--- title: "Mâconnais wine region: Pouilly-Fuissé and Saint-Véran" description: "Mâconnais: 3 wine villages 1 h to 1 h 10 from Beaune. Our full-day wine tour plus two hours goes there with a private driver for €700 per car." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/regions/maconnais lang: en updated: 2026-10-04 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/regions/maconnais.png --- # Mâconnais, Burgundy’s southern Chardonnay country > The Mâconnais is the most southerly wine region of Burgundy, a strip of vines about 10 km wide and 35 km long between Sennecey-le-Grand and Saint-Vérand, where Chardonnay makes up 80% of the vineyard. Its villages lie 1 h to 1 h 10 from Beaune by road, and our full-day wine tour plus two hours takes you there with a licensed private driver for €700 per car, up to 4 guests. ## Key facts - Wine villages: 3 - From Beaune: 1 h to 1 h 10 - Premiers crus: 22 - Grapes: Chardonnay - Location: 80 km south of Beaune · Mâconnais - €700 for a [full-day wine tour](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/full-day) plus two hours, from Beaune, up to 4 guests ## The region Rolling hills in the north give way in the south to the great outcrops of Vergisson and Solutré, above the appellations most visitors look for: Pouilly-Fuissé, which has 22 premiers crus, Saint-Véran and Viré-Clessé. The village of Saint-Vérand is written with a d, its wine, Saint-Véran, without one, and the regional Mâcon appellation can add one of 27 village names to its label. The whole region lies between the valleys of the Grosne to the west and the Saône to the east. The Rock of Solutré rises to 493 m above the vineyards of Pouilly-Fuissé, with an easy path to the top, and at its foot the Solutré Museum of Prehistory tells how hunters came here for tens of thousands of years. The reds are mostly Gamay rather than Pinot Noir: the Mâconnais did not belong to the Duchy of Burgundy when the dukes had Gamay pulled up in their lands in the Middle Ages. Monks shaped these vineyards. Cluny Abbey, founded in 909 by William I, Count of Mâcon, followed the Benedictine rule of prayer and work, and its monks planted vines of their own. Cluny and Tournus, with its Saint-Philibert Abbey, are both within easy reach of the vineyards, and the Château de Pierreclos, a wine estate on a rocky spur near the Rock of Solutré, opens for visits and tastings. Our full-day wine tour, with 2 extra hours for the drive, covers the Mâconnais for €700 per car, with tastings, lunch and time in the vineyards; the tastings are paid to the domaines directly. ## Villages - [Pouilly-Fuissé](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/pouilly-fuisse): Burgundy's great southern white, grown beneath the limestone cliffs of Solutré and Vergisson. (1 h 10 from Beaune) - [Viré-Clessé](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/vire-clesse): Two neighbouring villages of the Haut-Mâconnais, joined in one appellation for generous Chardonnay. (1 h from Beaune) - [Saint-Véran](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/saint-veran): Fresh Chardonnay from villages that wrap around Pouilly-Fuissé, beneath the Roche de Solutré. (1 h 10 from Beaune) ## Châteaux - [Château de Cormatin](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-cormatin): The most lavish Louis XIII apartments in France, inside a moated château with a box maze garden. (Cormatin) - [Château de Brancion](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-brancion): A feudal fortress and car-free medieval village on a rocky spur between Tournus and Cluny. (Martailly-lès-Brancion) - [Château de Balleure](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-balleure): Birthplace of the Renaissance historian Pierre de Saint-Julien de Balleure, now a luxury guest house. (Étrigny) - [Château d’Ozenay](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-d-ozenay): A stone-roofed manor beside a Romanesque church, held by one family for some four hundred years. (Ozenay) - [Château de Nobles](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-nobles): A manor below Brancion with round towers, cannon ports and a richly carved Renaissance doorway. (La Chapelle-sous-Brancion) - [Château de Messey](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-messey): A fortified house near Tournus, reborn as an organic wine estate with rooms and winegrowers' cottages. (Ozenay) - [Château de Cruzille](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-cruzille): A fortress on a spur above Cruzille, marked by the Wars of Religion and the Liberation of 1944. (Cruzille) - [Château de Boutavent](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-boutavent): A spur-top castle that guarded the Grosne valley for the lords of Brancion, then for Cluny. (Cortambert) - [Château de Lourdon](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-lourdon): The ruined hilltop fortress of the abbots of Cluny, where the monks once hid their treasures. (Lournand) - [Château de Vaux-sous-Targes](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-vaux-sous-targes): An Italianate villa of 1830 in the Mâconnais, built by a Basque shipowner on a medieval moated site. (Péronne) - [Château de Besseuil](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-besseuil): A 17th-century manor among the Viré-Clessé vines, now a hotel and restaurant with its own organic vineyard. (Clessé) - [Château de Berzé-le-Châtel](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-berze-le-chatel): The