Walking Holidays
France

Beaujolais & Burgundy

This discovery self-guided walking holiday in France lets you explore two of the prettiest parts of the Beaujolais and Burgundy at your own rhythm, whilst indulging yourself at wonderful guest houses.  You’ll stay in three bases, two in an area known as the “Golden stones country” (pierres dorées) of Beaujolais, due to the warm colour of the limestone which makes up a number of remarkable historic villages that are set in a sumptuous landscape of interlocking hills covered in vines. 

Made up of about 40 parishes in the South of the Beaujolais region, the area known as the “Golden Stones” (Pierre Dorées), is so called due to the colour of the limestone used in its historic buildings. Here, your walking holiday will pass through a number of remarkable villages with some of the prettiest villages in France 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 have created a sumptuous landscape of interlocking hills receding to the horizon, that literally leaves you with the impression of flying over the hills. This picturesque wine-growing area is often referred to as the local Tuscany due to the similarities in their expansive landscapes. Your French walking holiday will have a mixture of circular walks and linear trails where we provide transfers at the end of the day.

Your third base will be in southern Burgundy and northern Beaujolais where you'll enjoy a variety of experiences, including the famous Maconnais vineyards bordering the Saône, a number of rocky outcrops with wonderful views such as the celebrated “Roche de Solutré” important for its pre-historic human activity, the forests of the high ridges and secluded valleys covered in a patchwork of grazing fields.

This two centre-based walking holiday in Beaujolais and Burgundy allows you to choose how much walking you wish to do each day. Plenty of opportunities for wine-tasting visits.

Holiday Profile

5 or 7 nights/6 or8 days: 4 or 6 days independent centre-based walking 

Dates

Everyday of the week subject to availability from 1 April to 31 October

Walking Profile & Grade

6 walks based around three centres, averaging about 15km with limited ascents and descents, good paths, although some rough and stony sections. The average daily ascent is 350m. This holiday is flexible so that you can walk as much or as little as you wish.

This walking holiday is graded moderate. You should have some experience of day walking and be in reasonable health. See more information about walking grades.

Accommodation & Meals

You will stay in three high-quality guest houses (3/4 star equivalent) located in historic buildings offering very different styles. One has a swimming pool. All the guest houses offer great French cuisine. A great mix of comfort and authenticity.

When to Travel

Our self-guided walking holiday in the Beaujolais and Burgundy is available from the beginning of April to the end of October. From April to October the Beaujolais is generally warm, although it can be hot during the months of July and August. However, relative humidity is often low (except during unstable thundery weather.) Ideal walking temperatures (ie late teens to the low twenties centigrade) are generally experienced from late April to early June and from mid-September to mid-October.

Rainfall becomes more and more sporadic and linked to thunderstorms as you move from spring to summer, and this continues into the Autumn. On average there is rain on one in every three days, but this is often for relatively short periods. Autumn is often characterised by warm sunny days.

Sunshine totals are characteristic of its southerly position in France and the sun's strength means that you must protect yourself against the sun even on overcast days. See more details about the Beaujolais climate.

Other things to consider are the fact that the leaves are often not the trees or the vines until at least mid-April. The grape picking season is often during the first couple of weeks of September and although this provides added activity to the countryside, it also means that some of our first-choice guest houses are not available. In October the Beaujolais takes on a different character with autumn colours.

Navigation, Walking Notes & Maps

Most of this walking holiday follows local trails waymarked in yellow. There are also a number of other waymarkings including red and yellow of the tour of the golden stones region of the Beaujolais. There is a fairly dense network of signposts with place names and directions both in the Beaujolais and Burgundy. The walking follows clear paths, tracks and minor roads for its entire duration. Our walking notes are very detailed (more information here) and include intermediate distances for sections of the trail. They also include information about the sites which can be explored along the route. We supply one walking guide per person on this holiday. As well as the detailed walking notes we supply official walking maps produced by IGN at a scale of 1:25,000. Your trail is highlighted on the maps.

Luggage Transfers

On this walking holiday, your main luggage is transferred between guest houses at the same time as you are transferred. You only have to carry a day rucksack with a picnic lunch (supplied by the guest houses and included in the holiday price), water and spare clothes, waterproofs, a camera etc. On this holiday your transfers will be assured by a representative of High Point Holidays or a trusted local taxi company. Please limit the weight of your bags where possible to 20kg. We only use hotels and small guest houses in historic buildings and some of the rooms are accessible by stairs.

Travel Info

Transfers between Lyon Airport or train station and the Beaujolais region of France are included in the price of your independent walking holiday. Pick ups are generally between 2 and 5pm. Please contact us if you require pick up at at different time. We can also pick you up from a hotel if you are staying in Lyon before your walking holiday.

Train: Eurostar and the TGV provide a relaxing journey from London Lyon Part Dieu. There are direct Eurostar trains from London on certain days of the week. Otherwise Eurostar trains go via Lille or Paris. In Paris you need to change station (2 stops on the RER).

Flights: The airlines Easy jet, and British Airways have scheduled flights from the UK - Luton, Edinburgh, Birmingham, London Heathrow and Gatwick - to Lyon St Exupery airport.

Note: Please check concerning the availability of a walking holiday before booking any flights or trains. If you need further information or would like to discuss any aspect of your travel arrangements, please contact us, we’re here to help you.

Self Drive

Channel ferry crossings from Dover are provided by a number of operators including P&O Ferries & DFDS seaways. Crossings are also provided by train with Eurotunnel.

Once in France, the journey from Calais to the Beaujolais area takes about 7 hours (excluding long breaks).

Tolls amount to about 35 euros each way. Controlled parking is available at the airport for 50 euros. Other secure but non-surveilled parking is available free of charge at your first guest house. We can provide you with a transfer to collect your car at the end of your walking holiday.

7 nights / 6 days centre based walking

• From €1230
• Prices are per person and based on 2 sharing a room (please contact us concerning single supplements)