The Beaujolais region in France is world-renowned for its breathtaking landscapes and exquisite wines. One of the best ways to enjoy all of this is on foot. This is especially true in autumn, when it’s a marvellous experience. During this time, the vines and forests are cloaked in an enchanting palette of colours. The walk “Circuit entre Vignes et Bois” near Fleurie offers precisely this experience. This well-marked 16-kilometre walking route runs through the famous Beaujolais vineyards, lush forests, and past an old chapel. The breathtaking view of the village of Fleurie and the surrounding wine region is magnificent.
Normally, we take our autumn walks in our own country. But now that we’ve discovered this region, we want to return more often. Because in addition to enjoying a delightful autumn walk near Fleurie, the Beaujolais offers a great diversity of unique wine estates. Both nature lovers and wine enthusiasts can thus fully indulge themselves in the Beaujolais.
Fleurie and its famous wines
Fleurie is a picturesque village in the heart of the Beaujolais wine region, known for its eponymous red wine. With only a few hundred inhabitants, Fleurie has a charming, tranquil atmosphere. It is home to some of the most esteemed Crus of the Beaujolais, particularly known for their delicate aromas and smooth taste that make this wine so beloved.
The wine from Fleurie is made from the Gamay grape. The unique granite subsoil, climate, and location ensure that the wines of Fleurie have an elegant character. The winemakers in this region have had the art of winemaking at their fingertips for centuries and maintain traditions. For instance, almost all grapes are harvested by hand.
Fleurie attracts wine lovers from all over the world throughout the year, but the village and its surroundings are perhaps at their most beautiful in autumn. Then the vines change colour to a beautiful mixture of brown, orange, red, and gold. This creates a magical contrast with the deep blue autumn light and the green hills.
Our autumn walk in Fleurie
We arrive early in Fleurie, as we want to have time to take in the beautiful views. Moreover, the weather is splendid. A single white cloud on the horizon, but otherwise plenty of sunshine. We hope to stock up on some treats for the journey at the local bakery. There’s no opportunity to have lunch or a drink anywhere along the route. Unfortunately, the baker is closed today. Luckily, the tobacco and magazine shop comes to our rescue: this shop is today’s “Dépôt de Pain”. We buy some cold meats at the adjacent butcher’s. The supermarket a bit further down can provide us with cheese. We’re ready to go!
Marked autumn walk in Fleurie
From the centre, we walk a short distance along the provincial road. Fortunately, we soon come across the first marking. We turn right and walk along an undulating path directly between the vineyards. It’s ideal that this autumn walk in Fleurie is perfectly marked. We only need to follow the green arrows. And they are so clearly indicated everywhere that it’s virtually impossible to go wrong.
The path rises gently all the time. And with each step, the view of Fleurie becomes more beautiful. The church tower immediately stands out, rising high above the houses. The hills around Fleurie offer a beautiful view of the endless rows of vines. At this time of year, the leaves have all sorts of hues. Brown, orange, red, and golden leaves glitter in the sunlight.
The grape harvest time has already passed. Yet, in various places, there are still bunches of grapes hanging on the vines. They look full and juicy, but we leave them hanging. That changes after we meet a winemaker in the field. He tells us that these grapes only grew significantly after the harvest. These grapes are left hanging, as it’s too much work to pick them. “So help yourself to our grapes,” he says with a laugh. We don’t need to be told twice. They taste deliciously sweet and are indeed full of juice.
What peace!
We marvel at the tranquillity during this autumn walk in Fleurie. The weather is so beautiful, the autumn colours are fantastic, yet we walk almost alone among the vineyards. Just at that moment, another couple of walkers passes us by. They’re walking at a brisk pace and quickly disappear from view. Once again, we have the area to ourselves. We keep taking photos. The panoramic views of the vineyards and the wider surroundings are fantastic.
Into the forest on the autumn walk in Fleurie
After all the winding paths through the vineyards, the landscape changes. We gradually walk into the forest. Via a narrow and sometimes steep path, we climb to the highest point of our journey, the Pic de Rémont. It’s a bit of a struggle on the rising and rocky path, but after about ten minutes, the climbing is over. In the forest, we experience the autumn colours a bit less. There are many coniferous trees, and the deciduous trees still have relatively green leaves. These leaves significantly temper the sunlight. This provides some cooling on this warm day.
Here we encounter more walkers: grandpa and grandma with their four grandchildren. It’s autumn holiday in France, and probably the grandparents are allowed to look after the children while the parents are at work. For the children, this doesn’t seem to be a problem; they’re joking around with their grandpa and running from one place to another.
Then we gradually descend. The forest becomes more open, and the vineyards come back into view. Shortly after we’ve left the forest completely behind us, we reach a shelter. An ideal spot for a cup of coffee and tea, lovely in the sunshine.
We continue our walk, refreshed, along the undulating vineyards. The view remains consistently beautiful. The hilly landscape with the autumn hues is still impressive. In the distance lie small villages and wine estates. It’s beautiful here!
