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Beaujolais Tours › The Beaujolais in One Day from Lyon: Hour by HourUpdated 2026-09-25

The Beaujolais in One Day from Lyon: Hour by Hour

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

A broad valley of vines with a farmhouse and wooded ridges beyond

A day in the Beaujolais from Lyon needs no hotel in the vines. You leave in the morning, taste at two estates or more, eat lunch in a village and are back for dinner. This guide walks through three real days hour by hour, plus the afternoon half day for when you only have the afternoon. Planning a Beaujolais reservation for a fixed date? Read the timings first, then book.

What time do you leave Lyon?

Most full days leave at 9 am. The shared crus day and the both-halves day both start at 9 am on Place Bellecour, and the Land Rover day meets its train at Belleville-sur-Saône at the same hour. Private days with pickup start from your door, between 8:30 and 10 am on the days that name a time.

The half days are more flexible: on most, you choose the start time when you book. One crus run leaves at 2 pm, so you can spend the morning in the city.

How long is the drive to the first estate?

Shorter than you might think. Inter Beaujolais puts the vineyard less than 30 minutes' drive from Lyon, and the golden-stone Pierres Dorées in the south are the part you reach first. The crus are further north along the 55 km strip, so allow more time to reach Fleurie.

On the Land Rover day, the driving inside the vineyard adds up to about 1 hour 20 across the whole day. The rest of the time you are out of the car, at a table or in a cellar.

How does the shared crus full day run?

This is the classic day: two family estates in the north, with lunch between them. You meet at the tourist office pavilion at 9 am. The morning is about three hours around Fleurie, in the cellar and the vines, and the afternoon about three in Romanèche-Thorins.

WhenThe crus full day
9:00 amLeave the tourist office pavilion, Place Bellecour
MorningNorth to the crus: a family estate around Fleurie, cellar and vines
About 3 hours inTasting at the first estate
MiddayLunch at a village restaurant, at your own cost
AfternoonRomanèche-Thorins: a second family estate and tasting
6 to 7 hours after the startBack at Place Bellecour

Lunch is at a village restaurant, and you pay for it yourself. The day costs $161 a person, with eight guests at most. You can read the full plan of the crus full day before you book.

How does the both-halves day run?

If you want the golden stones and the crus on one date, this is the day. It meets at a different kerb from every other shared tour: the Saint-Exupéry statue beside Café Bellecour, not the statue in the centre of the square.

WhenThe Pierres Dorées and the crus
8:50 amMeet at the Saint-Exupéry statue beside Café Bellecour
9:00 amLeave through Bagnols and the Pierres Dorées
MorningA winery tasting near Oingt (1 hour 30), then the village (30 minutes)
MiddayLunch near Mont Brouilly (1 hour 30), menus from EUR 25
AfternoonA crus estate at Fleurie (1 hour 30)
8 to 9 hours after the startBack in Lyon

The morning tasting is near Oingt, with half an hour to walk the village. After lunch near Mont Brouilly, the last estate is in Fleurie. It costs $184 a person, with around ten wines poured, and the day runs eight to nine hours.

How does the Land Rover day run?

This is the private way to do the crus, with lunch in the fare. You take the train from Part-Dieu, and a vintage Land Rover meets you at Belleville station at 9 am. The operator offers courtesy return train tickets from Lyon on request.

WhenThe Land Rover day
Before 9 amTrain from Lyon Part-Dieu, about half an hour
9:00 amMeet the Land Rover at Belleville-sur-Saône station
MorningFleurie, Saint-Amour-Bellevue and Chénas; a glass in Juliénas
MiddayLunch in the vines at Domaine de la Madone, in the fare
AfternoonRégnié-Durette's painted chapel, Salles-Arbuissonnas, Château de Nervers
About 8 hours after the startBack at the station for the train to Lyon

Lunch is at Domaine de la Madone, in a restaurant or as a barbecue or picnic in the vines. Anyone not drinking gets local grape juice. The fare is $567 a person; read the whole Land Rover day before you book.

