A friend of mine and I are making plans to do a 7 hiking days highlights of Tour du Mont Blanc Trek this summer. After we finish that we will spend most of a 2nd week doing something else likely wine oriented. Looking for suggestions.
General plan:
-leave US to fly to Geneva 3 days before we are supposed to start the trek and arrive in geneva a day later and then shuttle to Chamonix/Les Houches for 2 nights
-day before Trek do paraglide or Aguille Du Midi or both
-Trek for the next 7 days - we are booked on a guided trip with Trekking Mont Blanc.
-Stay in Les Houches the night we return from the Trek which will be a Saturday
-Travel Les Houches Sunday to pick up a rental car in Lyon and travel to lodging somewhere north of Lyon where we would stay for the next 4 nights.
-Thursday return car in Lyon and take train to Paris.
-Friday fly home.
In particular I would be interested in recommendations on where to stay, dining and wine visits or tours to take during the ‘after Trek’ Sunday-Thursday 4 night stretch. Ideally, would like to stay at an Inn or Airbnb type place at a vineyard or with great view of vineyards.
For wine visits would like to touch on burgundy but recognize that my friend and I don’t have the wealth to be making a habit of buying top tier burgundies. What I don’t want to do is book a wine visit where I feel like I can’t afford to buy anything. My splurge wines are currently $100-$150 but would be willing to go a bit higher for a few special wines or for a special experience. Also open to visits in Beaujolais and Macon area where the price is within my normal drinking range.
When we are in the Lyon area I would also consider taking a detour south to Cote Rotie. I did 3 nights in Tain L’Hermitage a few years ago but really only drove through Ampuis/Cote Rotie with one short stop with a small producer. I would love to visit Jamet and/or Levet.
For dining, we are not necessarily targeting Michelin starred restaurants but the small village vineyard oriented restaurants with outdoor seating . An example of something in my wheel house is last year we stayed in Gigondas and one of my favorite meals was Les Florets where we were seated on a large patio amongst the trees overlooking the vineyards and gorgeous sunset.
Would also be receptive to travel suggestion on how to get from Les Houches to the wine area we end up visiting. With the bit of research I have done I think we are probably looking at doing a bus to Annecy and then catching a train from Annecy to Lyon.
Thanks.