Plan Your Visit to the Beaujolais

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

The Beaujolais is a wine region, not a gate, so no single ticket opens it. The estates pour on a tour or by appointment, and the vineyards are open country. If you are pricing Beaujolais tickets, choose your half of the region first, then how your day starts.

South or north: which half of the Beaujolais

The vineyard runs 55 km north to south, just outside Lyon. The south is the Pierres Dorées, villages built of an ochre limestone, on clay and chalky hills. It makes most of the regional Beaujolais wine, and it is the half closest to the city. Oingt, one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France, is its best-known village.

The north holds the ten crus, the named villages whose wines carry their own names, on granite and sandy soils. Fleurie, Morgon and Moulin-à-Vent are among them. A half day picks one half; a full day reaches the crus, or crosses both. The villages and appellations are set out north to south on the wine route.

Getting there from Lyon

Every tour here starts in Lyon or at a station you reach from it. The first vines are less than 30 minutes' drive away. Shared days meet on Place Bellecour, in the centre of the city, and drive you north in a minivan of eight at most.

Where you meet	Where it is	Who meets there
The ONLYLYON pavilion	Place Bellecour, Lyon 2e, across from the Hotel Royal	Most shared half days and the full day in the crus: 9 am, or 2 pm for the afternoon tour
The Saint-Exupéry statue	Beside Café Bellecour, on the same square	The full day through both halves: 9 am, ten minutes early
Your Lyon address	Your hotel or flat	Most private days, between 9 and 10 am
Belleville-sur-Saône station	About half an hour by train from Part-Dieu	The Land Rover and Defender days: 9 am on the Land Rover day
Mâcon Ville station	By train from Part-Dieu; one exit	The private winter day: 9:30 am
The Croix-Rousse	12 Grande Rue de la Croix-Rousse, Lyon 4e	The blind tasting, which stays in Lyon

The Land Rover and Defender days ask you to take the train from Part-Dieu to Belleville-sur-Saône, about half an hour. Check the SNCF timetable for your date. Short answers on pickups and kerbs are in the Beaujolais FAQs.

Two kerbs share one square. Most shared days meet at the tourist office pavilion. The Sur les Sentiers full day meets at the Saint-Exupéry statue beside Café Bellecour, not the statue in the centre. Read the address on your booking before you set off; both kerbs are pinned on the getting-there page.

What a wine day costs

Fares are per person unless the table says per group. The tastings are inside every fare below, so you pay nothing more at the estates unless you buy bottles. Lunch is the part that changes.

The day	What you pay	What it gives you
A tasting in Lyon	$114 per person	Two hours in the Croix-Rousse: five glasses and a cheese board, no vineyard
Shared half day	$112 to $126 per person	About four hours in one half of the region, two estates, no lunch
Shared full day	$161 to $184 per person, plus lunch	Six to nine hours, two estates, a restaurant lunch you pay for
Private half day	$250 per person, or $695 per group of up to 3	Four hours for your party alone
Private full day	$557 to $578 per person	Your party alone; lunch inside the fare on some
Private day priced per group	$950 or $1,158 per group of up to 4	One fare for the car; lunch at your own expense
A day with a wine merchant	$1,158 per person, two to book	15 to 20 wines and a picnic of French cheeses

The fares are the operators' own, in US dollars. A shared full day stops at a restaurant for lunch, and you pay for your own meal there. Several private days need two people to book.

Would you rather someone else drove?

The shared days leave Place Bellecour in the morning, and the private days collect you from your Lyon address or meet your train.

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What the fare pours, and whether lunch is in it

You taste at two estates on most days, and at three or four on some private ones. A half day in the south pours whites, rosés and reds at family wineries. The wine route half day starts at the Château de Pizay with a sensory circuit and twelve of its wines.

Lunch sits inside the fare only on some private days: the vintage Land Rover day, the Signature day, the winter day from Mâcon and the wine merchant's picnic day. The Golden Stones half day serves a Lyon mâchon with the wine, which is a snack, not a meal.

When to go

Lyon averages highs of 21 to 26°C in May, June and September, the easiest months for a day outdoors. July and August reach about 28°C, with around 11 days a month above 30°C. October is the wettest month, and January highs sit near 7°C.

One traveller found the harvest under way in late August 2026, and the villages look their best in the photographs of the gallery. Beaujolais Nouveau is released on the third Thursday of November, which falls on 19 November in 2026. Month by month figures are on Beaujolais weather.

Booking ahead, and if it rains

A shared day takes eight people at most, so a date can fill. Some operators need a minimum number of travellers. If too few book, you are offered another date or a full refund.

Every tour here refunds you in full if you cancel 24 hours ahead. Three private days may be cancelled by the operator for poor weather, on the same terms. The rest say nothing about rain, and one runs in all weather.

Children, access and what to wear

Each operator sets its own ages, so check yours before you book a family day.

Adults only: the blind tasting in the Croix-Rousse and the Signature day with lunch.
Older children: the Pizay half day on one platform lists ages 12 to 99, and one Rhône Trip half day takes adults from 13.
Families: the Rhône Trip full day sells a child fare, and the Land Rover day serves under-18s grape juice.

Only two private days say they suit a wheelchair: the Land Rover day and the winter day. The shared days say they do not, and the village streets are steep. Wear flat shoes with grip, bring a layer for the cellars, and carry water, since several fares leave it out.

Frequently asked before you go

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.

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.

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.

Next: see what there is to see in things to do in the Beaujolais, compare every tour on Beaujolais Tours, or read what travellers said in the reviews.