France: Vineyards of Beaujolais

Depart home for France. The particulars of your arrival overseas are detailed with your flight itinerary.

Upon arrival at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) Airport, make your independent travel arrangements to central Paris. For details, refer to your Vacation Preparation Handbook.

VBT provides you with city information that includes recommendations for what to see and do in Paris. Enjoy the rest of the day to relax or begin exploring the City of Light on your own.

See for yourself why Paris has inspired poets, lovers, emperors, and artists for centuries. Start with a stroll along the legendary Champs-Élysées, site of the final grueling stretch of the Tour de France and home to many of the city’s iconic shops. You may wish to ascend the towering Arc de Triomphe, then follow the avenue to the Place de la Concorde, marked by an Egyptian obelisk gifted in 1829. From there, it’s a pleasant walk through the Jardin des Tuileries—with its statues and formal 17th-century gardens—to the Louvre, home to one of the most celebrated art collections in the world.

Make your own independent travel arrangements from Paris to Mâcon. For details, refer to your Vacation Preparation Handbook.

Meet your VBT Local Host at 2:00 p.m. in the lobby of Hotel & Spa Panorama 360, along with any other VBT guests, for your Welcome Orientation. Please be dressed and ready for cycling. If your room is not ready at the time of the meeting, there will be time to prepare afterward. Your Local Host will be carrying a VBT sign and/or wearing VBT apparel.

You’ll be spending the next three nights at Hotel & Spa Panorama 360, a sleek and modern retreat located in the heart of Mâcon. This contemporary four-star hotel features a rooftop bar with panoramic views, a full-service spa, and well-appointed guest rooms—offering comfort and convenience in a central location.

Today’s ride into the Beaujolais region—nestled in southern Burgundy—offers a preview of this scenic area, renowned for its culinary splendors and rich viniculture of light-bodied red wines and bright whites. Though it is one of the least crowded wine regions in France, it boasts one of the nation’s highest concentrations of vineyards, world-class gastronomy, charming villages, a Mediterranean-like climate, and gently rolling hills. It all adds up to some of the most rewarding cycling in Europe.

You’ll depart from your Mâcon hotel and follow the Saône River bike path through a region that lies between Burgundy to the north and the Rhône Valley to the south. The Romans began cultivating vineyards here in the 1st century, some of which still thrive today. Benedictine monks later maintained the tradition until the Duchy of Burgundy assumed control in the 15th century.

Mâcon is also the birthplace of 19th-century poet and diplomat Alphonse de Lamartine. The town’s pastel-hued buildings line the Saône River and are especially picturesque in spring when the cherry blossoms bloom. Today’s riverside ride is the perfect introduction to the region’s natural and cultural beauty.

This evening, enjoy your first taste of Burgundian cuisine—perhaps sampling the famed boeuf bourguignon in its birthplace, paired with a light Gamay or Pinot Gris.

Today's Ride Choices

Mâcon Loop — 27 km (17 miles)

What to Expect:

This ride gives you the opportunity to get comfortable with your bike as you follow fairly flat bike lanes through city streets and pedal out of Mâcon, passing low-elevation wine villages and vineyards along the west bank of the Saône River. Midway, you’ll encounter two gentle ascents before crossing the river and returning via a low-traffic, mostly flat bike path. The final stretch—less than three miles—is on a well-packed gravel surface that leads back to the center of Mâcon.

Included Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast, you depart Mâcon on a dedicated bike path, heading west on a gentle uphill out of the Saône River Valley. Your destination is the historic town of Cluny, once the spiritual center of Europe during the Middle Ages. The former abbey, founded by William I of Aquitaine in 910 AD, became the largest Christian complex in the world—surpassing all others until the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Though much of it was destroyed—first pillaged by the Huguenots in 1562 and later dismantled and dynamited—its historical significance remains immense. Its ornately carved stones were sold off by a local priest, yet around ten percent of the original structure still stands, offering a haunting and awe-inspiring glimpse into its former grandeur.

You’ll have time to explore the remains of the abbey, stroll through Cluny’s charming town center, and perhaps enjoy a light lunch at a local café.

Later, cycle back to Mâcon, where your evening is free to dine at your leisure. Consider a stroll along the Saône River promenade, and enjoy dinner at one of the many inviting restaurants or bistros offering regional specialties and local wines.

Today's Ride Choices

Mâcon to Cluny Short Option — 30 km (18 miles) OR Mâcon to Cluny Long Option — 39 km (24 miles)

Cluny to Mâcon Short Option — 30 km (18 miles) OR Cluny to Mâcon Long Option — 39 km (24 miles)

What to Expect:

Depart Mâcon on town streets for a few miles before joining a packed gravel bike path along a former railway line designated as a greenway—voie verte in French. The path gradually ascends out of the Saône River Valley, passing small towns, villages, and vineyards, with scenic views of the Château de Berzé-le-Châtel. On the short option, you’ll enter the Bois Clair Rail Trail Bike Tunnel—a long, lit tunnel just under a mile in length—and emerge on the other side in Cluny. Please note: If the Bois Clair Tunnel is closed, use the alternate route titled “D2 Mâcon to Cluny when tunnel is closed” (31 km / 19 miles). On the long option, after cycling through the wine-producing villages of Igé and Azé, a steady climb of just under 5 km (3 miles) is rewarded with a descent into the town of Massilly, where you’ll rejoin the bike path leading into Cluny. After your visit to Cluny, retrace your route back to Mâcon.

Included Meals: Breakfast

If you wish, take today to explore the Burgundian city of Mâcon. Stroll its cobbled streets, stopping at any of its inviting cafés to soak in the old-world atmosphere. The city is home to an array of churches, from the Old Mâcon Cathedral to the newer Cathedral of Saint-Vincent. Or cross the Pont Saint-Laurent to the small village of Saint-Laurent-sur-Saône.

