Beaujolais Tours FAQs
Prices, where your day starts, the tastings and lunch in your fare, children, cancellation and the wine itself. Ready to make your Beaujolais reservation? The answers below settle most of what you need first.
Two answers matter more than the rest. First, which half of the region your day spends its hours in: the golden-stone villages of the south, or the crus of the north. Then how it starts: a kerb on Place Bellecour, your Lyon address, or a train to a station in the vines. Every tour card says both.
How far is the Beaujolais from Lyon?
Where do the wine tours from Lyon start?
Shared days meet at the ONLYLYON tourist office pavilion on Place Bellecour, except one that meets at the Saint-Exupéry statue beside Café Bellecour on the same square. Private days collect you from your Lyon address, or have you take the train from Part-Dieu to Belleville-sur-Saône or Mâcon Ville, where a vintage Land Rover or Defender waits.
How much does a Beaujolais wine tour cost?
A shared half day from Lyon is $112-$126 a head and a shared full day $161-$184. Private full days mostly run $557-$578 a head, and a private half day by Defender is $250. Three private fares are per group instead: $695 for up to three, $950 and $1,158 for up to four.
Are the wine tastings included in the fare?
Yes, on every tour we list: the fare pays for the tastings at each estate. What changes is how much is poured, from four or five wines at one family winery to 15-20 in a day with a wine merchant. A full day adds a second or third estate rather than bigger pours.
Is lunch included?
Only on five private days: the vintage Land Rover day, both versions of the Signature day, the winter day from Mâcon and the wine merchant's picnic day. Every shared full day stops at a restaurant where you pay for your own meal. The half days end before lunch, and some serve a snack with the wine.
Should you book a half day or a full day?
A half day spends about four hours on one half of the region, two estates and no lunch. A full day runs six to nine hours, adds a restaurant stop and usually reaches further north into the crus. If you have one free morning, the half day fits; if wine is the reason for your trip, the full day is worth it.
What is the difference between the Pierres Dorées and the crus?
The south, the Pierres Dorées, is a country of golden-stone villages such as Oingt on clay and limestone hills, closest to Lyon, making mostly the regional Beaujolais wines. The north holds the ten crus, named villages on granite such as Fleurie, Morgon and Moulin-à-Vent. Your tour's title tells you which half it visits.
Do the tours pick you up at your hotel?
The shared days do not: you walk to Place Bellecour. Most private days collect you from your Lyon hotel or flat and bring you back. The Golden Stones private half day collects you only if your hotel is in central Lyon, and the Defender days add a Lyon pickup only if you choose that option.
Can you cancel a Beaujolais wine tour?
Every tour here refunds in full if you cancel at least 24 hours before it starts. A few also say the operator may cancel for poor weather or too few travellers, and then you are offered another date or a full refund.
How many people are on a shared tour?
Up to eight on every shared day from Place Bellecour, in one minivan. The blind tasting in the Croix-Rousse takes up to ten. On a private day the vehicle carries only your party.
Can children come on a wine tour?
Some tours accept them and some do not. Alcohol is served only to adults over 18 in France. The Rhône Trip full day sells a child fare, the Tasty Lyon Pizay tour lists ages 12 to 99, and the Land Rover day serves under-18s grape juice. The Croix-Rousse tasting and the Signature day are 18 and over.
When is Beaujolais Nouveau released?
Every year on the third Thursday of November, which is 19 November in 2026. The Beaujolais wine council sets the rule. None of the tours we list sells a Nouveau festival day; a November tour pours whatever the estates have open.
Is the Beaujolais a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
No. The Beaujolais has been a UNESCO Global Geopark since 2018, a label for its geology covering 121 municipalities; the wine council counts more than 300 soils. That is a different programme from the World Heritage list, whatever a listing may say.
Can you visit the vineyards without a tour?
Yes. The Beaujolais is less than 30 minutes' drive from Lyon and trains run to Belleville-sur-Saône. The catch is that many small estates need an appointment, and whoever drives cannot taste. A tour solves both, which is most of what its fare buys.
What should you wear on a Beaujolais wine tour?
Flat shoes with grip: the villages are steep and the vineyard paths are earth. Bring a layer for the cellars and sun protection in summer, when Lyon averages 28°C in July and August.
How do you find the meeting point on Place Bellecour?
Look for the ONLYLYON tourist office pavilion on the square, across the street from the Hotel Royal at 20 Place Bellecour. The office is open every day from 9 am to 6 pm. If your booking says the Saint-Exupéry statue, that is the one beside Café Bellecour, not the statue in the centre.
