Beaujolais

INDEPENDENT WALKING HOLIDAYS

Beaujolais Wine Trail: Grand Crus

5 nights - From £730/€810 - 4 days walking between guest houses

Varied independent walking through secluded valleys and beautiful countryside in the famous French wine growing region (vintage Beaujolais crus). This short break walking holiday will suit those who enjoy wine tasting visits, great local cuisine and relatively easy walks.

Beaujolais Wine Trail: Chateaux & Medieval Villages

6 nights - From £870/€965 - 5 days walking between guest houses

This walking holiday follows on from our Grand Crus wine trail & traverses a number of pretty valleys harbouring pretty chateaux and quaint villages. Your trail then traverses the “Golden stones country” (pierres dorées), so-called due to the warm colour of the limestone in the medieval villages, set in a sumptuous landscape of interlocking hills. Daily wine tasting at your guest houses on vineyards.

Beaujolais - Medieval Village Tour

7 nights - From £920/€1020 - 6 days walking between guest houses

5 nights - From £695/€775 - 4 days walking between guest houses

This independent walking holiday involves fairly gentle walking through vines and a collection of unspoilt historic villages built from a warm golden limestone set in panoramic rolling countryside. Historic chateaux, churches and country houses pepper the beautiful Beaujolais landscape. Gastronomic region and B&B's full of charm and character.

Beautiful Beaujolais Trail

7 nights - From £990/€1095 - 6 days self guided walk traversing the region

Varied independent walking holiday traversing the best of the Beaujolais region from north to south through a range of beautiful landscapes: upland pasture and forests, open ridges, secluded valleys, sweeping countryside, historic villages and chateaux.

Beaujolais Explorer

7 nights - From £990/€1095 - 6 days self guided walk traversing the region

Our Beaujolais Explorer walking holiday is a centre-based trip which allows you to discover the very best of the beautiful central and southern Beaujolais. From your bases you'll explore the Golden Stones region with its pretty historic villages and the vistas of the higher hills and ridges of the central Beaujolais.

Beaujolais & Burgundy Uncovered

5 or 7 nights - from £825/€925 - 4 or 6 days self guided, two centre-based walking holiday

This self-guided walking holiday lets you discover two of the prettiest parts of the Beaujolais and Burgundy regions at your own rhythm, whilst indulging yourself at wonderful guest houses.  You’ll stay in two bases, one in an area known as the “Golden stones country” (pierres dorées), due to the warm colour of the limestone which make up a number of remarkable historic villages, the other in the southern Burgundy where you'll walk through Chardonnay vineyards and the Grand Crus of the northern Beaujolais.

Lyon's Beautiful Secluded Hills

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5 nights - From £795/€890, 7 nights - From £1040/€1150: 4 or 6 days walking between guest houses

The Mont Lyonnais are a series of beautiful rolling hills rising to the west of Lyon, France’s second city. Less well-known than the neighbouring Beaujolais hills, this hidden country is a picturesque rural scene with a patchwork of lush grazing land, cherry orchards and forested tops. Choose between a self-guided 6-day traverse or a 4-day circular walking trail to discover these inviting, off the beaten track hills.

GUIDED WALKING HOLIDAYS

Beaujolais Discovery

7 nights - Multi-centre based, day walks

This moderate guided walking holiday explores not only the famous vineyards of the Beaujolais but also the little known regions of great beauty that lie beyond. Rolling hills and historic villages are in perfect harmony in this quiet French region where you'll have the paths all to yourselves.

Beaujolais Vintage Wine Trails

7 nights - Two-centre based, day walks

A Guided walking Holiday through the beautiful Beaujolais villages and countryside with the emphasis on discovering the different Beaujolais wine growing areas and trying the best wines at local vineyards.

Beaujolais Medieval Village Tour

7 nights - 6 day walking tour changing guest house each night

This moderate guided walking holiday takes a wonderful circuit around the southern part of the Beaujolais region, known for its pretty historic villages built from a warm golden limestone. Vines are ever present in this picturesque landscape.

MOUNTAIN BIKING

High Beaujolais: From April to mid November

Variable grades - 7 nights, 6 days independent mountain biking, single centre, accommodation to suit your requirements

Picturesque rolling countryside with summits around 1000m providing exceptional views. A variety of great trails offering biking at all levels and distances, which are spread throughout the peaks and valleys of the high Beaujolais, passing through vines, fields and forests

INDEPENDENT CYCLING HOLIDAY

Beaujolais, Burgundy, Charolais - 3 regions tour: From April to mid October

Moderate+ - 7 nights, 6 days independent cycling tour - moving between guest houses, charming accommodation full of local character

Varied cycling through vines, pastures and forests with sweeping views across rolling countryside. Wine tasting visits possible in a region famous for its gastronomic delights. Beautiful towns and villages with historic chateaux, abbeys and churches. A dedicated off-road cycle path for some of the holiday.

Discovering the Beaujolais

There is a great deal more to the Beaujolais than its vineyards and cellars. Go beyond the rows of vines leading down to the Saone and you find yourself in a multitude of different landscapes, each with its own special character making it an ideal destination for a guided or independent walking holiday.

The Beaujolais region, located to the north west of Lyon, is a series of elegant rolling hills summiting around 1000m above sea level. Despite the relatively gentle nature of their slopes, the scale of the peaks and the depths of the valleys create a landscape of great panoramas and rich contrasts. The character of the Beaujolais hills changes with altitude as the vines give way to forests and pastures.

In the far south lay the mountains of the Mont Lyonnais, which despite being geologically identical to the Beaujolais are distinct by their farming practices; the vines are replaced by meadows and fruit trees. Far from the tourist trails, these hills form some of the most stunning countryside in the area.

Further north is a region made up of about 40 parishes which is known as the “Golden stones”, so called, due to the colour of the limestone used in its historic buildings. Here you will find some of the prettiest villages in France, such as Oignt, perched on hilly promontories. Wherever you look, you'll find fortified remains, chateaux or churches adorning the vine covered slopes. The scale and gentleness of the slopes has created a sumptuous landscape of interlocking hills receding to the horizon, literally leaving you with the impression of flying over the hills. Hence this picturesque wine-growing area is often referred to as the local Tuscany.

Beyond the vineyards, the broad summits of the high Beaujolais hills are carpeted in woodland. The huge Douglas Fir has come to dominate some of these forests. By seeking out the hills and ridges between the woodland, you get spectacular views overlooking the vine covered, valley slopes. Away from the main transport routes, this upland area retains an isolated feel despite its proximity to Lyon, with farms and hamlets looking like they have not changed for centuries. Goats graze on the remote upland pastures, giving rise to some fine local cheese.

The Beaujolais is, of course, most famous for its wines. The vines adorn much of the slopes up to an altitude of 550m. There are three types of Beaujolais: the Beaujolais village, the Beaujolais classic and the 10 Beaujolais Crus. The Crus represent the finest wines and each is only grown in a very limited geographical area. Our holidays will allow you to sample their qualities and find out more about the unique methods used in growing the grapes and fermenting the wines.

As well as offering guided and independent walking holidays, we are able to provide guided day walks in the Beaujolais region of France for independent travellers. Whatever your area of interest or level of walk, we can create a day's guided walking to suit you, letting you experience more than you can find in the guide books.

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