★★★★★
Golden Stones half day from Lyon
Our guide said openly that the job was new, but the love of Lyon, the wine and the countryside came through, in very good English and with answers to every question.
Andrew · United States · September 2026
Golden Stones Beaujolais Wine Tasting Tour from Lyon
Golden Stones, southPlace Bellecour, LyonMax 8 guests
The half day to book if you want the golden-stone villages of the southern Beaujolais without giving up a whole day in Lyon. You meet at the tourist office on Place Bellecour at the time you pick. You taste at two family wineries, the first with a mâchon of cold meats and cheese, and you are back in four hours.
Four hours in the Pierres Dorées
Place Bellecour, at your time
You pick the start time when you book, and the day ends back at the same pavilion.
Two family wineries
One in the golden-stone south, one in Montmelas in the Beaujolais-Villages area.
A mâchon with the first glass
Lyon cold meats and cheese with the tasting, and pastries in the fare.
The golden-stone villages
The road north runs through the villages built of ochre limestone.
Eight people at most
A small air-conditioned people carrier and a driver-guide for the whole half day.
4.7 from 609 reviews
Guests rate the guides and the transport 4.8 out of 5.
Two family wineries: the golden-stone villages and Montmelas
This is the short way into the Beaujolais. The southern half of the region, the Pierres Dorées, sits closest to Lyon, and the Beaujolais wine council puts the vineyards less than a 30-minute drive from the city. That leaves you most of your four hours for the vines, the villages and two tasting rooms.
Your first stop is a family-run winery in the heart of the Pierres Dorées. Your guide explains what terroir means on this side of the region, and you taste the estate's wines with a Lyon mâchon. Then you drive on to Montmelas, in the Beaujolais-Villages appellation, where a second family opens its cellar and pours its own range.
The two estates rarely taste alike, and that is the point. One guest found the first one traditional, with reserved wines and the better view, and preferred the livelier wines at the second. Weighing up Beaujolais ticket prices before you pick? Every fare from Lyon sits side by side, with what each one pours.
The villages of golden stone
The stone is why the south has its name. It is an ochre limestone laid down in the Jurassic, about 174 million years ago, according to the Beaujolais Geopark. Iron oxide gives it the yellow colour, and fossil crinoids give it a faint sparkle.
The drive between the two wineries takes you through these villages and along the vineyard roads above them. Oingt, one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France, is the best known of them, with a 12th-century tower above its lanes. Four hours is a tight frame, so treat the villages as the view between two tastings rather than a stop of their own. One guest wished for more time in Oingt; the full day through both halves gives it an hour and a half.
The mâchon: what "snacks" means here
A mâchon is Lyon's traditional morning snack of local cold meats and cheese. On this tour it comes with the first tasting, and pastries are in the fare too. It is a snack to taste with, not lunch.
Lunch is not in the fare. If you book a morning start, plan to eat back in Lyon; if you go in the afternoon, eat before you meet. Water is not handed out either, so bring a reusable bottle, which you can refill at any time.
How the four hours run
- Your start time, Place Bellecour. Meet in front of the tourist office pavilion, across from the Royal Hotel.
- North through the Pierres Dorées. The drive runs through the golden-stone villages and their vineyards.
- First family winery. The idea of terroir, then a tasting of the estate's wines with a mâchon.
- On to Montmelas. Into the Beaujolais-Villages appellation, on the vineyard roads.
- Second family winery. The winemaker opens the cellar and pours a selection of the estate's wines.
- Back to Place Bellecour. The day ends where it began, four hours after the start.
Who this suits: a first taste of the south
Book this if
You are staying in Lyon, have half a day free, and want to see the golden-stone villages with two tastings and somebody else driving. It suits couples, friends and solo travellers on a first trip to the region, and anyone who would rather keep the other half of the day for Lyon.
Book something else if
You want the crus of the north: the crus full day spends six hours around Fleurie and Romanèche-Thorins, and the crus half day from the same kerb does it in four. You want lunch in the fare: the Land Rover day includes it. You want your own van: the private Golden Stones half day collects you in central Lyon for $695 per group of up to three. You want more time in the villages: the full day through both halves spends an hour and a half around Oingt. Every short day sits on beaujolais half day wine tasting tour.
What the fare covers and what it doesn't
In the fare
- Wine tasting
- Professional driver/guide
- Transport by air-conditioned people carrier
- Shared tour
- Alcoholic drinks
- Snacks as part of a traditional Lyon 'mâchon'
- Pastries
Not in the fare
- Lunch
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off
- Bottled water
The meeting point: the pavilion on Place Bellecour
Meet in front of the ONLYLYON tourist office pavilion on Place Bellecour, Lyon 2e, across the square from the Royal Hotel at 20 Place Bellecour. You pick the start time when you book. The team there is on hand every day from 9 am to 6 pm if you need directions.
There is no hotel pickup, and the day ends back at the same pavilion. Arrive a few minutes early: the van leaves at the time on your booking.
Know before you go
- Bring a water bottle. Bottled water is not handed out, and you can refill your own at any time.
- Eat around it. The mâchon is a snack; lunch is not in the fare.
- Wear good shoes. Village streets can be steep, and part of the visit is outdoors.
- No strollers. Baby strollers are not allowed, and the day is not suitable for wheelchair users.
- Alcohol from 18. In France you must be 18 to drink, and guardians answer for minors.
- Nothing in the van. No food or drink in the vehicle, and no pets except assistance dogs.
What travellers say about the Golden Stones half day
★★★★★
Golden Stones half day from Lyon
The first estate was traditional, with elegant and reserved wines and the better view; the second was modern and livelier, and those were the wines I preferred.
Lőrinc · Hungary · August 2026
★★★★★
Golden Stones half day from Lyon
Two family wineries that could not have been more different, good tastings and a lot learned along the way.
Jodie · Canada · September 2026
Frequently asked questions
Is lunch included?
No. The first tasting comes with a mâchon of Lyon cold meats and cheese, and pastries are in the fare, but lunch is not. Eat before an afternoon start or after a morning one.
How long is the tour?
Four hours from Place Bellecour and back. Part of that is the drive through the golden-stone villages, and the rest is two winery visits.
Can I see more of Oingt?
This half day treats the villages as the road between two tastings. For longer in Oingt, the full day through both halves spends an hour and a half there, and the things to do in the Beaujolais page covers the village's tower and terrace.
Is it the same as the crus tour?
No. This day stays in the south, among the golden-stone villages and Montmelas. The crus full day goes north to Fleurie and Romanèche-Thorins.
Does it pick up at my hotel?
No. Everyone meets at the tourist office pavilion on Place Bellecour. The private Golden Stones half day, by the same operator, collects you in central Lyon.
What if I cancel?
You get a full refund if you cancel at least 24 hours before the start. Inside those 24 hours the fare is not refunded.
Other ways into the Beaujolais vineyards
Ready for the golden-stone villages?
Pick a start time from Place Bellecour, with free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Check availability