We are driving to the South of France for our daughter's wedding in Mougins in June. We don't want to rush and attempt to do it in one mad dash. Our plan is to stay near Folkstone (B and B recommendation?) the night before we leave and travel early so we arrive at our first destination so as to be able to enjoy late afternoon there, not merely to fall into bed.

I was wondering if anyone knew of a nice, not too expensive place to stay halfway between Calais and Cannes? I was thinking around Macon would be good as that is about 7 hours drive from Calais. I was hoping for some quiet place out of town, perhaps with a restaurant of its own so we would have our evening meal there without having to go out hunting for food. Does anyone know of somewhere they can recommend? I can find tons of places on the internet but it would be nice to know of somewhere first hand.

Many thanks.

Oops - I should be able to spell Folkestone by now!

We love to stay at this vineyard b&b south of Beaune, north of Macon.
http://www.premiumwanadoo.com/bourgognemoniot/
The surrounding area is the beautiful Beaune vineyards. In fact from the b&b rooms the view is just vines and vines, as far as the eye can see.
Our fave rooms are n°2 and n°4.
Lastly, one must say the price is right.

That looks great, thank you so much, AiP! Just the sort of the thing I was looking for. I think now you have put it on Slow Trav I had better book up before someone else gets my bed!

Shall I keep quiet about not liking to drink wine ? Wine always gives me a headache


...but gin doesn't!

quote:

Wine always gives me a headache

Felicity,
I don't mean to be a missionary about wine but…
Do give the b&b owner's free wine-tasting a try, for many reasons.
Santenay is a great cru. Since you are in the belly of the terroir, don't miss such a precious opportunity.
Also often people say the better the wine, the less likely one gets headache.
Lastly the owner has great prices for them. They make for a great gift.
Have a wonderful wedding and bon voyage.

Yes, do try the wines. It would be a shame to be in (arguably) the best wine area in the world and not try them. As AinP says, the better the wine, the less chance of a headache.

In case you can't secure a room at the place AiP recommended - here is a very nice place in a pretty area of Beaujolais.
http://www.aubergeduparadis.fr/

We stayed in a Gite in Beaujolais for 2 weeks in '06, and had dinner at this restaurant - which is also a hotel. It was one of our 3 favorite meals while in Beaujolais.

You are absolutely right everyone. I am an expensive girl. If the wine is really good, it does not give me a headache. But it has to be really REALLY good! I am fine with the best champagne!

We do need to bring a present to the nice people who are lending us their house too so we can get them something special there.

I will have a look at your place too, Stu, as I haven't booked up yet and it would be nice to have a restaurant attached.

I can vouch for the Auberge du Paradou. We spent one night there last October and loved it. The young couple who run it are very proud of their efforts; the husband is an excellent chef and does exceptional breakfasts as well as dinner, baking his own breads and pastries.

Another spot just across the river from Macon is the charming Chateau d'Igé with a gourmet restaurant and beautiful gardens.

I mis-typed in the above post; it is Auberge du Paradis, not Paradou.

Just to let you know that I have booked at 'Americana's place' and the owner sounds very nice (although it took two attempts emailing and quite a wait to get a reply but that could emailing problems at their end...). She has said she will tell her where it is good to go and eat in the area as they don't do dinner themselves.

The 'Paradise' place looks lovely but perhaps a little pricey for us (having a wedding to pay for...). Maybe another time and I haven't booked for our trip back yet.

Thank you to all.

Felicity,
Since you are driving from England, you may arrive at the b&b a bit late. Don't forget to tell the b&b people your late arrival, especially if you want wine-tasting to be organized a little later for you…
A good and convenient dinner option is just to get prepared dishes from a good traiteur in nearby Beaune or another town, then have them heated in the microwave oven in the b&b and have your dinner in the dining room overlooking the vineyards.
Don't forget to try a local cold cut called jambon persillé.
If you have enough energy, there are many good restaurants nearby.
One of my faves is the ferme-auberge de la Chaume des Buis, a farm that serves meals in nearby Nolay. I remember it does not have a menu or has a very short one, but everything is farm-fresh.
http://www.ferme-auberge-nolay.com/
Bon voyage.

Thank you, again AiP! Good idea about picking up something to heat up. Actually I have booked to stay in a hotel in Folkestone the night before to cut down on the travelling time (we are at least 3 hours drive to there) in one day and it means we will be arriving nice and early on 'the other side' and be able to enjoy a bit of the day at our destination.

I think I might venture to review the places we stay on the way but I am a bit of virgin at this