On the bike, we offer a couple of ways for you to—as the locals say—follow the grape! Pedal the flat Voie Bleue bike path, which traces the banks of the Saône. Varied birdlife keeps you company on this tranquil route. You’ll then leave the river behind and cycle into the wine country where the Chardonnay grape is grown, arriving in the charming hamlet of Viré. This village was put on oenophiles’ maps after it partnered with its neighbor, Clessé, to create the Viré-Clessé appellation—today a producer of some of the region’s finest wines.

The longer option today brings you past vistas of massive rocky outcrops to a small village whose name is synonymous with one of the world’s most popular white wines: Chardonnay. The earliest record of Chardonnay wine dates to 1330, likely around the time local Cistercian monks developed the variety and distributed it throughout France. To protect their vineyards, the monks built stone walls, and soon a village of stone houses emerged around the lavoir (a stream-fed wash-house) and several domaines (wine producers).

Today's Ride Choices

Mâcon to Viré Short Loop — 40 km (25 miles) OR Mâcon to Chardonnay Long Loop — 59 km (37 miles)

What to Expect:

Depart Mâcon in the morning, following the La Voie Bleue bike path north along the Saône River to the winemaking town of Viré. The longer loop continues through rolling vineyards into the town of Chardonnay. Both loops return south on country roads and through villages to Mâcon, where you rejoin bike lanes and encounter some busier traffic as you approach your city-center hotel.

Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Depart Mâcon and pedal into the heart of the finest vineyards of Beaujolais. Choose from an easy or more challenging ride, each delivering you to famed appellations and picturesque villages. You’ll pass through the Pouilly-Fuissé region, where Chardonnay is the sole grape variety, and Juliénas, known for its robust reds. No matter your route, you won’t miss the impressive Rock of Solutré—a dramatic limestone escarpment offering panoramic views over the Beaujolais region and its many vineyards. A nearby museum reveals the area’s fascinating prehistoric past, once inhabited by Paleolithic peoples. The trails around the rock were also a favorite walking route of President François Mitterrand.

Continue cycling through scenic, rolling vineyards, passing through charming villages like Le Moulin-à-Vent and Romanèche-Thorins, noted for its scenic windmill. Later, arrive at your accommodation for the next two nights: Château de Pizay, a striking wine estate surrounded by 200 acres of vineyards and featuring a 17th-century garden designed by Le Nôtre, the landscape architect of Versailles. The château combines historic grandeur with modern comforts and features a renowned wine cellar, spa, and self-guided wine trail (available at an additional cost), ideal for wine enthusiasts and casual sippers alike.

Dinner tonight is included at the château’s fine-dining restaurant—also the setting for tomorrow’s dinner.

Today's Ride Choices

Hotel & Spa Panorama 360 to Château de Pizay Short Option — 29 km (18 miles) OR Hotel & Spa Panorama 360 to Château de Pizay Long Option — 52 km (26 miles)

What to Expect:

The route rolls out of Mâcon on narrow roads, weaving through vineyards and villages that have been producing wine for centuries. The short option stays closer to the Saône Valley floor, where you may encounter a bit more traffic as you pass through vineyards and villages en route to your hotel in Belleville-en-Beaujolais. The long option climbs higher into the vineyards. Your efforts are rewarded with sweeping views over the vine-covered slopes and the entire Saône Valley. Enjoy exhilarating descents as you twist through scenic hamlets and villages before arriving at your hotel in Belleville-en-Beaujolais.

Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Spend the day as you wish, whether enjoying the amenities and vinicultural offerings at your château, exploring more of Belleville, or heading out on one of several invigorating rides—or a little of each!

If you choose to cycle, select from two routes. This part of southern Beaujolais is home to 39 Golden Stone villages, or Pierres dorées—a charming cluster of hilltop hamlets surrounded by rolling vineyards, often compared to Tuscany. The buildings’ warm golden hue comes from locally quarried limestone, naturally tinted with iron oxide. This luminous stone was used in the construction of Lyon and many Beaujolais towns, sourced from a quarry abandoned since World War I.

A shorter ride keeps you close to home—ideal if you’re looking for a mellow outing to stretch your legs. Cross the Saône and follow a riverside bike path, then meander through gentle hills and peaceful villages. For more mileage, opt for a challenging spin on the voie verte (greenway), climbing gradually to 2,520 feet before coasting past wineries and hamlets back to your hotel.

Back at the château, immerse yourself in the wine culture of Beaujolais. Take a stroll along the vineyard trails, perhaps following the romantic “wine history walk in the park.” At additional cost, you can participate in a wine initiation course or embark on a self-guided tasting in the onsite Oenothèque. You may also choose to relax by the heated outdoor pool, enjoy a match on the tennis court, or indulge in a massage or spa treatment.

An elegant dinner is included this evening at the château’s fine-dining restaurant—a fitting finale to your time in Beaujolais. Weather permitting, dine al fresco in the castle courtyard or enjoy the stylishly restored historic dining room.

Today's Ride Choices

Château de Pizay: Southern Beaujolais Easy Loop — 35 km (22 miles) | Château de Pizay to Beaujeu: Challenging Option — 46 km (30 miles)

What to Expect:

This varied route rolls south from your château to the nearby town of Belleville, crossing the Saône to follow a riverside bike path for 8 to 10 km just north of the Pierres Dorées villages. You then cross back over the Saône and gently ascend through vineyards and villages, reaching your maximum elevation of approximately 1,000 feet at the 26-kilometer mark (15 miles), before rolling back to the Ardière River Valley and rejoining the Beaujolais Greenway to your hotel. The challenging option follows the voie verte (Greenway) to Saint-Didier-sur-Beaujeu, then traces a bike route with a gradual climb to the highest point of 2,520 feet at about kilometer 25.8 (16 miles). From here, a steady descent brings you through Quincié-en-Beaujolais, on the northern edge of the Pierres Dorées villages, and finishes with an easy coast through vineyards and hamlets to your hotel.

Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Enjoy breakfast at your hotel. Please be ready in the reception area at the designated time for complimentary transportation (approximately 45 minutes) to the Hotel Carlton Lyon MGallery by Sofitel, located in the heart of the city. Nestled on the Presqu’île—Lyon’s vibrant peninsula between the Rhône and Saône rivers—your hotel places you steps from many of the city’s most celebrated attractions. VBT provides you with city information and recommendations on what to see and do during your stay. Use the rest of the day to relax or begin exploring.

France’s gastronomic capital is famed for its coq au vin (chicken braised in wine) and quenelles de brochet (pike mousse). Lyon’s 500 hectares of historic cityscape have earned UNESCO World Heritage status, showcasing 2,000 years of urban development. As you wander the cobbled lanes of Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon), it’s easy to picture the canuts—silk workers of old—navigating the city’s secret passageways, or traboules, built to connect streets and courtyards. You might also ascend Fourvière Hill, where the majestic Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière overlooks the rooftops of Lyon and offers panoramic views.

Included Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast this morning, allow a minimum of three hours before your flight departure to travel to Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport (LYS); for details, refer to your Vacation Preparation Handbook. This recommended window includes at least 30 minutes by taxi or up to one hour by public transportation, plus two hours for check-in and security.

Included Meals: Breakfast

Depart home for France. The particulars of your arrival overseas are detailed with your flight itinerary.

Upon arrival at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) Airport, make your own independent travel arrangements to the center of Paris.

VBT provides you with city information that includes information and recommendations for what to see and do in Paris. Enjoy the rest of the day to relax or to begin exploring the City of Light on your own.

See for yourself why Paris has inspired poets, lovers, emperors, and artists for centuries. Start with a stroll along the legendary Champs-Élysées, site of the final grueling yards of the Tour de France and the shopping boulevard of the city. Ascend the mammoth Arc de Triomphe if you wish, then follow the world’s most famous street to the Place de la Concorde, punctuated by the Egyptian obelisk, a gift from Egypt in 1829. The Louvre and its world-class art collection are another delightful walk away, through the Jardin des Tuileries, studded with statuary and 17th-century gardens.

Make your own independent travel arrangements from Paris to Mâcon.

Today’s ride into the Beaujolais region—nestled in South Burgundy—provides a preview of this scenic area renowned for its culinary splendors and rich viniculture of light-bodied red wines and bright whites. This is the least crowded wine region of France, despite that it boasts one of the nation’s highest concentrations of vineyards, a world-renowned gastronomy, endless charming villages, a Mediterranean-like climate, and gently rolling hills. It all makes for some of the most rewarding cycling in Europe, as you’ll soon discover.

You set out from your Mâcon hotel and follow the Saône River bike path. This stunning region rests between Burgundy to the north and the Rhône valley to the south. Romans arrived here in the 1st century, cultivating vast vineyards; some of their original plantings remain to this day. Later, Benedictine monks oversaw the wineries until the Duchy of Burgundy took them over in the 15th century. Mâcon is celebrated as the birthplace of Alphonse Lamartine, 19th-century poet and diplomat. Today, a pastiche of pastel-hued buildings line the Saône, made even more magnificent each spring when the cherry blossoms bloom. Your riverside ride introduces you to all its beauty and charm.

This evening, savor your first experience of Burgundian cuisine, perhaps sampling the famed beef bourguignon in its birthplace, accompanied by a light Gamay or Pinot Gris.

Today's Ride Choices

Mâcon Loop — 27 km (17 miles)

What to Expect:

This ride will give you the opportunity to become familiar with your bike as you cycle the fairly flat bike lanes of city streets and pedal out of Mâcon through some lower elevation wine villages and vineyards to the west bank of the Saône River. You encounter two gentle ascents mid-way, then cross the Saône River and follow the fairly flat, low-traffic bike path back (under three miles on well-packed gravel) to the center of Mâcon.

Included Meals: Breakfast

If you wish, take today to explore the Burgundian city of Mâcon. Stroll its cobbled streets, stopping at any of its inviting cafés to drink up the old-world atmosphere. The city is home to an array of churches of all sizes, from the Old Mâcon Cathedral to the newer Cathedral of Saint-Vincent. Or cross the Pont Saint-Laurent to the small village of Saint-Laurent-Sur-Saône.

On the bike, we have a couple of ways for you to, as the locals say, follow the grape! Pedal the flat Voie Bleue bike path, tracing the banks of the Saône. Varied birdlife keeps you company on this tranquil route. You leave the river behind to cycle into the wine country where the Chardonnay grape is grown and soon get to Viré. This charming hamlet was put on oenophiles’ maps after it partnered with its neighbor, Clessé, to create the Viré-Clessé appellation, today a producer of one of the region’s finest wines.

Today’s longer option takes you past vistas of massive rocky outcrops to a small village whose name is synonymous with one of the world’s most popular white wines: Chardonnay. The earliest record of Chardonnay wine dates to 1330, likely around the time when local Cistercian monks created the variety and distributed it throughout France. To protect their vineyards, the monks constructed stone walls; soon, a village of stone houses emerged around the lavoir, a stream-fed wash-house, and several domaines (wine producers).

Today's Ride Choices

Mâcon to Viré short loop — 40 km (25 miles) | Mâcon to Chardonnay long loop — 59 km (37 miles)

What to Expect:

Depart Mâcon in the morning, following the La Voie Bleue bike path north along the Saône River to the wine-making town of Viré. The long loop continues through rolling vineyards into the town of Chardonnay. Both loops return south on country roads and through villages to Mâcon, where you join bike lanes and encounter some busier traffic as you return to your city-center hotel.

Included Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast, you depart Mâcon on a dedicated bike path, heading west on a gentle uphill out of the Saône River Valley. Your destination is the historic town of Cluny, the center of Christianity in the Middle Ages. The former abbey here was established by William I of Aquitaine in 910 AD and grew into the largest Christian complex in the world, until the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. It was pillaged by the Huguenots in 1562 and later dynamited. Its richly carved stones were sold by an unscrupulous local priest. Today, some ten percent of the original structure remains, a haunting echo of its former self.

