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Medieval Burgundy Explorer

Highlights

Walking through pretty historic villages with medieval castles and romanesque style churches

A picturesque Burgundy landscape of rolling hills, valleys covered in vines and rocky outcrops providing great views as far as the Alps

Visiting historic monuments

Visiting the historic town of Cluny with the remains of its influential abbey.

This multi-centre-based walking holiday can be tailor-made to suit your wishes

Variety of landscapes & range of historic architecture

Holiday Profile : 7 nights/8 days: 6 days centre-based walking

Dates : Everyday of week subject to availability from 1 April to 31 October

At a Glance

A self-guided centre-based walking holiday to explore the beautiful southern Burgundy

Price

From € 1,539 per person

Every journey is tailor-made and can be personalised to your travel style, preferred accommodation and budget.

All highlights

Burgundy: Chardonnay Wine Trail

Our Self-guided centre-based walking holiday in the southern Burgundy region of France explores a rich landscape full of historic treasures. Medieval chateauxhistoric churches and old farms are set in beautiful rolling countryside carpeted with vines, pasture and forests. Several rocky outcrops punctuate the vineyards such as the celebrated Roche de Solutre important for its pre-historic human activity. These landmarks provide exceptional viewing points to admire the surrounding countryside.

This centre-based walking holiday will enable you to explore more of the southern Burgundy area than would otherwise be the case on one of our other independent walking trips. It also allows you to be more flexible in terms of the walks you choose to do. This walking holiday can be undertaken with or without your own car. If you have your own car you will be able to access additional walks and therefore have greater choice.

The Burgundy region is well-known for its fine wine and gastronomic food, a reputation that is richly deserved. You will have plenty of opportunity to sample both during your walking holiday in France. This region is the origin of Chardonnay. and these dry and fruity white wines have their most famous ambassadors in the world-renowned Pouilly-Fuissé and Saint Véran. You’ll get the chance to sample both at one of your guest houses located on a vineyard. In addition, you will have plenty of time to see the varied and rich architectural delights of the region, such as those found at Cluny, a very important spiritual, political and artistic centre of the Middle Ages with its Benedictine abbey. In addition, many of the pretty villages that your walks pass through have splendid chateaux and impressive churches, such as that at Berzé le Chatel and Brancion.

Accommodation & Meals

7 nights accommodation in charming, very comfortable, chambres d’hôtes style guest houses and 3 star hotels, double and twin rooms with own bathrooms.
All breakfasts included, 4 picnic lunches and 5 delicious evening meals

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 white markings of the GR76 which you’ll occasionaly There is a fairly dense network of signposts with place names and directions in the 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 picnic lunch (supplied by the guest houses and included in the holiday price), water and spare clothes, waterproofs, camera etc. On this holiday the transfers are carried out by a represenatative of High Point Holidays or a trusted local taxi company. Please limit the weight of your bags where pos

At a Glance

Moderate

The walks on this independent walking holiday average about 15km per day over undulating terrain. Individual ascents and descents are generally no more than 150m at a time, with a maximum of 500m in a day. You can alternate between longer and shorter walks, to allow time to recover and take advantage of some of the interesting sites on route. The paths are generally good, although they can be rough and stony in places. 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.

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival

Your French walking holiday starts with a welcome in Lyon and transfer to guest house.

Walks from first accommodation in Fuisse

Roche de Solutré

This walk explores the rocky outcrops which characterise this part of the southern Burgundy. Enjoyable walk through Chardonnay vines of the famous Pouilly Fuisse label to the villages of Pouilly and Solutre. Then climb to the summit of Roche de Solutre for spectacular 360 degree views. The site has a rich wildlife and is also an important archaeological site which you can discover in its museum. You can choose to extend the trail via the adjacent summit of Vergisson.

Overnight: Fuissé, Walk: 13km or 22km, +320m or +650m

Historic Villages

This circular trail goes via several pretty historic villages on the border between the Beaujolais and Burgundy including Chanes and St Verand with their impressive churches built from a warm limestone. You'll return via the village of Leynes its historic buildings built from a local outcrop of sandstone. Finish back in Fuisse, a wonderful historic village and famous for its Pouilly-Fuisse wines.

Overnight: Fuissé, Walk: 16km, +300m

Berzé - village & chateau (with car)

Explore some of the finest historic monuments of the region. You will first explore the historic village of Berzé la Ville with its pretty stone houses with double arcades decorated with flowers and supported by slender columns. Afterwards you'll ascend to the top of the Roche Coche which provides fantastic views over the village. Undulating pastures will lead you to the impressive 13th century chateau Berzé le Chatel with its 3 defensive walls and 13 towers. After lunch you can visit the chateau and then return by the hamlet of Vernay, little changed in centuries, and the chateau des Moines.

