Burgundy vineyards self-guided walking holiday with luggage transfer
This self-guided walking holiday in the wine region of Burgundy is a gentle and dignified way to appreciate the patchwork of vines that comprise some of the best-known vineyards in the world. You progress south from Dijon to Puligny-Montrachet, passing through and staying in some of the famous villages such as Nuits St Georges, Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet. There is also time to visit both Dijon and Beaune as well as vineyards and chateaux along the route. The Cote de Nuits includes names such as Gevrey-Chambertin, La Romanée and Nuits-St-Georges and these are powerful reds. Further south the Cote de Beaune from Aloxe Corton to Santenay is renowned for its more delicate red wines and full-bodied whites. Interspersed with these ancient and priceless parcels of land are many sites that bear witness to the rich history of this region, including chapels, chateaux and churches, when at times during the Middle Ages, the cultural and economic wealth of Burgundy surpassed that of France. Dinner is included for two nights and there are opportunities to eat out if you want on other nights. Walks are of a duration of about 4 or 5 hours a day, the terrain is gentle, and the walk is classed as Grade 1, so no walking experience is necessary.
Highlights
Dijon • Marsannay • Gevrey-Chambertin • Combe Lavaux nature reserve • Chateau de Clos Vougeot • Vosne-Romanée • Nuits-Saint-Georges • Aloxe-Corton • Savigny les Beaune • Beaune • Pommard • Meursault • Chateau of La Rochepot • Chassagne-Montrachet • Puligny-Montrachet
Walking information
No walk more than 18km/11 miles • Average of 4 or 5 hours walking per day at a relaxed pace • Grade 1 difficulty • Terrain is gentle through vineyards • Recommended April to November • Walking experience is not necessary
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for seven nights.
From about
£1,120 Comfort in 3- and 4-star hotels
£1,710 Luxury in mainly 4-star and 5-star hotels
Holiday Code CWFR03
Additional nights can be added before, after or during the tour.
Call us on 01392 441266
Burgundy vineyards self-guided walking holiday with luggage transfer
Arrive in Dijon with enough time to explore today. This city, steeped in history, is its own open-air museum. We invite you to explore the old town, the neighbourhood of the Palais de Justice, and the beautiful Palais des Ducs et des Etats de Bourgogne (Palace of the Dukes and States of Burgundy) where you’ll find the Musée des Beaux Artslondon. Accommodation in Dijon is in a 4-star hotel for both options. Allow time to check your kit, pack your rucksack and study your guides and maps. Dinner is not included tonight but there is plenty of choice in the city.
This morning there is time to continue to explore Dijon. There are several interesting museums to see, including the Archaeological Museum, the Sacred Art Museum in Sainte-Anne‘s Chapel, and an excellent museum that chronicles the life, costumes and cottage industries of Burgundy during the past centuries. In the early afternoon, a taxi takes you to Marsannay-la-Côte, where you start the walk, which can be either an 8 km or a 20 km route. From Marsannay, a city famous for its rosé wines (unique in the Burgundian region), you move towards Fixey, where there is a church, the oldest in the region dating from the 10th century. You then pass Fixin and Noisot Park (which is testament to the loyalty of one of Napoleon’s captains to his Emperor) and continue through Brochon to reach Gevrey-Chambertin. This large, wine-producing town still possesses an ancient, fortified castle. You have the choice of an alternative walk through the nature reserve of Combe Lavaux, a hilly woodland area and sanctuary for rare plants and small animals such as the forest cat. Your accommodation is on bed and breakfast in a 4-star hotel for both options and included is a wine-tasting here.
Distance: About 8 or 20 kms
Time: About 2 or 5 hrs
Today you leave the village of Gevrey and cross through the Grand Cru vineyards towards Morey Saint Denis. You pass by the village of Chambolle Musigny, nestling at the beginning of a narrow valley, and head to one of the more famous sites of Burgundy, the majestic Château de Clos Vougeot. A visit of the château reveals a 12th century wine cellar and gigantic winepress. Your path continues across the Echezeaux and Grand Echezeaux vineyards and then you arrive on hallowed ground. You will have entered the heart of some of the world’s greatest vineyards: La Romanée, Romanée-Conti, Richebourg, la Tâche. Finally, you pass through Vosne-Romanée before arriving in Nuits-Saint-Georges. There is time to visit the old town and appreciate its rich heritage. Your accommodation is on dinner, bed and breakfast in a 3-star hotel for both options today.