There’ll be time to explore the abbey and the town before cycling to your next hotel set amidst vineyards in a beautifully manicured park. At its center, you find an 17th-century castle. Once you settle in, there is time to relax and indulge in the hotel’s swimming pool and grounds.

Savor a special dinner this evening in the hotel’s inviting dining room overlooking the property. Your menu includes locally sourced products seasoned and cooked to perfection.

Today's Ride Choices

Mâcon to Cluny to Crêches sur Saône short option — 61 km (37 miles) | Cluny to Crêches sur Saône long option — 70 km (43 miles)

What to Expect:

Depart Mâcon on town streets for a few miles before joining a packed gravel bike path on a former railway line designated a greenway, or voie verte in French. The path gradually ascends out of the Saône River valley past small towns, villages and vineyards, with views of the castle of Berzé-le-Châtel. On the short option, you enter a long, lit tunnel for just under a mile and emerge at the other end in Cluny. Please note, if the Bois Clair tunnel is closed, please use the route “D3 Mâcon to Cluny when tunnel is closed” (31 km (19 miles)). On the long option, after riding through the Chardonnay wine-producing villages of Igé and Azé, a steady climb of just under 5 km (3 miles) is rewarded by a descent to the town of Massilly where you join the bike path to Cluny. After visiting Cluny, you retrace a few miles on a rolling ride generally descending back toward the Saône River valley.

Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Depart Crêches sur Saône and pedal into the heart of the finest vineyards of Beaujolais. Choose an easy or a more challenging ride, each one delivering you to the appellations and villages. Recognizable names of wines en route are Pouilly-Fuissé, whose only grape variety is the Chardonnay and Juliénas. No matter your route, you can’t miss the impressive Rock of Solutré, a breathtaking limestone escarpment offering stunning views of the Beaujolais region and its many vineyards. Also a fascinating prehistoric site, an illuminating museum chronicles the paleolithic inhabitatants. What’s more, the trails around the rock proved a favorite walking route of President François Mitterand.

Continue cycling through scenic, rolling vineyards, passing through delightful villages like Le Moulin à Vent and Romanèche-Thorins, with its scenic windmill. Later, you arrive at your accommodation for the next two nights, a château wine estate surrounded by 200 acres of vineyards and a 17th-century garden designed by Le Nôtre, the celebrated landscape architect of Versailles. Once settled into your comfortable room, you are welcome at an extra expense to follow the château’s self-guided wine trail, interesting for both wine aficionados and novices.

For dinner on your own, you may choose to dine at your hotel’s fine-dining restaurant (dinner is included here tomorrow night) or take the short taxi ride into the nearby historic town of Belleville. Here, you can view the 12th-century Notre Dame church and choose from suggested restaurants.

Today's Ride Choices

Château de la Barge to Château de Pizay short option — 29 km (18 miles) | Château de la Barge to Château de Pizay long option — 52 km (26 miles)

What to Expect:

The route rolls out of Crêches sur Saône on narrow roads, weaving in and out of vineyards and villages that have been producing wine for centuries.

The short option stays closer to the Saône Valley floor and you may encounter a bit more traffic  through vineyards and villages to your hotel in Belleville-en-Beaujolais.

The long option rises higher in the vineyards. Your efforts are rewarded with sweeping views over vineyards and the entire Saône Valley. Enjoy exhilarating descents, twisting through villages and hamlets to your hotel in Belleville-en-Beaujolais.

Included Meals: Breakfast

Spend today as you wish, taking advantage of the amenities and vinicultural offerings at your château, exploring more of Belleville or heading out on your choice of several exhilarating rides. Or enjoy a little of each!

If you choose to cycle, select from two routes. This part of southern Beaujolais contains 39 villages of Golden Stone, or Pierres dorées, a charming cluster of stone hamlets surrounded by vistas of rolling hills and fertile vineyards that many have compared to Tuscany. The buildings get their warm golden hue from the locally quarried limestone tinged with iron oxide. This luminous stone was used in the construction of Lyon and other parts of Beaujolais, taken from a quarry that has been abandoned since World War I.

A shorter ride keeps you “close to home,” ideal if you’d like an easy, mellow outing just to keep your legs moving. You cross the Saône and ride along a riverside bike path, then enjoy gentle hills through vineyards and villages. To get in more miles, follow a challenging spin on the voie verte, or greenway, to a bike path with a gradual ascent to 2,520 feet and a nice coast past more wineries and hamlets.

Back at the château, immerse yourself in the wine culture of Beaujolais. Enjoy a relaxing stroll along the vineyard’s walking trails, perhaps following the romantic “wine history walk in the park.” At an additional expense, attend a wine initiation course or a self-guided wine educational tour and tasting in the onsite Oenotheque. You might also take a dip in the heated outdoor swimming pool, get in a match at the tennis court and (at additional cost) treat yourself to a massage or other spa treatment.

An elegant dinner is included in the fine-dining restaurant of your château, a fitting end to celebrate your exploration of Beaujolais. Depending on the weather, enjoy the stylishly decorated historic dining room or dine al fresco in the castle’s courtyard.

Today's Ride Choices

Château de Pizay southern Beaujolais easy loop — 35 km (22 miles) | Château de Pizay to Beaujeu challenging option — 46 km (30 miles)

What to Expect:

This varied route rolls south out of your château to the nearby town of Belleville and crosses the Saône to a riverside bike path. You follow this for a few miles (between 8 and 10 km), just north of the Pierres dorées villagesthen cross back over the Saône and gently ascend through vineyards and villages. You reach your maximum elevation of approximately 1,000 feet at the 26-kilometer mark (15 miles), then gently roll back to the Ardiere River Valley, joining the Beaujolais Greenway back to your hotel.

