Paris to Montbeliard

Friday, 5 July

The first day of our road trip - weather fine and sunshine to come as we head south!

Idyllic Burgundy - Canal de Bourgogne

We started the day with a bit of drama when the shuttle arrived early at Maree's apartment and she had to deal with an very excitable driver who only spoke crazy Tunisian French and then drove off with her bags!  Of course he did return at 9 am and by this time we were all there including our trusty interpreter, Baptiste.   For an airport shuttle service driver he seemed to be a bit clueless about getting to Orly Airport so Baptiste had to sit in front and help him.  After a stop/start journey through peak hour traffic we reached the TT Transport depot, grabbed our brand new Peugeot 308 SW and were soon sailing along the A 6, the Autoroute du Soleil.  Baptiste was happy to be a chauffeur as well as an interpreter - nice for me!  The autoroute passes through the Forest of Fontainbleau and then into the beautiful Yonne department of Burgundy - lush rolling hills dotted with small farming communities - stone houses, church spires, wildflowers - very green and pretty.  Just past the interchange for Dijon we made a small detour across the Canal de Bourgogne to the medieval hilltop village of Chateauneuf -en-Auxios (one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France) for a lunch break.
The village is dominated by a substantial chateau with round turrets, and can be seen clearly from the surrounding countryside.



Chateauneuf-en-Auxois

 The village is all old stone houses, cobbled streets, beautiful gardens with roses and wisteria climbing the ancient walls.  The delicious aromas wafting form the Auberge des Marronniers in the main place of the village enticed us and we enjoyed a fantastic lunch on the terrace along with a collection of cyclists, motorcyclists and travellers from Germany, UK and France. The sun shone, the birds sang and the meals were perfection - entrecote, coq au vin, salads, vin rose.

Lunch at the Auberge des Marronniers

After eating we strolled through the village and admired the beautiful views over the countryside.  Certainly a great place to spot approaching danger in medieval times!  Despite feeling like a place lost in time, Chateauneuf is actually quite close to several large towns and all amenities.

  Bourgogne Canal and the village of Vandenesse-en-Auxois

It was my turn to drive now and I was happy with how quickly I adjusted to the road and the car which of course was very familiar.  It should have been a straightforward run through to Montbeliard, with only one autoroute interchange at Beaune but TomTom decided on a "short cut" and we spent a good half hour on a country road between motorways.  We all forgave TomTom very quickly as this route took us through the vineyards and villages of the famous Burgundy Cote d'Or wine region, including the best known town, Nuits-Saint-Georges.  A very fascinating and scenic deviation!  Interestingly, the main buildings in the villages are roofed in multi-coloured tiles which are very attractive and quite unique.

Back onto the correct  autoroute, the A36, and we finally reached Montbeliard late in the afternoon and easily found Hotel La Balance.  With great historical connections, and dating from the 16th Century, the hotel is beautifully restored and its owner is absolutely charming.  It was the headquarters of the First French Army from 1944 - 1945 and Marechal  de Lattre de Tassigny's room was the one Jessica had. While Jess and Baptiste organised themselves to head off to Eurockenees in neighbouring Belfort, Maree, Mel and I took a stroll around the town centre.  Montbeliard is home to Peugeot and is a very pleasant town with a leafy, pedestrianized centre precinct where we stopped off for  a cool nightcap.

Maree, Mel and the Peugeot outside Hotel La Balance, Montbeliard