What if you only have the afternoon?

Then take the afternoon crus run. It is four and a half hours, from a 1:50 pm meeting on Place Bellecour to a 6:30 pm drop-off at the same spot.

WhenThe afternoon crus run
1:50 pmMeet opposite the Royal Hotel, Place Bellecour
2:00 pmLeave on the wine route past Mont Brouilly
3:15 pmA family winery in Cercié (1 hour)
Late afternoonThe La Madone viewpoint above Fleurie (10 minutes)
ThenA château cellar in Chénas (45 minutes)
6:30 pmBack at Place Bellecour

You pour nine to ten wines at the two stops, and the fare is $126. Book the afternoon crus run if your morning is already taken by the city.

Where do you eat lunch?

That depends on the fare, so check before you book. On every shared day, you eat at a village restaurant and pay for your own. On the both-halves day, the restaurant is booked for the group, with menus from EUR 25.

Lunch is in the fare only on some private days: the Land Rover day, the winter day from Mâcon, the Signature days and the wine merchant's picnic day. The Golden Stones half day serves a Lyon mâchon of snacks with its first tasting, but that is not lunch. Have a real breakfast before a 9 am start.

How many estates can you visit in a day?

Two is the rule on a shared day, with a longer stop at each. The crus full day spends about three hours at each estate. The half days also visit two, for about an hour each.

Private days can fit more. The Defender day tastes at two to four wineries, and the wine merchant's day pours fifteen to twenty wines, from Fleurie to Villié-Morgon and a picnic on the Chiroubles hillside. More stops mean shorter visits, so choose depth or range.

Full day or half day plus Lyon?

A full day gives you the crus without hurry, a sit-down lunch and two long visits. A half day gives you two tastings and leaves half of your day in Lyon.

If this is your only wine day, take the full day. If you have one day for Lyon and one for wine, a half day keeps your evening free. The four-hour options, from $112, are on beaujolais half day wine tasting tour.

Train or van: which suits you?

The van is simpler. On a shared day you walk to Place Bellecour, and on a private day the car comes to you. You never touch a timetable.

The train suits you if you like to travel on your own terms. The Land Rover and Defender days meet you at Belleville-sur-Saône, about half an hour from Part-Dieu, and the winter day at Mâcon Ville. On the Defender days the train ticket is only in the fare if you choose the train option, so read the option before you pay. Every starting point is on how to get to the Beaujolais from Lyon.

When are you back in Lyon?

The afternoon crus run is back at 6:30 pm. The shared full days end six to nine hours after a 9 am start, so you are in the city for dinner. On the Land Rover day, add the train home from Belleville.

On the Land Rover day, check the trains home before you book a table for dinner. On a shared day, the kerb you started from is where you finish.

Frequently asked questions

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.
What time do you get back to Lyon?
The afternoon crus tour drops you on Place Bellecour at 6:30 pm. The shared full days run six to nine hours from a 9 am start, so plan dinner rather than a matinée. The Land Rover day ends at Belleville station, about half an hour by train from Lyon.
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.
Can you do a half day and still see Lyon?
Yes. Take a morning half day and have the afternoon in the city, or spend the morning in Lyon and join the 2 pm crus tour. Either way you taste at two stops in four to four and a half hours.
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.
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.
How far is the Beaujolais from Lyon?
The first vines are less than 30 minutes' drive north of Lyon, and the vineyard runs 55 km from south to north. The golden-stone villages of the south are the closer half; the crus around Fleurie and Morgon are further up, so a day there spends more of its hours on the road.

Where these facts come from

The region, the villages and the weather come from the official pages below. Everything about a tour comes from its own booking page. Check both before you travel, because both change.

Days that fill the whole day

Next: Chosen your day? See every fare from Lyon on Beaujolais Tours.