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Travel Guide to the Beaujolais Wine Region
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items Beaujolais is France’s best kept tourism secret. Known locally as “la petite Toscane” – “little Tuscany” – it is an absolutely magnificent region with incredible people, wine, food, and views for days. And it’s rebounding. After decades of being over...
Map
Sections
3
Restaurants + Wine Bars
Favorite Wineries
Attractions
Restaurants + Wine Bars
Everyone loves this local watering hole and several people recommended it to us when we first arrived, so we stopped by for lunch on our first full day in the region. This place is an institution and the food is fabulous. It is a little on the pricie...
Le Coq à Juliénas,
Talk about a view! This place is perched right on top of a beautiful hill and overlooks several of the crus of Beaujolais. You can even see Mont Blanc and the Alps on a clear day! Service is superb and the food is great – especially when paired with ...
La Terrasse | Chiroubles
This place is a local favorite, especially for those with kids. It’s a more casual, relaxed ambiance and their specialty is pizza. As the name might suggest, the restaurant is right in the middle of the Morgon village so it’s a perfect place to go to...
Restaurant Le Morgon
Nestled right on a hilltop in the heart of Oingt, one of France’s most beautiful villages, La Table du Donjon has some of the best, classic French food we ate during our time in Beaujolais. The menu is curated and top-notch – you won’t have to ask me...
La table du donjon - Oingt
Tucked away in a 3-star hotel in Romanèche-Thorins, the Rouge & Blanc restaurant is situated right in the middle of a hectare and a half of vines, so you really do feel like you’re in the heart of Beaujolais. It features a modern French menu with...
Rouge & Blanc
An affordably-priced restaurant with great food (especially dessert!) and a wine shop on site. Great for lunch or dinner in between wine tastings in Morgon!
La Maison des Beaujolais
If you're looking for more fine-dining fare, l'Auberge du Cep is the place to go. It's a 1-Michelin starred restaurant in the heart of Fleurie with a lovely, chic ambiance.
L’Auberge du Cep
Favorite Wineries
Beaujolais is home to thousands of wineries and cooperatives, but I've highlighted here ones that are open to visits and tastings with consumers (versus just opening their doors for the trade, which is the case for many top producers in the region).
Domaines Chermette represents significant family-owned holdings in not just the south of Beaujolais but Beaujolais crus to the north as well. This winemaking family can trace its heritage in the wine world to the nineteenth century, but they are cons...
Famille Chermette - Wines and Crus Beaujolais
This domaine has a fascinating history going all the way back to the 18th century, but is now under new ownership with Edouard Parinet. Edouard has grand plans for the domaine’s future and has an eye toward modernity: the wines are all farmed organic...
Château du Moulin-à-Vent,
After nearly 100 years of family winemaking, this group’s ambition to modernize and re-invest in Beaujolais is nothing short of inspiring. The family recently acquired Château de Pougelon, a 300-year-old bourgeois home, and they are in the middle of ...
Château de Pougelon (Famille Descombe)
A veritable museum of and for Beaujolais, Maison Jean Loron is the seat of the region’s trade association, Interbeaujolais, so it should come as no surprise that the offices and tasting rooms are home to a massive set of topographical maps and an eno...
Maison Jean Loron
These Beaujolais are simply classic. Their grounds are stunning and home to one of the biggest and oldest cellars in the region. Practicing lutte raisonnée like many of their counterparts in Beaujolais, Château Thivin is also incorporating other elem...
Château Thivin
The Chardigny family has had their hand in or ownership of vines since the 18th century but never quite had a domaine of their own, until recently when the three brothers decided to create their label in 2013. Deeply committed to organic and biodynam...
Domaine Chardigny
Mee’s six hectares of Gamay are focused on some of the most unique plots in Morgon, but the singularity of her wines are tied to her philosophy and life story. She makes (in my humble opinion) the best Morgon in the region. Her Morgon Corcelette was ...
Domaine Mee Godard
A beautiful castled in the heart of Beaujolais. The wines here are just as exceptional as the warmth of the tourism and the people that work there!
Château de la Chaize
Attractions
Oingt-en-Beaujolais is a MUST visit while in the region. Voted one of the most beautiful villages in France, Oingt is a medieval town constructed with the famous pierres dorées of Beaujolais. It has absolutely breathtaking views overlooking southern ...
Oingt | One of France's Most Beautiful Villages
If you love hiking, this hike to top of Mount Brouilly, the tallest in the region, will satisfy your thirst for adventure! You can also drive to the top just to take in the views if that's more your speed. Vineyards will surround you so it's an absol...
Mont Brouilly
This 10th century abbey is an architectural marvel and a great way to learn more about the history of this stunning region.
Salles-Arbuissonnas et le dernier cloître roman du Rhône
Fleurie is at the heart of the Beaujolais region and was one of my favorite little towns to walk through. Don't miss a quick drive up to La Madone, a stunning church surrounded by vineyards, at the top of the hill.
Fleurie | La Madone
If you need a little break from wineries, head down to Villefranche and check out this museum to admire art curated by a local art collector.
Paul Dini Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art