Juliénas: Cru, Trails and History

Juliénas is one of the ten Beaujolais Crus; the village is also the starting point for hiking routes, and historic buildings tell the story of their former uses. If you are looking for a hotel in Juliénas, you can choose where to stay based on whether you want to focus on the appellation’s wine, specific route details, or a historic tasting venue. These points of interest give your trip planning a clear connection to local themes.

Wine and Landscape

Juliénas AOP is a red wine and one of the ten Beaujolais Crus. The AOP vineyard occupies the southern side of Mont de Bessay, above the Mauvaise Valley. Its status as one of the ten Crus places the wine in the Beaujolais region; the vineyard’s location adds two specific landscape names to this viticultural context. You can therefore get to know Juliénas through both its Cru and the geographical setting of its AOP vineyard.

Routes with Different Details

Four hiking routes start from Juliénas. The municipal tourism website lists Trail 1 to Mont Bessay as 11 km long, with a duration of three hours and 223 m of positive elevation gain. It also lists a running route described as “Sportif” that starts in Juliénas: it is 7.8 km long and has 250 m of positive elevation gain. This makes the trail 3.2 km longer, while the running route has 27 m more positive elevation gain. The two routes cannot be compared using a single figure: the hiking trail also has a stated duration of three hours, while the running route has the greater elevation gain. For your day’s planning, you can therefore consider distance, stated duration, and elevation gain separately.

Tastings and Architectural History

The Cellier de la Vieille Eglise is a tasting venue in a former Romanesque village church that was deconsecrated in 1868. The building’s foundations date back to the Middle Ages; its 17th-century extension was converted into a tasting cellar. There, you can discover the Juliénas Cru, its history, its wine, and its terroir. The dates refer to different things: the Middle Ages to the foundations, the 17th century to the extension, and 1868 to the church’s deconsecration. The tasting venue is therefore also a tangible link to the building’s history.

The Château du Bois de la Salle offers another historic connection to wine. It was built on the site of the former priory of the same name and served as the headquarters of the cooperative winery from 1960. The difference from the Cellier is clear: the former village church is the focus at the Cellier as a tasting venue, while the Château is notable for its use as the cooperative winery’s headquarters from 1960. This allows you to compare two different historical connections to wine.

Discover more destinations: Collonges-Au-Mont-D'or, Ternand, Montagny, Liergues, Chamelet, Vourles, Saint-Didier-Sur-Beaujeu, Saint-André-La-Côte.

To the overview of the wider region: Rhône.