I've got a few ideas for you. If you haven't done so make sure you get Michelin maps of the scale 1:200,000 for whatever region you are traveling in. The Michelin maps have icons for all kinds of historically/touristically interesting things such as châteaux, ruins, churches, abbeys, scenic view points, caves, Roman sites, megaliths, designated scenic roads and many other things. Usually when I'm exploring various regions in France I just look at the map and I am able to plan interesting and scenic drives just reading the map. You can also get a sense of which places might be worth a visit by reading the icons on the map. For instance, I usually look for a designated scenic road, which are highlighted in green, and I especially look for towns with the historic church and/or château icon. I also try to make sure the route goes through as many small villages as possible. Usually putting all these things together I find interesting and scenic drives without even knowing where I am going and with no assistance from a guide book. Often these places are never mentioned in guidebooks and remain completely unknown to many tourists.
You can buy the Michelin maps from their website and here is a link to the page that shows all of the maps of France: http://tinyurl.com/4bt96ev
Tha Burgundy map (Bourgogne) is number 519.
And speaking of Michelin, you can go to the website viamichelin.com and get info on drive times and distances, toll and fuel costs and suggested routes (i.e. scenic routes). The drive times given do not consider stops (fuel, food, bathrooms) nor do they consider bad weather and traffic.
I wrote a trip report about spending a weekend near Semur and it is full of photos and some historical tidbits if you'd like to have a look. I think you will enjoy the story I uncovered regarding the origins of the motto of the town of Semur. I cover some of the places mentioned, such as Noyers and Flavigny, plus a whole bunch of anonymous little villages in the area.
http://tinyurl.com/6dkeozh
Here are some links to tourist office/château/abbey websites in Burgundy that you may find useful:
http://www.visitdijon.com/en/
http://www.beaune-tourism.com/
http://www.vezelaytourisme.com/
http://www.ville-semur-en-auxois.fr/
http://www.noyers-et-tourisme.com/
http://www.avallonnais-tourisme.com/
http://www.alesia-tourisme.net/index.php?id=40
http://www.linternaute.com/sortir/escapade/selection/villages-medievaux/11.shtml
http://www.chateaudepoisses.com/sites-fr.html
http://www.epoisses.fr/Main.aspx?numStructure=79987&numElement=46883&numRubrique=473018&transfert=1
http://www.abbayedefontenay.com/abbayedefontenay.htm
http://www.commarin.com/
http://bussy-rabutin.monuments-nationaux.fr/fr/
http://www.chateaudetanlay.fr/
http://www.chateau-ancy.com/
http://www.chateaux-france.com/bourbilly/
I'm not sure why you are driving from Lyon to Cluny, which is only a distance of 88km, if you are just overnighting there and heading to Beaune/Dijon the next day. Why not just head right to Beaune? However, if you are going to overnight in Tournus/Cluny then I would explore that area a bit the next day. Certainly you could spend time visiting the Cluny Abbey the next day but if you look at your Michelin map you'll notice right near there are a bunch of towns with the historic church/ruin/château icon, such as Brancion, Lugny, Blanot, Chapaize, Saint-Gengoux-le-National, Cormatin, Chissey-lès-Mâcon and Taize. I bet there are a bunch of other tiny villages here that are charming that don't even have a map icon. There are also some designated scenic roads in the area as well as scenic viewpoints and some grottos/prehistoric sites. I haven't explored this area myself but I've seen it many times from the highway and spotted some cute villages from the road and just seeing the icons I'm seeing on the map and having passed by and gotten a visual this is a place I would target, and it will be the next place I visit in Burgundy. I've never heard of anyone on the forums visiting these places so you could break some new ground here. This might be a good way to use that extra night in Burgundy.
If you want to learn a bit about some of the towns I mentioned you should check their official town or tourist office websites. You will find loads of info on these websites including hotel/accommodation and restaurant info as well as what to see and do in the area. Occasionally the websites have English versions. In doing a google search enter the name of your town followed by the words "site officiel" or "office de tourisme" and this will bring the town to the top of your search. Another thing I like to do to see if a town may be worth visiting is enter the town name in a google search followed by the word "photos". Sometimes I visit a town if I find it looks charming/interesting in photos.
I suppose another site you might consider with extra time would be the caste of Guédelon. This is a site in the forest where they are reconstructing a 13th century castle using the tools and techniques from the time and everything is done right on site. They've got a whole village set up there. It is fascinating and I don't now of anyone who didn't enjoy their visit there, including me. Here is the website:
http://www.guedelon.fr/
Of course, Troyes is also a good option:
http://en.tourisme-troyes.com/
Edited: 9 years ago