Distance: About 14 kms
Time: About 3.5 hrs
Today is the exploration of the last part of the Côtes de Nuits and the Hautes Côtes de Nuits with a choice of two different routes. The scenery is a delight and you will enjoy beautiful views across the valleys. You pass through the village of Villers-la-Faye, where there is an 11th century church on the Mont Saint Victor, and then Magny-les-Villers. Descending into the Côtes de Beaune, you come upon Pernand-Vergelesses and one of the most picturesque little villages, Aloxe-Corton, which is famous for white wines as Corton-Charlemagne. This wine is associated with the Emperor Charlemagne because he owned a large part of this vineyard. It produces one of the best white wines in Burgundy. You end this stage of the walk in Savigny-les-Beaune, a pleasant green village stretching out along the small river Rhoin. A surprise is that the chateau, which is a wine producing estate, houses a large museum for Abarth cars, aeroplanes and equipment from wine production. The garden holds about 80 fighter aircraft. There is then a transfer by taxi from Savigny to Beaune itself with accommodation on bed and breakfast in a 5-star hotel for the luxury option and a 3-star hotel for the comfort option.
Distance: About 16 kms or 21 kms
Time: About 4 or 5 hrs
There is time today to linger in the beautiful, small, walled city at the heart of the wine trade and with a fascinating history, offering many places of interest to visit. Explore the well preserved, historic centre with its old buildings, stroll through the narrow streets lined with beautiful homes, some of them dating back to the Renaissance period. Sites of especial interest are the Hôtel-Dieu, the Collegiale Notre Dame, and the Musée des Vins de Bourgogne, found in the old Hôtel des Ducs de Bourgogne. The typical polychrome roof tiles of the region are particularly prevalent here. Combine the sightseeing with tasting of the great wines of this region in the cellars in Beaune and sample some delicious local cuisine, traditional robust and fortified with local products. On Saturdays Beaune is home to a fine food market where stallholders display local wares. Bed and breakfast accommodation at the same hotel.
You leave Beaune by way of the La Bouzaise park or by the Montagne de Beaune. Then you walk through the first Premiers Crus vineyards heading to Pommard. This well-known village is huddled tightly around a church that is most remarkable for its square bell-tower. The wines of the village, celebrated around the globe, are of outstanding quality, deeply-coloured, firm and honest. You traverse Volnay and Monthélie, with its Romanesque church built in the 12th century, and Auxey-Duresses, a small village in a picturesque valley. Each of these villages produces its own distinct red and white wines, uniquely elegant and refined. After crossing the last vineyard-covered hill, you fall upon Meursault, a beautiful village famous for its white wine. Tonight, you stay on bed and breakfast in a 4-star hotel for the luxury option and in a 3-star hotel for the comfort option.
Distance: About 15 or 20 kms
Time: About 4 or 5 hours
Making your way across the vineyards, you will arrive in the hamlets of Blagny and Gamay, and then pass through the forest that stretches across the heights of the Côte de Beaune. You will arrive in La Rochepot, a village that boasts of having one of the most beautiful châteaux in Burgundy, this one dating to the 15th century. You will descend into the village of Saint Aubin and its 10th century church. Crossing through the Grands Crus of Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet, you will arrive in the village of Puligny-Montrachet. Tonight, you enjoy a wine-tasting with dinner and accommodation with breakfast in a 4-star, typically Burgundian, hotel on both options.
Distance: About 16 or 21 kms
Time: About 4 or 5.5 hrs
The tour arrangements end after breakfast. You transfer by taxi to Beaune railway station. Own transport onwards.
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for seven nights.
