Rully (Saône-et-Loire) walks

Coming from Fontaine or Chagny, enter Rully, follow the signs to Agneux, go through the hamlet and up the narrow road to the pass; you're on the site of the caves, park at the pass exit near the lagoon. This is where the hike begins.

Discover Mercurey's surroundings: the vineyards, of course, but also the different viewpoints over the village and the beautiful 12th-century churches.

This is a whole end-to-end 8-day dog-friendly 80 Km trip along the Route des Grands Crus (RDGC) from Santenay up to the edge of Dijon.

On the way, you walk through great countryside, vineyards, and villages, covering the whole of the Côte d’Or which consists of two halves, the Côte de Beaune in the South end and the Côte de Nuits at the north end. We've divided the route into eight comfortable walks designed to provide a linear end-to-end route, each starting and finishing in accessible towns or villages.

The wines and associated villages and vineyards are some of the most famous in the world with an unprecedented number of Grand Cru and Premier Cru marques, such as Chassagne-Montrachet in the south and Gevrey-Chambertin in the North (even the names of the villages sound enticing!). You will see that some of the vineyards are tiny - hence the exclusivity! - and indeed often divided up historically between many owners.

This is stage 1 Santenay to Meursault of the Route des Grands Crus.
This walk runs from Santenay through villages of Chassagne Montrachet and St Aubin to the charming small town of Meursault; moderate difficulty with a bit of climbing, dog friendly via countryside and vineyards. End to end, a train service enables return to start.

This 2nd walk on the 8-walk Route des Grands Crus (RDGC) starts in the centre of the famous wine village of Meursault and joins the RDGC proper on the west edge of the village or a fraction further on near Auxey-Duresses. It continues through the charming village of Auxey-Duresses itself and runs through wonderful countryside and vineyards and although there is one steep climb, this provides great views of the valley villages below, before eventually reaching the wine village of Pommard. The walk is dog friendly.
This is stage 2 of the Route des Grands Crus.

This stage 3 in the overall Route des Grands Crus Burgundy series. This dog friendly walk runs from Pommard centre up into the hills through vineyards and woods and then finishes down in the outskirts of Beaune in the delightful Park de la Bouzaise. There is an option for an easy circular return if needed.

This is stage 4 of the Route des Grands Crus series (RDGC). It covers the path from Beaune outskirts at Bouzaise Park through to Savigny-lès-Beaune and then Pernand-Vergelesses and Aloxe-Corton.
It is dog-friendly and runs through charming villages, famous vineyards and wonderful countryside with great views. You will walk in both open country and the woods using good tracks or very quiet roads. There is some climbing but in general the walk is reasonably flat. Directions are well signposted. Although Aloxe-Corton is slightly off the official RDGC we finish there for a number of reasons outlined below including return route options

A hill walk with no major challenges, in an unspoilt setting with villages overlooked by Mont Bouzu. Changing views all along the way, including a wide shot of Mont Saint-Vincent and a visit to the Château de Pontus-de-Thyard.

This is stage 5 of the Route des Grands Crus and it runs from Pernand-Vergelesses round the woods and vineyards along to Magny-lès-Villers and Villers-la-Faye villages and round the quarry and down into Prémeaux-Prissey. .It is dog friendly and through both vineyards and countryside.

A signposted trail along the entire route takes in the rich landscapes of the Hautes Côtes de Nuits, as well as the village of Villers-la-Faye.

This is stage 7 in the series of Route des Grands Crus walks runs from Nuits-St-Georges through the vineyards and woods and combes to Gevrey-Chambertin. Both of these small towns are host to some of the most famous red wines in the world as are some of the charming villages and landmarks in between like Vosne-Romanée, Chambolle-Musigny and Chateau de Vougeot.
It is a dog friendly walk (there is a good veterinary surgery in Nuits). It is a fairly long and reasonably challenging walk as there are some climbs in the middle leading off the vineyards into the woods. Return by bus and train is possible to the start.

This is stage 8, the final walk in the Route des Grands Crus (RDGC) series, starting in the world famous Grand Cru Burgundy wine town of Gevrey-Chambertin, ending on the outskirts of Dijon.
It begins at Gevrey church, taking you past the Chateau up through woods to the delightful Parc Noisot and past Clos Napoleon vineyard and restaurant to the charming villages of Fixey, Couchey and Marsannay before passing the last major vineyard of the Cote d'Or to the outskirts of Dijon at Genove. It is dog friendly and a reasonably easy walk after a climb at the start. The Yellow Red (YR) lines to indicate the RDGC make for good navigation.

This a short pleasant walk, mostly in the shady forest with just a modest amount of climbing. There is a fascinating historic connection in that one of Napoleon’s grenadier guards, Noisot, created in his own name the Parc Noisot and the associated walks, waymarked with symbols of Napoleons’ Russian, Egyptian and Italian military campaigns.
This guide is for the longer but most fulfilling route – the Russian route. About halfway along is a staircase of 100 steps marking the number of days Napoleon took to regain power after release from first captivity.
The walk is also of geological interest, being part of the Combe de Fixin. The meaning of Combe is a narrow gorge, ravine or small valley often containing a mixture of limestone, cliff faces, and forestry, leading to a plateau, but with no significant water course, with similarity to the Combes in England such as Ilfracombe. The excellent Tourist Office in the nearby and famous Gevry Chambertin can tell you more.