Overnight: Fuissé, Walk: 14km, +280m

Walks from second base in Cluny

Cluny

Explore the town of Cluny. one of the most important historic towns of the region. Cluny grew up around the Benedictine Abbey which was founded in 910AD. Enjoy looking around the ruins of the Abbey and the historic medieval properties that line the pretty streets.

Overnight: Cluny

Rolling green hills

Explore the rolling hills to the west of Cluny. This is an unspoiled and picturesque area with good views of the surrounding countryside as you pass through small hamlets and fields grazed by Charolais cows.

Overnight: Cluny, Walk: 18km, +350m

Blanot & the Grison Valley (with car)

Explore the upper part of the pretty and secluded Grisson valley. A number of hamlets sit on bluffs just above the stream which meanders through a tapestry of green pastures and willows. Our route will follow this valley before rising up onto the hills above to find the village of Donzy which seems to date from another era. Our walk will finish by exploring the historic village of Blanot with its remarkable stone dwellings and its clunisien church and priory.

Overnight: Cluny, Walk: 16km, +280m

Walks from third base near Brancion

Brancion

A relatively short walk that starts by descending to the west and passes by historic farmsteads and the chateau of Nobles before reaching the charming village of Chapelles sous Brancion with its historic buildings surrounding the pretty village church. After a walk through pretty countryside with good views, climb to reach the hill top medieval village of Brancion. The fortified site is surrounded by its defensive walls with its well-preserved stone buildings which include the chateau (which can be visited - parts of which date from about 1000AD), the 12th century church and the impressive market hall built just after the religious wars.

Overnight: Brancion, Walk: 11km, +300m

Ozenay & vines

Head east and pass through a landscape of vines, woodland and pretty villages such as Martailly les Briancon, Ozenay and Royer with Romanesque churches. Ozenay is particularly picturesque with its historic chateau and pretty houses.

Overnight: Brancion, Walk: 16km, +300m

Chapaize & Cormatin

Your walk starts from Cormatin with its beautiful 16th-century chateau which you can visit. The circuit passes through undulating countryside of vines and fields to reach the remarkable villages of Chapaize, Ougy and Bissy-sous-Uxelles. Chapaize has a wonderful 11th-century church.

Overnight: Brancion, Walk: 17km, +200m

Day 8: Departure

After breakfast transfer from your guest house to Lyon after breakfast

Optional extra nights are possible at all of the bases

Please note that your walking holiday may differ from that shown above, due to the availability of guest houses. This will not however, affect the overall walking circuit.

Visit Cluny and the remains of its abbey, the rolling hills of Burgundy, the valley covered in vines and enjoy the view of the Alps during this short trail

When to Travel

Our self-guided walking holiday in the Burgundy is available from the beginning of April to the end of October. From April to October the Burgundy is generally warm, although it can be hot during 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 position in France and the sun’s strength means that you must protect yourself against the sun even on overcast days.

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 this provides added activity to the countryside. In October the Burgundy takes on a different character with autumn colours.

Extra Nights

It is possible to tailor our self-guided walking holiday to suit your requirements. The standard walking holiday stays at 3 locations and includes 7 nights and 6 days walking. You can adpapt the holiday to include anything from 5 to 12 nights. We will add additional walks to your walking guide. For holidays of more than 8 nights it is recommended that you have your own car to access additional walks. Additional nights can be added at any of our centres in Fuissé, Cluny or Brancion. We can also recommed additional centres such as the Relais de Scisse in St Gengoux de Scisse, although you would require to self-drive. Please contact us for further information and advice.

City Breaks

The nearby city of Lyon is a great destination for a city break and can be easily combined with this walking holiday, as you’ll be picked up and dropped off in the city. Lyon, France’s second city and gastronomic capital, is a lively historic city ideal for those in search of lots to see and do. Classed as a world heritage site, Lyon has it all; roman amphitheatres, medieval streets, renaissance architecture and modern art. See more of our page dedicated to Lyon. We can book a city break for you and provide you with all the information you need for a great stay.

Please consult us for a price on any of the above options.

Combining walking holidays

This wine trail walking holiday can be combined easily with any of our walking holidays elsewhere in the Beaujolais and Burgundy, which all have transfers to and from Lyon.

Tailor-Made Trips

In addition to the above options we have several tailor-made trips in France which could be combined with one or more days of this French walking holiday, for example:

French Valley of the Gastronomy Tour

French Rendez-vous Between Culture and Nature