If you had 3 nights to drive from Lyon to Calais what route would you take?

[Cathotels]

We will have 3 nights to get from Lyon to Calais in late September with no plans for those nights at all.

wondering whether anyone has any advice as to where to stay on the way and what route to take seeing as it doesn’t need to be the quickest / most direct. Thanks

Have done this route although from a bit further south and so stayed at Macon and then Reims but these were just hotels along the motorway to break up the journey, didn’t actually do/see anything at either place but it did make for an easy going drive back if that’s what you are after.

We have stayed at Reims and Beaune and Orleans. All nice towns. How about a detour via Strasbourg?

Dijon is lovely. Also stayed in Reims a few times. You could have a night or two in the champagne region. It depends what you’re into.

Beaun is a lovely town. We stopped overnight there and managed to do a tour of the winery in the afternoon and had a nice dinner in a really buzzy square.

I'd head for Reims and stay in the Crystal on the boulevard Drouet d'Erlon in the centre. Visit a cave or 2. Have a late night bavaroise, hot chocolate with kirsch, in the Lion de Belfort. But that's me.

Dijon and Paris are along the main route. Annecy is unfortunately a sideways detour, though stunning.

Lots of ideas, thank you, we’re looking for somewhere to stay with somewhere nice to wander about. We will have already been to Annecy, Lyon is our next stop before heading back up to Calais and the only part of the trip we’ve not yet booked is Lyon to Calais.

Will start googling some of these suggestions

You could detour to Luxembourg for the novelty of being in another country. I managed to see the highlights of the (very pleasant) city in a day.

There are some striking beaches to the west of Calais - Cap Blanc-Nez and the surrounding area. Wissant has some pretty streets (see Hotel de la Plage) and is on the beach, though I have not been for a very long time. If you aren't near the coast in the UK, this area could be worth a visit.

Orleans
chartres has a beautiful cathederal
then to Rouen - not to stay but drive through ( try and avoid Fridays)
i really like Neurf chateau on bray tiny pretty town with a market square and market - just
below Abberville

Colmar and surrounding villages are lovely

Beaune, Troyes, Strasbourg, Colmar, Arras, Reims,

Amiens is lovely, we used that as our last stop before Calais last year.

The old part of Lyon (I.e not the commercial district) is beautiful.