Wine roads

Itineraries for an oenological trip departing from Lyon

In Lyon, wine is never far away. You just have to leave the city to see the first vines appear, drawing the reliefs and already telling a history of terroir.

From Lyon‐Saint Exupéry airport, this proximity becomes obvious: in just a few kilometers, the wine routes are available to travelers, between valleys, hills and villages of character.

Setting off on the wine routes means choosing a journey where each stage reveals an identity, where landscapes evolve with the rhythm of the appellations, where tasting becomes a meeting. Along the Rhône valley, in the Beaujolais region or even further afield in France and Europe, the wine routes offer much more than a simple getaway. They invite you to slow down, to take the time to understand what the vine tells about a territory.

Easily accessible from Lyon Airport, this type of travel appeals to both enlightened amateurs and curious in search of authenticity. The wine routes offer a promise: that of a different departure, where the pleasure begins from the first kilometers.

The Rhône Valley, an iconic route from Lyon

Among the major wine routes accessible from Lyon, that of the Côtes‐du‐Rhône stands out as obvious. Leaving the metropolis to the south, the valley unrolls a spectacular landscape, shaped by the river and the vines that cling to the hillsides.

This mythical itinerary crosses a mosaic of renowned appellations, each with its own character, style and history. From the first stages around Vienne, Ampuis and Condrieu to the more southern vineyards of Tain-l'Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage or Saint-Joseph, the road alternates between steep slopes, dry stone terraces and sun-drenched villages. Further south, the route continues towards Valence, Montélimar, Vaison-la-Romaine and even Châteauneuf-du-Pape, where rolled pebbles and the mistral wind create powerful and expressive wines.

The journey then becomes a succession of atmospheres. We discover elegant and structured wines, powerful and warm crus, but also family estates where the transmission is from generation to generation.

The Rhone Valley can be explored unhurriedly, with tastings, food stops and open views of the river.

Villages, landscapes, and encounters

What makes the wine routes so unique are also the places they pass through. Hilltop villages, cobbled streets, shaded squares, local markets... each stop tells a facet of the territory. In the Rhône valley as in Beaujolais, the vine structures landscapes and shapes local identity, from Oingt to Fleurie, from Morgon to Juliénas.

The roads wind between prestigious estates and more confidential farms, around villages like Beaujeu, Régnié-Durette or Saint-Amour-Bellevue. Here, tasting is never standardized; it takes the form of an exchange, a shared moment, sometimes improvised. Wine becomes a pretext for meeting people, discovering their know-how and passion.

These itineraries also lend themselves to a broader journey, combining oenology and art of living. A gastronomic break, a cultural visit, a night in a guest house in the heart of the vineyards... The wine routes offer a rare freedom, where everyone composes their stay according to their desires.

Even further: the wine routes in Europe

From Lyon Airport, wine travel enthusiasts can also broaden their horizons. In a few hours of flight, other major European wine regions become accessible. Piedmont around Alba, Tuscany near Florence, Rioja around Logroño or the Douro valley from Porto offer equally rich wine routes, combining ancestral traditions, spectacular landscapes and deeply rooted wine cultures.

These destinations invite you to discover other ways of producing, tasting and sharing wine. They extend the experience, while maintaining the same common thread: the pleasure of traveling differently, as close to the territories.

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