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Beaujolais Tours › The Beaujolais with Kids and Non-Drinkers: Ages, Grape Juice and VillagesUpdated 2026-09-25

The Beaujolais with Kids and Non-Drinkers: Ages, Grape Juice and Villages

Hours, prices and access verified by the Beaujolais Tours team — last checked 2026-09-25.

A small golden-stone chapel with a slate spire in evening light

The short answer. Yes, you can bring children on some Beaujolais wine days, but not all of them. The crus full day sells a child fare, the Land Rover and winter days take children from seven with grape juice or soft drinks, and several private days take any age. Other days start at 10, 13 or 18. Nobody under 18 is served alcohol in France, and an adult who does not drink pays the adult fare.

Is a wine day worth it with children?

It can be, if you pick the right day. The concern for most families is simple: a four- or eight-hour day built around tastings, with a child who cannot taste. The answer is to choose a day with something else in it, such as the villages, the vintage cars or a picnic, and to check the age rule before you book. Looking for a Beaujolais tour the whole family can join? The age rules differ more than the fares do.

Which days take children, and from what age

These rules come from each day's own booking terms. They are the minimum age a traveller can book, not a recommendation.

The dayWho can comeFor the children
Crus full dayChildren at a lower fare, with an adultInfant seats and strollers allowed
Land Rover dayFrom age 7Grape juice and soft drinks in the fare
Winter day from MâconFrom age 7; tastings for adults onlyWater and soft drinks in the fare
Private day with PérougesAny ageStrollers and infant seats; a medieval town
Private Golden Stones half dayAny ageStrollers and infant seats
Full day through both halvesFrom age 10A walk round Oingt
Half day in the southFrom age 13Strollers allowed
Private Signature dayAdults only, 18 and overNot for children
Wine merchant's dayAdults only, 18 and overNot for children

With young children, the private Golden Stones half day is the shortest choice: four hours, your own van, collected from your central Lyon hotel. With a teenager, the half day in the south takes bookings from 13, and the full day through both halves from 10.

The Golden Stones half day from Place Bellecour does not allow baby strollers, and the blind tasting in the Croix-Rousse is for over-18s only.

What families enjoy most

The days that work best for children are the ones where the wine is only part of the day.

  • The vintage cars. The Land Rover day rides the back roads in an old Land Rover, with lunch in the vines, weather allowing, and grape juice for anyone not drinking.
  • A medieval town. The private day with Pérouges spends three hours in the golden-stone villages, then an hour and a quarter in Pérouges, east of Lyon.
  • The villages. Oingt has a 12th-century tower with a terrace and an orientation table, and a museum of mechanical music with more than 60 instruments.
  • A long lunch. The shared crus day stops for a sit-down lunch at a village restaurant, a break from the van for everyone.

What to prepare for

A wine day is long for a child, and some of it is spent in a van. Be ready for three things.

  1. The drive. About an hour and twenty minutes of the Land Rover day is driving, and a four-hour half day spends a good part of its time on the road.
  2. The seats. The cars on the vintage Defender day have no seat belts, so pick another day for young children.
  3. The pace. Tastings are for sitting still and listening. Bring something quiet for the cellar visits.
Important. Nobody under 18 is served alcohol in France, and some days are adults only. Check the age rule before you pay, or start with the crus full day, which sells a child fare.

Practical tips for the day

A few small things make the day easier for you and for the children.

  • Sun and hats. Much of a vineyard day is outdoors. The Defender half day's operator recommends sunscreen all year and strongly from June to September, with a hat for shade, and the advice holds on every day.
  • Layers. Tasting rooms and vineyards are not the same temperature, so dress in layers you can take off.
  • Food rules in the van. On the Golden Stones half day, no food or drink is allowed in the vehicle, so give the children a snack before you set off.
  • Tell the operator. On a private day, say when you book who is coming and how old they are. The Land Rover day asks for dietary needs two days ahead, and a private day can change its stops to suit you.
  • A plan for the tasting. Grape juice, a walk in the vines with one parent, or a seat in the shade: decide before the first cellar, not during it.

Travelling with a non-drinker

A non-drinker pays the adult fare, because the fare buys the whole day: the transport, the guide and the visits, not only the wine. So the question is whether the day gives them enough.

The days with the most for a non-drinker have something beyond the glass. The Land Rover and winter days pour soft drinks all day and fill the gaps with chapels, châteaux and a distillery. The Pérouges day adds a medieval town. On the Château de Pizay half days the tasting is a sensory circuit, and one guest singled out its game of tasting with every sense but hearing.

Useful tip. If you are the one not drinking, offer to carry the bottles. Guests often buy at the estates after the tasting, and a spare pair of hands is welcome.

What to combine it with

For a family trip, a half day in the vines and an afternoon in Lyon is often easier than a full day. The villages and sights along the way are on things to do in the Beaujolais, and the visitor guide covers what each kind of day costs. The days for your party alone, the most flexible choice with children, are on private beaujolais tours.

Where these facts come from

Days with room for children and non-drinkers

Next: Check every age rule and kerb in the Beaujolais FAQs. Every fare from Lyon sits side by side on Beaujolais Tours.