Our guide
Photo : © Caroline & Xavier
Fancy swapping the city buzz for vine-lined greenways, Romanesque abbeys and a hike up a legendary limestone spur? Then you’ll love Saône-et-Loire (71), the southern gateway to Burgundy!
The department invented French cycle tourism: the Southern Burgundy Greenway, opened in 1997, rolls 70 km car-free between Givry and Cluny, with loops into the vineyards and beech forests. Pick up EuroVelo 6 along the Canal du Centre (130 km from Chalon-sur-Saône to Digoin) or follow the Voie Bleue beside the tranquil Saône from Tournus southwards. On foot, climb the Roche de Solutré, a Grand Site de France with a 360° panorama over the Mâconnais vines and a famed prehistoric escarpment.
Start in Cluny, whose 10th-century abbey was once the largest in Christendom and radiated its influence across medieval Europe. Head north to the huge Romanesque abbey of Tournus (its bell-towers guide cyclists on the Voie Bleue) or south to pretty Mâcon and the Beaujolais gateway. Everywhere, wash-houses, châteaux and Romanesque chapels dot the landscape like breadcrumbs of history.
This is Charolais-Brionnais country: taste melt-in-the-mouth Charolais AOP beef and creamy Charolais goat cheese straight from the farm. Raise a glass of mineral Pouilly-Fuissé or a fruity red from the Côte Chalonnaise—22 climats here were promoted to Premier Cru in 2020. Round things off with a slice of pink-praline gâteau de Saint-Genix or a pot of cassis — then pedal on to the next terrasse.
Whether you travel solo, as a couple or with the clan, Saône-et-Loire serves up a “train + nature + culture” escape where greenways, grand abbeys and gourmet tables give Burgundy its easy-going power.