The challenging option follows the voie verte (greenway) to Saint-Didier-sur-Beaujeu. You then trace a bike route with one gradual climb to the highest point of 2,520 feet at about kilometer 25.8 (16 miles). A gradual descent brings you back through Quincie-en-Beaujolais, on the northern edge of the Pierres dorées villages, and into an easy coast through vineyards and villages to your hotel.

Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Enjoy breakfast at your hotel. Check-out is at 10:00 a.m. when complimentary transportation of about 45 minutes is provided to the Hotel Carlton Lyon MGallery by Sofitel, in the heart of Lyon. Your hotel is located on the Presqu’île, where the city’s major sites of interest are found. VBT provides you with city information and recommendations for what to see and do in Lyon. Use the rest of the day to relax or to begin exploring.

France’s gastronomic capital is renowned for its coq au vin, or chicken with wine, and quenelles de brochet, or pike mousse. Lyon’s 1,235 acres (500 hectares) have been named a UNESCO World Heritage site, and its streets and their stately structures reveal the city’s 2,000 years of urban development. The heart of the city lies on a thin peninsula between the Rhône and Saône rivers. It’s easy to imagine canuts, or silk merchants of old, zigzagging through the maze of Old World streets, cutting through the purpose-built narrow passageways known as traboules. Much of the city is a UNESCO World Heritage site, renowned as an urban “site of great commercial and strategic significance.” After exploring these intimate warrens of Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon), you might ascend Fourvière Hill, where the splendid Basilique de Notre Dame gazes out over the city.

Included Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast this morning, allow yourself a minimum of three hours prior to your flight departure to get to Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport.

Included Meals: Breakfast

We suggest arriving in France at least one day prior to the tour start date. Make your own independent travel arrangements to Mâcon. For details, refer to your Vacation Preparation Handbook.

Meet your VBT Local Host at 2:00 p.m. in the lobby of Hotel & Spa Panorama 360, along with any other VBT guests, for your Welcome Orientation. Please be dressed and ready for cycling. If your room is not ready at the time of the meeting, there will be time to prepare afterward. Your Local Host will be carrying a VBT sign and/or wearing VBT apparel.

You’ll be spending the next three nights at Hotel & Spa Panorama 360, a sleek and modern retreat located in the heart of Mâcon. This contemporary four-star hotel features a rooftop bar with panoramic views, a full-service spa, and well-appointed guest rooms—offering comfort and convenience in a central location.

Today’s ride into the Beaujolais region—nestled in southern Burgundy—offers a preview of this scenic area, renowned for its culinary splendors and rich viniculture of light-bodied red wines and bright whites. Though it is one of the least crowded wine regions in France, it boasts one of the nation’s highest concentrations of vineyards, world-class gastronomy, charming villages, a Mediterranean-like climate, and gently rolling hills. It all adds up to some of the most rewarding cycling in Europe.

You’ll depart from your Mâcon hotel and follow the Saône River bike path through a region that lies between Burgundy to the north and the Rhône Valley to the south. The Romans began cultivating vineyards here in the 1st century, some of which still thrive today. Benedictine monks later maintained the tradition until the Duchy of Burgundy assumed control in the 15th century.

Mâcon is also the birthplace of 19th-century poet and diplomat Alphonse de Lamartine. The town’s pastel-hued buildings line the Saône River and are especially picturesque in spring when the cherry blossoms bloom. Today’s riverside ride is the perfect introduction to the region’s natural and cultural beauty.

This evening, enjoy your first taste of Burgundian cuisine—perhaps sampling the famed boeuf bourguignon in its birthplace, paired with a light Gamay or Pinot Gris.

Today's Ride Choices

Mâcon Loop — 27 km (17 miles)

What to Expect:

This ride gives you the opportunity to get comfortable with your bike as you follow fairly flat bike lanes through city streets and pedal out of Mâcon, passing low-elevation wine villages and vineyards along the west bank of the Saône River. Midway, you’ll encounter two gentle ascents before crossing the river and returning via a low-traffic, mostly flat bike path. The final stretch—less than three miles—is on a well-packed gravel surface that leads back to the center of Mâcon.

Included Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast, you depart Mâcon on a dedicated bike path, heading west on a gentle uphill out of the Saône River Valley. Your destination is the historic town of Cluny, once the spiritual center of Europe during the Middle Ages. The former abbey, founded by William I of Aquitaine in 910 AD, became the largest Christian complex in the world—surpassing all others until the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Though much of it was destroyed—first pillaged by the Huguenots in 1562 and later dismantled and dynamited—its historical significance remains immense. Its ornately carved stones were sold off by a local priest, yet around ten percent of the original structure still stands, offering a haunting and awe-inspiring glimpse into its former grandeur.

You’ll have time to explore the remains of the abbey, stroll through Cluny’s charming town center, and perhaps enjoy a light lunch at a local café.

Later, cycle back to Mâcon, where your evening is free to dine at your leisure. Consider a stroll along the Saône River promenade, and enjoy dinner at one of the many inviting restaurants or bistros offering regional specialties and local wines.

Today's Ride Choices

Mâcon to Cluny Short Option — 30 km (18 miles) OR Mâcon to Cluny Long Option — 39 km (24 miles)

Cluny to Mâcon Short Option — 30 km (18 miles) OR Cluny to Mâcon Long Option — 39 km (24 miles)

What to Expect:

Depart Mâcon on town streets for a few miles before joining a packed gravel bike path along a former railway line designated as a greenway—voie verte in French. The path gradually ascends out of the Saône River Valley, passing small towns, villages, and vineyards, with scenic views of the Château de Berzé-le-Châtel. On the short option, you’ll enter the Bois Clair Rail Trail Bike Tunnel—a long, lit tunnel just under a mile in length—and emerge on the other side in Cluny. Please note: If the Bois Clair Tunnel is closed, use the alternate route titled “D2 Mâcon to Cluny when tunnel is closed” (31 km / 19 miles). On the long option, after cycling through the wine-producing villages of Igé and Azé, a steady climb of just under 5 km (3 miles) is rewarded with a descent into the town of Massilly, where you’ll rejoin the bike path leading into Cluny. After your visit to Cluny, retrace your route back to Mâcon.

