MetalRat
Guest
Just got back from the Dijon area en France.
It was 500 miles from Brighton via Dover calais down to Beaune which is 38km south of Dijon on the N74. This is the Bourgogne region of France, one of the most famous wine producing areas. There is a fantastic route which takes in all the major wine producers from Dijon down to Macon. Chablis, Nuit-Saint-George,Savigny, Pommard, Volnay and Beaujolais to name a few!
Even if your'e not a wine nut it's still brilliant scenary.
We made a long day of it leaving at 6:00am and arriving in Beaune at 10:30pm having stopped in Riems and just after Troyes for meal breaks. We took the motorway down to Riems, taking about 2.5 hrs @80-85mph. Then we took the N77 down to Troyes which wasn't very exciting I have to admit but a good break and you do get to go past the champagne chateau early on which you would miss on the motorway.
The N71 Road from Troyes to Dijon is a real peach of a ride! The scenary is great, a mixture of dead straight single carriageway without side turnings good for 90mph and then 50km villages!
Also, there are quite a few hairpins at the end of the fast bits - but all well sign posted!
In hindsight I'd miss out the Riems to Troyes bit and use the motorway to get to Troyes then take the N71.
A good day out is to travel from Beaune to Chateau Chinon via Autan (check out the town square). Lunch in the shadow of the Chateau then head north on the D944 stopping at the lake for a dip (topless bathers and not just us!) then on to the junction with D977.8 taking this east to Saulieu another nice market town with nice cafes. The roads here wind up and down the Morvan which is a national park and encourage manic giggling into the helmet as you take yet another fast sweeping bend with traffic a thing of the past. Then back to Beaune. We actually packed up tents and went back up to near Avalon but I wouldn't recommend doing this as the camping is not as nice and the day is just too long for comfort. Beaune is the place to be to explore the Dijon area in my opinion.
On the way back we were in more of a hurry as we had to catch the ferry so we joined the motorway at Troyes having taken 2 hours to get from Avalon to Auxerre (N6) and Auxerre to Troyes (N77). Troyes to Calais took about 4 hours with stops (it was blistering hot!)
I used Oxford Humpback sports luggage (panniers and tank bag) and they worked a treat. Thanks to the members who directed me to these.
Happy traveling where ever you wander!
Metalrat
.
It was 500 miles from Brighton via Dover calais down to Beaune which is 38km south of Dijon on the N74. This is the Bourgogne region of France, one of the most famous wine producing areas. There is a fantastic route which takes in all the major wine producers from Dijon down to Macon. Chablis, Nuit-Saint-George,Savigny, Pommard, Volnay and Beaujolais to name a few!
Even if your'e not a wine nut it's still brilliant scenary.
We made a long day of it leaving at 6:00am and arriving in Beaune at 10:30pm having stopped in Riems and just after Troyes for meal breaks. We took the motorway down to Riems, taking about 2.5 hrs @80-85mph. Then we took the N77 down to Troyes which wasn't very exciting I have to admit but a good break and you do get to go past the champagne chateau early on which you would miss on the motorway.
The N71 Road from Troyes to Dijon is a real peach of a ride! The scenary is great, a mixture of dead straight single carriageway without side turnings good for 90mph and then 50km villages!
Also, there are quite a few hairpins at the end of the fast bits - but all well sign posted!
In hindsight I'd miss out the Riems to Troyes bit and use the motorway to get to Troyes then take the N71.
A good day out is to travel from Beaune to Chateau Chinon via Autan (check out the town square). Lunch in the shadow of the Chateau then head north on the D944 stopping at the lake for a dip (topless bathers and not just us!) then on to the junction with D977.8 taking this east to Saulieu another nice market town with nice cafes. The roads here wind up and down the Morvan which is a national park and encourage manic giggling into the helmet as you take yet another fast sweeping bend with traffic a thing of the past. Then back to Beaune. We actually packed up tents and went back up to near Avalon but I wouldn't recommend doing this as the camping is not as nice and the day is just too long for comfort. Beaune is the place to be to explore the Dijon area in my opinion.
On the way back we were in more of a hurry as we had to catch the ferry so we joined the motorway at Troyes having taken 2 hours to get from Avalon to Auxerre (N6) and Auxerre to Troyes (N77). Troyes to Calais took about 4 hours with stops (it was blistering hot!)
I used Oxford Humpback sports luggage (panniers and tank bag) and they worked a treat. Thanks to the members who directed me to these.
Happy traveling where ever you wander!
Metalrat
.