What does a per-group fare mean?
The price covers your whole party up to a set size, not each person. The Golden Stones private half day is $695 for up to three; the Pérouges day and the Au Tour du Vin private day are $950 and $1,158 for up to four. For two people, a per-group fare can still cost more than a per-person one.
Is there an afternoon tour?
Yes. The Wines and Castles tour leaves Place Bellecour at 2 pm and returns at 6:30 pm, and the Golden Stones private half day runs morning or afternoon. The Tasty Lyon half days let you choose a start time when you book.
What happens if it rains?
Most listings name no weather clause, and one says it runs in all weather. Three private days say the operator may cancel for poor weather, and then you get another date or a full refund. October is the wettest month at Lyon-Bron, with just under 100 mm of rain on average.
What is the best month for a Beaujolais wine tour?
May, June and September are warm without the heat of midsummer: Lyon averages highs of 21-26°C then. July and August bring about 11 days a month above 30°C. Beaujolais Nouveau is released on the third Thursday of November, if you want to taste it the week it opens.
Which are the ten crus?
Brouilly, Chénas, Chiroubles, Côte de Brouilly, Fleurie, Juliénas, Morgon, Moulin-à-Vent, Régnié and Saint-Amour. All ten are in the north of the region, on granite, where the full days from Lyon spend most of their hours.
What is Beaujolais-Villages?
One of the twelve Beaujolais appellations: 38 communes in the north of the region, around the crus, with about 3,390 hectares of vines. It sits between plain Beaujolais, made mostly in the south, and the ten crus, which carry their own village names.
What grape is Beaujolais made from?
Gamay, which fills nearly all of the region's 13,500 hectares of vines. It has been planted here since the early 17th century, and half of the world's gamay grows in the Beaujolais. Reds make up 95% of the wine.
Is there white Beaujolais?
Yes, a little. Beaujolais Blanc comes mainly from more than 300 hectares in the south, around Liergues, Le Bois-d'Oingt and Bully, and the region makes rosé too. Travellers mention whites and rosés poured alongside the reds on several tours.
Is Oingt worth visiting?
Yes, if you like villages: Oingt is one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France, built of the golden stone that gives the south its name, with a 12th-century tower and a view over the vines. The Sur les Sentiers full day walks the village after a winery tasting, and the private Golden Stones half day stops there too.
Where is Pérouges?
East of Lyon in the Ain, about 30 km from the city, and not in the Beaujolais. It is a medieval walled town, one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France. One private day pairs the Pierres Dorées in the morning with Pérouges in the afternoon.
What happens at the Château de Pizay?
The Tasty Lyon wine route half day starts at the Château de Pizay, a large estate, with a sensory circuit and a tasting of 12 of its wines, then moves on to a small family winery for five more. It is the tour to pick if you want a lesson in tasting as well as the wine.
What is the mâchon on the Golden Stones tour?
The Tasty Lyon listing serves its snacks as a traditional Lyon mâchon, eaten with the tasting. It is a snack, not a lunch: that tour's fare leaves lunch out, and it is back in Lyon by early afternoon.
Do the vintage Land Rovers and Defenders have seat belts?
The vintage Defender day says its Defenders are not equipped with seat belts, because they keep the comfort of their time. One traveller in their sixties found the ride slow, rough and noisy. If that matters to you, a private day in a modern car avoids it.
Are the tours wheelchair accessible?
Two private days say they are: the vintage Land Rover day and the winter day from Mâcon. The shared days say they are not, and the village streets are steep. If anyone in your party uses a wheelchair, ask the operator about the estates on your route before you book.
Can you buy wine at the estates?
Yes: travellers mention buying bottles and even cases at the estates they visit. One reviewer's estate shipped a case to the United States; another reviewer found the estates would not ship there. Ask before you buy more than your luggage can carry.
Should you tip the guide?
The listings leave it to you. The private day by Au Tour du Vin names gratuities among what the fare does not include, and the others do not mention them. Travellers' reviews name their guides often, which tells you how much the guide makes the day.
Is there a wine tasting in Lyon itself?
Yes: a two-hour blind tasting with a sommelier in the Croix-Rousse, $114 a head, with five glasses including a Beaujolais and a cheese and charcuterie board. It suits a free evening or a day when the vineyards are out of reach, but it never leaves Lyon.
Still deciding? The tours sit side by side on Beaujolais Tours, the practical detail is in the visitor guide, and what travellers made of each day is in the reviews.