Included Meals: Breakfast

If you wish, take today to explore the Burgundian city of Mâcon. Stroll its cobbled streets, stopping at any of its inviting cafés to soak in the old-world atmosphere. The city is home to an array of churches, from the Old Mâcon Cathedral to the newer Cathedral of Saint-Vincent. Or cross the Pont Saint-Laurent to the small village of Saint-Laurent-sur-Saône.

On the bike, we offer a couple of ways for you to—as the locals say—follow the grape! Pedal the flat Voie Bleue bike path, which traces the banks of the Saône. Varied birdlife keeps you company on this tranquil route. You’ll then leave the river behind and cycle into the wine country where the Chardonnay grape is grown, arriving in the charming hamlet of Viré. This village was put on oenophiles’ maps after it partnered with its neighbor, Clessé, to create the Viré-Clessé appellation—today a producer of some of the region’s finest wines.

The longer option today brings you past vistas of massive rocky outcrops to a small village whose name is synonymous with one of the world’s most popular white wines: Chardonnay. The earliest record of Chardonnay wine dates to 1330, likely around the time local Cistercian monks developed the variety and distributed it throughout France. To protect their vineyards, the monks built stone walls, and soon a village of stone houses emerged around the lavoir (a stream-fed wash-house) and several domaines (wine producers).

Today's Ride Choices

Mâcon to Viré Short Loop — 40 km (25 miles) OR Mâcon to Chardonnay Long Loop — 59 km (37 miles)

What to Expect:

Depart Mâcon in the morning, following the La Voie Bleue bike path north along the Saône River to the winemaking town of Viré. The longer loop continues through rolling vineyards into the town of Chardonnay. Both loops return south on country roads and through villages to Mâcon, where you rejoin bike lanes and encounter some busier traffic as you approach your city-center hotel.

Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Depart Mâcon and pedal into the heart of the finest vineyards of Beaujolais. Choose from an easy or more challenging ride, each delivering you to famed appellations and picturesque villages. You’ll pass through the Pouilly-Fuissé region, where Chardonnay is the sole grape variety, and Juliénas, known for its robust reds. No matter your route, you won’t miss the impressive Rock of Solutré—a dramatic limestone escarpment offering panoramic views over the Beaujolais region and its many vineyards. A nearby museum reveals the area’s fascinating prehistoric past, once inhabited by Paleolithic peoples. The trails around the rock were also a favorite walking route of President François Mitterrand.

Continue cycling through scenic, rolling vineyards, passing through charming villages like Le Moulin-à-Vent and Romanèche-Thorins, noted for its scenic windmill. Later, arrive at your accommodation for the next two nights: Château de Pizay, a striking wine estate surrounded by 200 acres of vineyards and featuring a 17th-century garden designed by Le Nôtre, the landscape architect of Versailles. The château combines historic grandeur with modern comforts and features a renowned wine cellar, spa, and self-guided wine trail (available at an additional cost), ideal for wine enthusiasts and casual sippers alike.

Dinner tonight is included at the château’s fine-dining restaurant—also the setting for tomorrow’s dinner.

Today's Ride Choices

Hotel & Spa Panorama 360 to Château de Pizay Short Option — 29 km (18 miles) OR Hotel & Spa Panorama 360 to Château de Pizay Long Option — 52 km (26 miles)

What to Expect:

The route rolls out of Mâcon on narrow roads, weaving through vineyards and villages that have been producing wine for centuries. The short option stays closer to the Saône Valley floor, where you may encounter a bit more traffic as you pass through vineyards and villages en route to your hotel in Belleville-en-Beaujolais. The long option climbs higher into the vineyards. Your efforts are rewarded with sweeping views over the vine-covered slopes and the entire Saône Valley. Enjoy exhilarating descents as you twist through scenic hamlets and villages before arriving at your hotel in Belleville-en-Beaujolais.

Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Spend the day as you wish, whether enjoying the amenities and vinicultural offerings at your château, exploring more of Belleville, or heading out on one of several invigorating rides—or a little of each!

If you choose to cycle, select from two routes. This part of southern Beaujolais is home to 39 Golden Stone villages, or Pierres dorées—a charming cluster of hilltop hamlets surrounded by rolling vineyards, often compared to Tuscany. The buildings’ warm golden hue comes from locally quarried limestone, naturally tinted with iron oxide. This luminous stone was used in the construction of Lyon and many Beaujolais towns, sourced from a quarry abandoned since World War I.

A shorter ride keeps you close to home—ideal if you’re looking for a mellow outing to stretch your legs. Cross the Saône and follow a riverside bike path, then meander through gentle hills and peaceful villages. For more mileage, opt for a challenging spin on the voie verte (greenway), climbing gradually to 2,520 feet before coasting past wineries and hamlets back to your hotel.

Back at the château, immerse yourself in the wine culture of Beaujolais. Take a stroll along the vineyard trails, perhaps following the romantic “wine history walk in the park.” At additional cost, you can participate in a wine initiation course or embark on a self-guided tasting in the onsite Oenothèque. You may also choose to relax by the heated outdoor pool, enjoy a match on the tennis court, or indulge in a massage or spa treatment.

An elegant dinner is included this evening at the château’s fine-dining restaurant—a fitting finale to your time in Beaujolais. Weather permitting, dine al fresco in the castle courtyard or enjoy the stylishly restored historic dining room.

