur-Moselle is in Lorraine and in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department. It has a web site, http://www.mairie-flavigny-sur-moselle.fr/.

As for staying away/dealing with crowds, if you go to small towns it should not be that unbearable. Even if you go to a big tourist destination it should not be that bad where it will take away from your experience. My wife and I for our honeymoon, went to Sarlat, a small medieval village that is a huge tourist destination, at the height of the tourist season and it was not that bad, we still had a very good time. We biked to Lascaux and found most back roads and towns empty.

As for getting to Dijon and then Geneva, I would take a train. It is cheaper and faster, cost 44 Euros and travel time is an hour and a half, Paris to Dijon. Then Dijon to Geneva, cost 45 Euros and travel time is three hours and twenty minutes. I got that information off the French company web site, http://www.sncf.com, all costs are one person one way. The part of Burgundy that I am familiar with is in the south centered around the town of Tournus. So I can’t recommend and villages or domains to taste wine, as Digon is in the north of Burgundy. What I can tell you is that every small village in France that I have visited, I have found to be very beautiful. If you do make it to the part of Burgundy I am familiar with here is what I would suggest you see, Châteaux de Cormatin, town of Cluny(Had at one time the largest church in the world.), route du vin and Châteaux de Brancon. If you need a B & B my sister in law has one in the town of Bissy-sous-Uxelles and if you are into wine tasting my brother in law has a winery, Domaine de l’Echelette near the town La Chapelle sous Brancion, if you make it there check out the church, it is where I got married. Also near by is the town of Chardonnay, I thought it was kind of cool going to the town where Chardonnay wines get their name.

If you want to do wine tasting, look for signs with the word “Dégustation”, your being invited in to taste wine. Also look for “Caves”, they are wine stores that will have lots of different local wines with a good selection.

I am not very good with hotels, you might think about staying in a Chambre d'Hôte(Bed & Breakfast), they will give you a nice taste of France. The Gites de France web site can help you find some, http://www.gites-de-france.fr. Your budget should allow you to easily find a place to stay, as most hotels and Chambre d'Hôte are easily in that price range. Hope I was able to help.

This was added by an another American that lives in France. I saw a question on your site about a honeymoon in Flavigny (where Chocolat was filmed). I do not know how old this question is and I could not figure out how to answer it, so I'll reply to you. Chocolat was filmed in Flavigny sur Ozerain in Cote d'or, not far from Dijon (65K). One could take the TGV to either Dijon or Montbard (18K from Flavigny) and rent a car there. Recommended place to stay, the bed and breakfast L'Ange Souriant. cheers (another) American in France.

One of my sponsors, Viator has guided tours of Paris.

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