Planning to spend 3 days in eastern France with the gf over Christmas while visiting her family nearby in Germany for a few weeks, and looking for advice.
Looking most closely at Dijon, but also considering Besançon and Nancy. What can /trv/ recommend? Not looking to go much farther afield than those cities, so something within that vicinity would be perfect, if not those places. Will likely be going via train, but we may be able to borrow a car.
>inb4 Strasbourg; spend Christmas 2014 there. Awesome city, but looking for something new this time.
Colmar is very nice. Basel is nice too.
>muh Strasbourg is very nice as well
>>1120375
I've spent a lot of time in Switzerland and would prefer to check out France for this trip, but cheers m8.
We've gotta choose one, and are trying to figure out which is nicest/most interesting. I'd really like to enjoy some Burgundian food, good wine, beautiful architecture, and frankly spend time in a quieter French city.
Dijon is nice and can be visited in a day.
If I were you I'd rent a car and spend another day in the vineyards between Dijon and Beaune and in Beaune itself (nice historical center, with a beautiful Notre Dame church and a 15th century hospital).
Then on a third day you could either take a train to Auxerre, still in Burgundy which perfectly fits your description of a quieter French city with beautiful architecture. It has a very well preserved medieval center and two major gothic churches (St Germain Abbey and St Etienne Cathedral), with wall paintings from the 9th (the oldest in France) and 11th century.
>>1120450
Many thanks for the advice, anon! Do you know if this stuff will be worth doing in the winter?
>>1120399
niederbronn les bains is nice too. I don't know if there are much to do in terms of tourism though.
>>1120249
I think I recognize this place
>>1120467
The cities are comfy in winter, with the early nights, the Christmas lights and decorations, the mulled wine and crepe vendors...
As for the vineyards, they'll look like pic related. It's not as pretty as in autumn, but it has its charm. And the small villages with vinemakers, restaurants, traditional houses, the castle of clos Vougeot, well of course they're not going anywhere in winter.
Don't hesitate if you have other questions.
>>1120570
here, forgot the picture
>>1120249
Hey, lived in the different regions of Eastern France for 18 years now, so i think i can recommand you some shit.
What did you already see, and what are you looking for ?
If you are looking for general recommandations about cities, here it is :
Dijon and Metz, avoid. Very few interesting things to see in the city itself. But if you are into modern arts the Dijon museum is good.
Besançon is a good place to visit for a day. The Citadelle is really a place i recommand to visit, it's basically huge fortifications on a hill in the middle of the city. Inside you will find a decent museum about the occupation during WW2 and a zoo. Do this when it's not raining tho, climbing there is a 30min walk a least, and rain would ruin you the view.
Outside of Strasbourg, some cities in Elsass are worth the visit. I would recommand Colmar first, for an afternoon or even a day. Just walk in the Vieille Ville or the Litlle Venise, you will like it. The Musée d'Unterlinden is also worth the visit, if you like art.
Beaune is a charming little city in the missle of the vineyard. Bad thing is, visiting in winter is not optimal.
If you want to discover what a Christmas Market is, you can go to Riquewihr and Ribeauvillé, a small elsaciann village. you will meet a lot of tourists, but those places are wonderful (and kinda romantic) in December.
Just at the south of Elsass you will find Belfort, a small fortified city. Not the flashiest place, but nice to walk and visit an old city for an afternoon.
Also i would recommand not listening to the guy recommanding you Auxerre.it's pretty far from the German border, and the city is meeeh.
Nancy is okay i guess, some very nice buildings, but not that impressive compared to a city like Strasbourg.
Outside of the cities there is a lot to do, but you will come in December, so expect snow in many places.
Also niederbronn les bains top kek. this place is a shithole.
During the winter, one of my fav thing to do is to just to rent some cross-country skis (very cheap) and to enjoy the nature. It's very easy to do, not as violent or exepnsive as regular skiing, and you have plenty of good spots in Franche Comté to do that.
