GETTING TO BURGUNDY
Your best option for airports are the Paris Charles de Gaulle airport (CDG) & Lyon airport (LYS).
I personally like flying to one of those 2 airports and rent a car from there. Navigation is easy if you have a GPS.
Here some information to help you decide on what would work best for you.
Best car rental options would be at the airports - more companies, better deals & possibility to get a car with automatic transmission if you need one. Second best choice would be the Dijon train station. Beaune has limited options for car rentals – but if you are OK with them it is better to train to Beaune than Dijon.
Make sure you confirm the opening hours of the car rental agency you are using. This is France, so assume that a two hours lunch breaks, closures on Sundays and State Holidays are the norm!
From the airports to Beaune by Car
If you rent a car from the airport, Beaune is a 1h30 from Lyon LYS and 3 h00 from Paris CDG.
From the airports to Dijon or Beaune By Train
When reviewing train options make sure you check the travelling time, depending on the type of train and routing you can end up spending a lot more time in the train than necessary.
Lyon LYS to Beaune by train
From Lyon LYS go to the Lyon Part Dieu Train station by tram: https://www.rhonexpress.fr/en/discovery/34 or taxi: https://www.lyonaeroports.com/en/access-transports/taxi
Then take a direct train to Beaune from the Lyon Part Dieu Train station – see train options from Lyon Part Dieu to Beaune: https://www.trainline.eu/trains/lyon-part-dieu/beaune
Paris CDG to Dijon or Beaune by train
There are no direct train to Beaune from Paris. You usually take a train to Dijon and then another train from Dijon to Beaune.
There is a train station in the Paris CDG airport, but only one direct train from Paris CDG to Dijon and it leaves the airport at 8pm :(
One option to explore is to take a train from Paris CDG train station to the Lyon Part Dieu Train station and then a train from Lyon to Beaune – it saves you the Paris connection between the airport & the Paris Gare de Lyon train station. See the train options from Paris CDG to Lyon Part Dieu: https://www.trainline.eu/trains/aeroport-paris-roissy-charles-de-gaulle-cdg/lyon-part-dieu and then from Lyon Part Dieu to Beaune: https://www.trainline.eu/trains/lyon-part-dieu/beaune
The “regular route” from the Paris CDG airport is to get to the Paris Gare de Lyon train station, and then train to Dijon or Beaune.
Here how to get to the Paris Gare de Lyon train station from the airport: https://blog.trainline.eu/6137-charles-de-gaulle-airport-paris#garedelyon
If you are planning to rent a car during your stay, you might want to consider taking the train to Dijon as they are more car rental options in the Dijon train station: Avis / Europcar / Sixt / Enterprise , see https://www.gares-sncf.com/fr/gare/fraba/dijon/transports-horaires/transports-individuels/location than in Beaune.
See the train options between Paris Gare de Lyon and Dijon: https://www.trainline.eu/trains/paris-gare-de-lyon/dijon-ville
You can also take the train to Beaune, for that route you go Paris to Dijon and then take another train to Beaune. See the train options between Paris Gare de Lyon and Beaune: https://www.trainline.eu/trains/paris-gare-de-lyon/beaune
They are two car rental places close by the Beaune train station:
- a French one called ADA is located just outside the train station – website in French only: http://www.ada.fr/location-voiture-beaune.html
- Enterprise has a location close by – I have organized for previous guest for someone from Enterprise to come pick them up at the train station – French website: https://www.enterprise.fr/fr/location-voiture/agences/france/beaune-f506.html
NOTE: on the way back, they are some direct trains from Beaune or Dijon to the Paris airport (CDG):
- Review Beaune train options here: https://www.trainline.eu/trains/beaune/aeroport-paris-roissy-charles-de-gaulle-cdg
- Review Dijon train options here: https://www.trainline.eu/trains/dijon/aeroport-paris-roissy-charles-de-gaulle-cdg