From about
£1,120 Comfort in 3- and 4-star hotels
£1,710 Luxury in mainly 4-star and 5-star hotels
Holiday Code CWFR03
Additional nights can be added before, after or during the tour.
Our prices include
● Accommodation in a double or twin room on bed and breakfast
● 2 gourmet dinners
● Luggage transfer between hotels
● Taxi transfers as mentioned during the tour (Dijon-Marsannay la Cote, Savigny-les-Beaune to Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet to Beaune railway station)
● Set of maps (1/25 000 scale) with the route marked and detailed notes describing the trail
● Daily itinerary with information about facilities and places of interest along the trail
● English-speaking emergency assistance 24 hours a day
Call us on 01392 441266
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for seven nights.
From about
£1,120 Comfort in 3- and 4-star hotels
£1,710 Luxury in mainly 4-star and 5-star hotels
Holiday Code CWFR03
Additional nights can be added before, after or during the tour.
Our prices include
• Accommodation in a double or twin room on bed and breakfast
• 2 gourmet dinners
• Luggage transfer between hotels
• Taxi transfers as mentioned during the tour (Dijon-Marsannay la Cote, Savigny-les-Beaune to Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet to Beaune railway station)
• Set of maps (1/25 000 scale) with the route marked and detailed notes describing the trail
• Daily itinerary with information about facilities and places of interest along the trail
• English-speaking emergency assistance 24 hours a day
The journey and how you get there
Dijon is reached very easily by TGV from Paris (the journey time is just over 5 hours with a change in London) and from Beaune on the way back you change in Dijon and Paris (if you leave Beaune station at 09.00 hrs you can be in London by about 17.00 hrs).
Transport is not included in the holiday price, other than luggage transfer during the tour and taxis mentioned in the itinerary.
Call us on 01392 441266
Burgundy vineyards self-guided walking holiday with luggage transfer
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for seven nights.
From about
£1,120 Comfort in 3- and 4-star hotels
£1,710 Luxury in mainly 4-star and 5-star hotels
Holiday Code CWFR03
Additional nights can be added before, after or during the tour.
Our prices include
• Accommodation in a double or twin room on bed and breakfast
• 2 gourmet dinners
• Luggage transfer between hotels
• Taxi transfers as mentioned during the tour (Dijon-Marsannay la Cote, Savigny-les-Beaune to Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet to Beaune railway station)
• Set of maps (1/25 000 scale) with the route marked and detailed notes describing the trail
• Daily itinerary with information about facilities and places of interest along the trail
• English-speaking emergency assistance 24 hours a day
The journey and how you get there
Dijon is reached very easily by TGV from Paris (the journey time is just over 5 hours with a change in London) and from Beaune on the way back you change in Dijon and Paris (if you leave Beaune station at 09.00 hrs you can be in London by about 17.00 hrs).
Transport is not included in the holiday price, other than luggage transfer during the tour and taxis mentioned in the itinerary.
Call us on 01392 441266
Burgundy vineyards self-guided walking holiday with luggage transfer
About Burgundy
Walking through vineyards is one of the most pleasurable types of walk and Burgundy with its undulating hills, patchwork of vineyards and charmingly sedate ancient villages with their roofs of multi-coloured glazed tiles, Gothic and Romanesque grand chateaux and monasteries is one of the most attractive wine-producing regions to visit. As well as the obvious vineyards to visit and taste, there is Dijon and Beaune, chateaux of the Dukes of Burgundy, religious sites and plenty of fine dining. As you walk through Burgundy, the villages on the route are those of some of the most famous Burgundy wines: Gevrey Chambertin, Nuits St Georges, Pommard, Meursault and Montrachet. However, away from the vineyards you’ll find forested hills and valleys, the Morvan Regional Park, the Burgundy canal and the limestone cliffs of the Rochers du Saussois. Burgundy is also home to several parts of Grandes Randonnées, particularly in the Morvan area. There are also many fairs and festivals, celebrating food, music and the film throughout the year, so it’s worth combining a walking holiday with a favourite pastime, oenology or otherwise.
