Vongnes: Wine, Views and Crafts

If you’re looking for a hotel in Vongnes, you can get a sense of the place from several specific themes: wine, paths through vineyards and woodland, views, and two museums with different focuses. This raises several questions for planning your trip: Would you like to include a wine tasting, follow a signposted route, or explore the tools used in winemaking and stone trades? Each offering has its own focus, so you can choose according to your interests.

Wine and views

Le Caveau Bugiste has been producing wines from Bugey since 1967 and offers wine tastings to individual visitors. The Caveau also organises wine-tasting walks through the vineyards throughout the year. The difference between these two options is clear: the wine takes centre stage at the tasting, while the wine-tasting walk also includes a stroll through the vineyards.

From the Vongnes orientation table, the view takes in the Marais de Lavours, Grand Colombier and Mont Clergeon. Access starts opposite Caveau Bugiste in Vongnes; from there, a 300-metre path leads uphill. The three named destinations give the viewpoint a specific landscape focus; the starting point, distance and climb make the route easy to assess.

Comparing the routes

The Circuit des caves bugistes offers a different way to explore the area on foot. The route is hilly and runs through vineyards and woodland, marked with yellow trail signs and red markers bearing the initials “CB”. Unlike the approach to the orientation table, this is a route through two types of landscape; the other is a 300-metre climb to a viewpoint. To find your way around the Circuit, look out for the yellow signs and red CB markers.

Two museums, two collections

The Musée des Traditions Vigneronnes contains more than 1,300 old tools and other objects related to winemaking and wine. The collection is housed in three rooms. Many objects date from the 18th century; some are considered rare or, in some cases, unique. The collection is therefore not limited to tools: it also includes other objects associated with work in viticulture and wine. The number of objects indicates the collection’s size, while the reference to the 18th century adds a historical dimension.

The Musée des outils des métiers de la pierre displays tools used by quarry workers, stonemasons, builders and sculptors. These occupations represent different kinds of work with stone, from quarrying and working it to construction and sculpture. This makes it easy to distinguish the two museums by subject: one focuses on viticulture and wine, the other on the tools of the stone trades.

Discover more destinations: Corbonod, Massieux, Relevant, Pirajoux, Civrieux, Reyrieux, Villebois, Arbigny.

For the broader travel overview: Ain.