largest medieval fortress of southern Burgundy, built to shield Cluny, with terraced gardens and its own wine. (Berzé-le-Châtel) - [Maison de Lamartine](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/maison-de-lamartine-milly): The childhood home of Alphonse de Lamartine, a winegrowers' house that inspired some of his finest poems. (Milly-Lamartine) - [Château de Monceau](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-monceau): Lamartine's wine château near Mâcon, where he wrote in a small wooden pavilion among the vines. (Prissé) - [Château de Chazoux](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-chazoux): A modest wine estate house near Mâcon that hides richly painted rooms and a landscaped park. (Hurigny) - [Château de Saint-Point](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-saint-point): Lamartine's beloved home, remodelled in English Gothic taste, with his study, his museum and his tomb. (Saint-Point) - [Château de Pierreclos](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-pierreclos): A medieval castle turned wine estate on a rocky spur near Solutré, full of Lamartine memories. (Pierreclos) - [Château de Tramayes](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-tramayes): A fortified house of 1598 on a pass south-west of Cluny, later owned by a friend of Lamartine. (Tramayes) - [Château de Fuissé](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-fuisse): The Vincent family's historic estate in Pouilly-Fuissé, home of the appellation's only monopole premier cru. (Fuissé) - [Château de Chasselas](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-chasselas): A three-towered castle with glazed-tile roofs in the Saint-Véran hills, long the heart of a wine estate. (Chasselas) - [Château de Vinzelles](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-vinzelles): Two neighbouring castles above Vinzelles, linked by a vat house with great wooden wine presses. (Vinzelles) - [Château d’Estours](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-d-estours): A moated fortified house south of Mâcon, fought over by Écorcheurs and Mâcon militias. (Crêches-sur-Saône) ## Things to do - [Cluny Abbey (Abbaye de Cluny)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/abbaye-de-cluny): The remains of the largest church in medieval Christendom, heart of a monastic order that spread across Europe. (Cluny) - [Rock of Solutré (Roche de Solutré)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/roche-de-solutre): A limestone escarpment rising above the Pouilly-Fuissé vineyards, famous for its Ice Age hunters. (Solutré-Pouilly) - [Les Vignerons de Mancey](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/vignerons-de-mancey-tournus): A growers' cooperative near Tournus, with a free trail on Burgundy wine and tastings of Mâcon-Mancey. (Tournus) - [Saint-Philibert Abbey, Tournus (Abbaye Saint-Philibert de Tournus)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/abbaye-saint-philibert-tournus): One of the great Romanesque churches of France, with unusual crosswise vaults and a complete monastic setting. (Tournus) - [Hôtel-Dieu de Tournus](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/hotel-dieu-de-tournus): A 17th-century hospital with its wards, oak box beds and one of the oldest apothecaries in France. (Tournus) - [Musée du Vélo Michel Grézaud](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/musee-du-velo-michel-grezaud-tournus): Nearly 200 bicycles, from an 1818 draisine to a carbon racing machine, in a former starch factory south of Tournus. (Tournus) - [Saint-Martin Church, Chapaize (Église Saint-Martin de Chapaize)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/eglise-saint-martin-chapaize): An early Romanesque priory church whose tall Lombard bell tower rises over the countryside west of Tournus. (Chapaize) - [Taizé Community (Communauté de Taizé)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/communaute-de-taize): An ecumenical community of brothers in a Burgundian village, where visitors may join the daily prayer. (Taizé) - [Mont Saint-Romain](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/mont-saint-romain): A summit of almost 580 metres in the Mâconnais hills, with a rooftop viewing table facing the Alps. (Blanot) - [Cave de Lugny](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/cave-de-lugny): A 1927 cooperative, the leading producer of Mâcon-Villages, with a shop below the Charmes vineyard. (Lugny) - [Azé Caves (Grottes d’Azé)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/grottes-d-aze): Two caves in the Mâconnais hills: an underground river and a prehistoric cave of bears and lions. (Azé) - [Cluny National Stud (Haras national de Cluny)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/haras-national-de-cluny): A national stud founded under Napoleon, built on the site of Cluny's great abbey church. (Cluny) - [Cluny Market (Marché de Cluny)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/marche-de-cluny): A Saturday morning market in the streets of Cluny's medieval town, right beside the abbey. (Cluny) - [Tour des Fromages](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/tour-des-fromages-cluny): A tower of the abbey wall of Cluny, with 120 steps up to the best view of the abbey town. (Cluny) - [Église Notre-Dame de Cluny](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/eglise-notre-dame-cluny): Cluny's Gothic parish