The Golden Stones - The Golden Stones Tour - Loop 7.3

This area will lead cycle tourists to the Beaujolais des Pierres Dorées, a territory with a unique heritage, perfect for getaways between vineyards and picturesque villages.

From a sporting perspective: This route is ideal for regular cyclists, with only one flat section of 2 kilometers between Chatillon and Chessy! The elevation gain is fairly well distributed, allowing plenty of time to enjoy the villages of the Golden Stone region. There's no time to warm up before the first climb to the plateau at Marcy, which includes a 10% gradient. After the flat section, there's a 15-kilometer climb of increasing difficulty, interspersed with a steep descent. The long descent from Oingt offers stunning views of the landscape and a superb panorama of the Saône Valley. You'll need to conserve energy for the final two climbs.

From a tourism perspective: Loop 7.3 is a getaway through the Beaujolais AOC region, where wines are produced in white, red, and rosé varieties. Cycling from one wine-growing village to the next, cyclists enjoy sweeping vistas. From the ridge tops, the view encompasses vineyard-covered slopes interspersed with wooded groves. On the hillsides or summits, church steeples mark the presence of the villages. Shaped by golden stone, they blend into the landscape in autumn or stand out against the greenery in the warmer months.




- Wine tasting at the winemakers'

- Heritage sites: the castles (exterior views only) of Bagnols de Rochebonne in Theizé, the Chappe telegraph in Marcy next to the cemetery, Oingt classified as one of the Most Beautiful Villages of France.

- The succession of villages of golden stones all along the loop

Type : Marked loop

Distance : 45km

Elevation gain : 858m

Duration : 3 hours 30 minutes

Difficulty : Difficult

Maximum altitude : 535m