Picnic by the forest
After about three-quarters of an hour of walking, we reach another forest. The picnic table looks so inviting in the sunshine that we have to stop. At the edge of the Avenas forest, we take our fresh baguettes out of the backpack. With some ham and cheese, we make it a tasty picnic. Strengthened, we continue our route. We make a small round through the Avenas forest. The first part is a bit dull. We can see little and walk on a forest path between the trees. Later, the terrain becomes more open, and we have a better view of the vineyards and the surrounding landscape. This makes this part much more interesting. Every few hundred metres, we come across high lookout posts. Probably for hunters, and forbidden for us to climb.
A little further on, we reach an information board with various walking routes. As we study the board, it appears that our route also passes a chapel. We’ve seen this chapel several times in the distance during our autumn walk in Fleurie. Now we know that we can also admire this sanctuary up close. The building is located on a hill, so undoubtedly we’ll have another beautiful view of the surroundings there.
Chapel of Madonna
We zigzag down along the vineyards. Occasionally, we pick another bunch of grapes. Now that we’ve heard from the winemaker that this is allowed, we’re thoroughly enjoying the fruit. An older man is busy working in a vineyard a bit further on. He greets us most cordially. With his scissors, he’s pruning the bushes of a vineyard that is owned by the community. He’s long retired, but this work keeps him young, he tells us.
Then we climb a few more metres. We reach the “Chapelle de la Madone”, or the Chapel of Madonna. Beautifully situated among the vineyards, the chapel towers high above the surroundings. The eye-catcher is the white statue of Mary atop the chapel tower. Unfortunately, the structure from 1880 is not open; we have to make do with a glimpse through the bars. Another view makes up for a lot. In the distance, we can discern the Alps. We can even distinguish Mont Blanc. How fortunate we are today with this beautiful weather!
From the chapel, we walk a bit further northward and from there to the hill of Montgenas. Once again, we encounter a winemaker. He is busy removing the protective sleeves from the young vines. They are now old and strong enough to grow into mature vines on their own.
Before we begin our descent to Fleurie, we let the landscape sink in one more time. This panorama never gets boring, we contentedly conclude. After we’ve had our fill of the view, we slowly walk back to the village. What a delightful autumn walk in Fleurie this has been!
Relaxing in Fleurie
The sunny terrace of Chez Paulette looks inviting. An ideal place to conclude this walk with a nice drink. Of course, it will be a Beaujolais, a white one at that. White wines are rarer in this region. More than 90% of the wine consists of red varieties. Fortunately, there is also an increasing number of wine estates focusing on the production of white wine. We savour it, cheers!
Afterwards, we take a short stroll through the quiet village. We take a look inside the beautiful church. Especially the richly decorated pulpit and the stained-glass windows are beautiful. Then it’s time to get in the car and drive back to our lovely accommodation in Chiroubles. There, the jacuzzi with a view of the vineyards awaits us. An ideal way to relax our muscles after this fantastic autumn walk in Fleurie.
FAQs about the autumn walk in Fleurie
The route we took is 16 kilometres in total. The course is gently undulating over good paths throughout. The first part through the forest runs over a narrow and steep path. This climb lasts about 10 minutes, after which the path becomes wider and less steep.
There is also a shorter route, which is about 12 kilometres long. For the real enthusiast, there is also a 25-kilometre circular walk around Fleurie. All walks are marked with their own unique colour. The following photo shows the various walking options.
The walk starts at the church square in Fleurie. This is also a good place to park your car. The first 400 metres you walk along the provincial road D68 towards Chenas. You'll soon come across the pole with the green marking and turn right onto the path. From that moment on, the route is perfectly marked.
Yes, this walk is entirely marked with a green arrow. There are also other marked walks, which have a different colour. For this described walk, always follow the green marking. We also had a GPS track, but it wasn't entirely accurate at the beginning. For example, it indicates an earlier turn-off on the provincial road at the start. Thanks to the good marking, the GPS track isn't really necessary.
No, there is no opportunity to drink or eat anywhere. Therefore, bring your own provisions for the journey. There is a good bakery in Fleurie. It's closed on Wednesdays, but then you can buy bread at the "Dépôt de Pain" across the street at the tobacco and magazine shop. Next to that shop, you'll find a butcher for toppings. Opposite the church is a small supermarket to stock up on some provisions as well.
Along the way, you'll come across a "shelter hut" where you can enjoy your lunch. A bit further on, at the Avenas forest, you'll find an outdoor picnic spot.
In Fleurie, you can have a drink afterwards, for example at the cosy Chez Paulette or the adjacent Auberge la Bascule. Auberge Du Cep is the address for an exceptional gastronomic treat during dinner.
We stayed at La Suite in Chiroubles, a few minutes' drive from Fleurie. This is a great accommodation with beautiful decor and a host who provides a perfect breakfast. It's equipped with luxurious furnishings where you can also prepare meals yourself if you wish. After the walk, we could pamper our muscles in the jacuzzi on the terrace overlooking the vineyards, wonderful!
We also spent a night in Julienas at La Maison de Bruno. This B&B is located in the middle of the vineyards. The rooms are great, and so is the service from the host. It was delightful to wake up to the smell of freshly baked croissants. From the B&B, we had a beautiful view of Julienas. It's about a 15-minute drive to Fleurie.
These are other accommodations in and around Fleurie.
We visited the Beaujolais at the invitation of Beaujolais Tourisme. This autumn walk in Fleurie was also included in the programme. We have written this blog independently and objectively based on our own impressions.