Today's Ride Choices

Château de Pizay: Southern Beaujolais Easy Loop — 35 km (22 miles) | Château de Pizay to Beaujeu: Challenging Option — 46 km (30 miles)

What to Expect:

This varied route rolls south from your château to the nearby town of Belleville, crossing the Saône to follow a riverside bike path for 8 to 10 km just north of the Pierres Dorées villages. You then cross back over the Saône and gently ascend through vineyards and villages, reaching your maximum elevation of approximately 1,000 feet at the 26-kilometer mark (15 miles), before rolling back to the Ardière River Valley and rejoining the Beaujolais Greenway to your hotel. The challenging option follows the voie verte (Greenway) to Saint-Didier-sur-Beaujeu, then traces a bike route with a gradual climb to the highest point of 2,520 feet at about kilometer 25.8 (16 miles). From here, a steady descent brings you through Quincié-en-Beaujolais, on the northern edge of the Pierres Dorées villages, and finishes with an easy coast through vineyards and hamlets to your hotel.

Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Enjoy breakfast at your hotel. Check-out is at 10:00 a.m. Your tour concludes here, and you may make your own arrangements to your next destination. For details, refer to your Vacation Preparation Handbook. If you are flying home, please note that airline schedules might prevent you from departing for the U.S. today. Be sure to check schedules carefully. If you plan to schedule return flights immediately following the tour’s conclusion, we recommend contacting your airline directly for specific check-in requirements.

The Belleville-en-Beaujolais train station, located on the main rail line between Paris and Lyon, is a short taxi ride from your hotel. Hotel staff can assist with arranging transportation.

Included Meals: Breakfast

We suggest arriving in France at least one day prior to the tour start date. Make your own independent travel arrangements to Mâcon.

Today’s ride into the Beaujolais region – nestled in South Burgundy – provides a preview of this scenic area renowned for its culinary splendors and rich viniculture of light-bodied red wines and bright whites. This is the least crowded wine region of France, despite that it boasts one of the nation’s highest concentrations of vineyards, a world-renowned gastronomy, endless charming villages, a Mediterranean-like climate and gently rolling hills. It all makes for some of the most rewarding cycling in Europe, as you’ll soon discover.

You set out from your Mâcon hotel and follow the Saône River bike path. This stunning region rests between Burgundy to the north and the Rhône valley to the south. Romans arrived here in the 1st century, cultivating vast vineyards; some of their original plantings remain to this day. Later, Benedictine monks oversaw the wineries until the Duchy of Burgundy took them over in the 15th century. Mâcon is celebrated as the birthplace of Alphonse Lamartine, 19th-century poet and diplomat. Today, a pastiche of pastel-hued buildings line the Saône, made even more magnificent each spring when the cherry blossoms bloom. Your riverside ride introduces you to all its beauty and charm.

This evening, savor your first experience of Burgundian cuisine, perhaps sampling the famed beef bourguignon in its birthplace, accompanied by a light Gamay or Pinot gris.

Today's Ride Choices

Mâcon loop — 27 km (17 miles)

What to Expect:

This ride will give you the opportunity to become familiar with your bike as you cycle the fairly flat bike lanes of city streets and pedal out of Mâcon through some lower elevation wine villages and vineyards to the west bank of the Saône River. You encounter two gentle ascents mid-way, then cross the Saône River and follow the fairly flat, low-traffic bike path back (under three miles on well-packed gravel) to the center of Mâcon.

Included Meals: Breakfast

If you wish, take today to explore the Burgundian city of Mâcon. Stroll its cobbled streets, stopping at any of its inviting cafés to drink up the old-world atmosphere. The city is home to an array of churches of all sizes, from the Old Mâcon Cathedral to the newer Cathedral of Saint-Vincent. Or cross the Pont Saint-Laurent to the small village of Saint-Laurent-Sur-Saône.

On the bike, we have a couple of ways for you to, as the locals say, follow the grape! Pedal the flat Voie Bleue bike path, tracing the banks of the Saône. Varied birdlife keeps you company on this tranquil route. You leave the river behind to cycle into the wine country where the Chardonnay grape is grown and soon get to Viré. This charming hamlet was put on oenophiles’ maps after it partnered with its neighbor, Clessé, to create the Viré-Clessé appellation, today a producer of one of the region’s finest wines.

Today’s longer option takes you past vistas of massive rocky outcrops to a small village whose name is synonymous with one of the world’s most popular white wines: Chardonnay. The earliest record of Chardonnay wine dates to 1330, likely around the time when local Cistercian monks created the variety and distributed it throughout France. To protect their vineyards, the monks constructed stone walls; soon, a village of stone houses emerged around the lavoir, a stream-fed wash-house, and several domaines (wine producers).

Today's Ride Choices

Mâcon to Viré short loop — 40 km (25 miles) | Mâcon to Chardonnay long loop — 59 km (37 miles)

What to Expect:

Depart Mâcon in the morning, following the La Voie Bleue bike path north along the Saône River to the wine-making town of Viré. The long loop continues through rolling vineyards into the town of Chardonnay. Both loops return south on country roads and through villages to Mâcon, where you join bike lanes and encounter some busier traffic as you return to your city-center hotel.

Included Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast, you depart Mâcon on a dedicated bike path, heading west on a gentle uphill out of the Saône River Valley. Your destination is the historic town of Cluny, the center of Christianity in the Middle Ages. The former abbey here was established by William I of Aquitaine in 910 AD and grew into the largest Christian complex in the world, until the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. It was pillaged by the Huguenots in 1562 and later dynamited. Its richly carved stones were sold by an unscrupulous local priest. Today, some ten percent of the original structure remains, a haunting echo of its former self.

There’ll be time to explore the abbey and the town before cycling to your next hotel set amidst vineyards in a beautifully manicured park. At its center, you find an 17th-century castle. Once you settle in, there is time to relax and indulge in the hotel’s swimming pool and grounds.

Savor a special dinner this evening in the hotel’s inviting dining room overlooking the property. Your menu includes locally sourced products seasoned and cooked to perfection.

Today's Ride Choices

Mâcon to Cluny to Crêches sur Saône short option — 61 km (37 miles) | Cluny to Crêches sur Saône long option — 70 km (43 miles)

What to Expect:

Depart Mâcon on town streets for a few miles before joining a packed gravel bike path on a former railway line designated a greenway, or voie verte in French. The path gradually ascends out of the Saône River valley past small towns, villages and vineyards, with views of the castle of Berzé-le-Châtel. On the short option, you enter a long, lit tunnel for just under a mile and emerge at the other end in Cluny. Please note, if the Bois Clair tunnel is closed, please use the route “D3 Mâcon to Cluny when tunnel is closed” (31 km (19 miles)). On the long option, after riding through the Chardonnay wine-producing villages of Igé and Azé, a steady climb of just under 5 km (3 miles) is rewarded by a descent to the town of Massilly where you join the bike path to Cluny. After visiting Cluny, you retrace a few miles on a rolling ride generally descending back toward the Saône River valley.

Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Depart Crêches sur Saône and pedal into the heart of the finest vineyards of Beaujolais. Choose an easy or a more challenging ride, each one delivering you to the appellations and villages. Recognizable names of wines en route are Pouilly-Fuissé, whose only grape variety is the Chardonnay and Juliénas. No matter your route, you can’t miss the impressive Rock of Solutré, a breathtaking limestone escarpment offering stunning views of the Beaujolais region and its many vineyards. Also a fascinating prehistoric site, an illuminating museum chronicles the paleolithic inhabitatants. What’s more, the trails around the rock proved a favorite walking route of President François Mitterand.

Continue cycling through scenic, rolling vineyards, passing through delightful villages like Le Moulin à Vent and Romanèche-Thorins, with its scenic windmill. Later, you arrive at your accommodation for the next two nights, a château wine estate surrounded by 200 acres of vineyards and a 17th-century garden designed by Le Nôtre, the celebrated landscape architect of Versailles. Once settled into your comfortable room, you are welcome at an extra expense to follow the château’s self-guided wine trail, interesting for both wine aficionados and novices.

For dinner on your own, you may choose to dine at your hotel’s fine-dining restaurant (dinner is included here tomorrow night) or take the short taxi ride into the nearby historic town of Belleville. Here, you can view the 12th-century Notre Dame church and choose from suggested restaurants.

Today's Ride Choices

Château de la Barge to Château de Pizay short option — 29 km (18 miles) | Château de la Barge to Château de Pizay long option — 52 km (26 miles)

What to Expect:

The route rolls out of Crêches sur Saône on narrow roads, weaving in and out of vineyards and villages that have been producing wine for centuries.

The short option stays closer to the Saône Valley floor and you may encounter a bit more traffic  through vineyards and villages to your hotel in Belleville-en-Beaujolais.

The long option rises higher in the vineyards. Your efforts are rewarded with sweeping views over vineyards and the entire Saône Valley. Enjoy exhilarating descents, twisting through villages and hamlets to your hotel in Belleville-en-Beaujolais.

Included Meals: Breakfast

Spend today as you wish, taking advantage of the amenities and vinicultural offerings at your château, exploring more of Belleville or heading out on your choice of several exhilarating rides. Or enjoy a little of each!

If you choose to cycle, select from two routes. This part of southern Beaujolais contains 39 villages of Golden Stone, or Pierres dorées, a charming cluster of stone hamlets surrounded by vistas of rolling hills and fertile vineyards that many have compared to Tuscany. The buildings get their warm golden hue from the locally quarried limestone tinged with iron oxide. This luminous stone was used in the construction of Lyon and other parts of Beaujolais, taken from a quarry that has been abandoned since World War I.

A shorter ride keeps you “close to home,” ideal if you’d like an easy, mellow outing just to keep your legs moving. You cross the Saône and ride along a riverside bike path, then enjoy gentle hills through vineyards and villages. To get in more miles, follow a challenging spin on the voie verte, or greenway, to a bike path with a gradual ascent to 2,520 feet and a nice coast past more wineries and hamlets.

Back at the château, immerse yourself in the wine culture of Beaujolais. Enjoy a relaxing stroll along the vineyard’s walking trails, perhaps following the romantic “wine history walk in the park.” At an additional expense, attend a wine initiation course or a self-guided wine educational tour and tasting in the onsite Oenotheque. You might also take a dip in the heated outdoor swimming pool, get in a match at the tennis court and (at additional cost) treat yourself to a massage or other spa treatment.

An elegant dinner is included in the fine-dining restaurant of your château, a fitting end to celebrate your exploration of Beaujolais. Depending on the weather, enjoy the stylishly decorated historic dining room or dine al fresco in the castle’s courtyard.

Today's Ride Choices

Château de Pizay southern Beaujolais easy loop — 35 km (22 miles) | Château de Pizay to Beaujeu challenging option — 46 km (30 miles)

What to Expect:

This varied route rolls south out of your château to the nearby town of Belleville and crosses the Saône to a riverside bike path. You follow this for a few miles (between 8 and 10 km), just north of the Pierres dorées villagesthen cross back over the Saône and gently ascend through vineyards and villages. You reach your maximum elevation of approximately 1,000 feet at the 26-kilometer mark (15 miles), then gently roll back to the Ardiere River Valley, joining the Beaujolais Greenway back to your hotel.

The challenging option follows the voie verte (greenway) to Saint-Didier-sur-Beaujeu. You then trace a bike route with one gradual climb to the highest point of 2,520 feet at about kilometer 25.8 (16 miles). A gradual descent brings you back through Quincie-en-Beaujolais, on the northern edge of the Pierres dorées villages, and into an easy coast through vineyards and villages to your hotel.

Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Enjoy breakfast at your hotel. Check-out is at 10:00 a.m. Your tour concludes here, and you may make your arrangements to your next destination. If you are flying home, note that airline schedules might prevent you from departing for the U.S. today. Please check airline schedules carefully.

The Belleville-en-Beaujolais train station on the main train line between Paris and Lyon is a short taxi ride from your hotel, which can assist with arrangements.

Included Meals: Breakfast