church, watched over by fifty carved faces and the three-faced Pidou-Berlu. (Cluny) - [Domaine Fichet](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/domaine-fichet-ige): A family estate in the hamlet of Le Martoret at Igé, whose growers trace their roots back to 1408. (Igé) - [Monks’ Chapel, Berzé-la-Ville (Chapelle des Moines de Berzé-la-Ville)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/chapelle-des-moines-berze-la-ville): A small Romanesque chapel holding the only surviving monumental paintings of Cluny's great age. (Berzé-la-Ville) - [Château de la Greffière et Musée de la Vigne et du Vin](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/chateau-de-la-greffiere-musee-de-la-vigne-et-du-vin): A family estate between Mâcon and Cluny, with a museum of 2,000 old tools and an 18th-century tasting cellar. (La Roche-Vineuse) - [Cité des Climats et vins de Bourgogne, Mâcon](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/cite-des-climats-et-vins-macon): The Mâcon site of Burgundy's wine discovery centre, marked by a tower shaped like a wine-press screw. (Mâcon) - [Rock of Vergisson (Roche de Vergisson)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/roche-de-vergisson): Solutré's quieter twin, a limestone cliff above the village of Vergisson with views across the vineyards. (Vergisson) - [Ursulines Museum, Mâcon (Musée des Ursulines)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/musee-des-ursulines-macon): Mâcon's museum of art and archaeology, in a 17th-century convent, with rooms devoted to Lamartine. (Mâcon) - [Pont Saint-Laurent](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/pont-saint-laurent-macon): The oldest bridge across the Saône, joining Mâcon to the Ain on twelve stone arches. (Mâcon) - [Église Saint-Pierre de Mâcon](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/eglise-saint-pierre-macon): Mâcon's largest church, a neo-Romanesque landmark whose twin spires rise above the Saône. (Mâcon) - [Solutré Museum of Prehistory (Musée de Préhistoire de Solutré)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/musee-de-prehistoire-de-solutre): A half-buried museum at the foot of the rock, telling the story of Solutré's Ice Age hunters. (Solutré-Pouilly) - [Domaine Luquet Depuis 1878](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/domaine-luquet-fuisse): A family estate in the heart of Fuissé since 1878, with six generations of Pouilly-Fuissé and Saint-Véran. (Fuissé) - [Cave de Vinzelles-Loché](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/cave-de-vinzelles-loche): The 1929 cooperative of Vinzelles and Loché, where three Pouilly appellations can be tasted side by side. (Vinzelles) - [Hameau Duboeuf](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/hameau-duboeuf): A wine theme park in a former railway station, created by the Beaujolais merchant Georges Duboeuf. (Romanèche-Thorins) ## Restaurants - [L’Écrin de Yohann Chapuis](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/l-ecrin-de-yohann-chapuis-tournus): An intimate starred dining room in Tournus, from the chef who helped Lameloise win back its third star. (Tournus · 1 MICHELIN star) - [Aux Terrasses](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/aux-terrasses-tournus): A starred family house in Tournus, now in its second generation. (Tournus · 1 MICHELIN star) - [La Marande](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/la-marande-montbellet): A family-run country house in the northern Mâconnais, starred since 2014. (Montbellet · 1 MICHELIN star) - [Le Raisin](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/le-raisin-pont-de-vaux): A family house in the Bresse, a short hop across the Saône from the Mâconnais vineyards. (Pont-de-Vaux · 1 MICHELIN star) - [La Huchette](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/la-huchette-replonges): Bresse produce with a Mediterranean accent, just across the Saône from Mâcon. (Replonges · 1 MICHELIN star) - [L’O des Vignes](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/l-o-des-vignes-fuisse): A Meilleur Ouvrier de France cooking in the heart of Pouilly-Fuissé. (Fuissé · 1 MICHELIN star) - [La Table de Chaintré](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/la-table-de-chaintre): One menu a week, one husband-and-wife team, in a former village grocery near Mâcon. (Chaintré · 1 MICHELIN star) - [L’Auberge du Cep](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/auberge-du-cep-fleurie): A historic inn in the Beaujolais cru village of Fleurie, starred again since 2021. (Fleurie · 1 MICHELIN star) ## Events - **Sunday, 18 October 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [La Tournuscimes](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/la-tournuscimes): Burgundy's biggest organised walk, on foot, by mountain bike or on horseback through the autumn Mâconnais. (Sport · Chardonnay) - **Tuesday 3 – Sunday 15 November 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Les Symphonies d’Automne](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/symphonies-d-automne-macon): Mâcon's festival of the voice, built around an international competition for young opera singers. (Music · Mâcon) - **Friday, 4 December 2026 – Sunday, 3 January 2027 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Contes & Lumières](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/contes-et-lumieres-macon): Mâcon's month of Christmas lights, parades, tales and concerts, free and open to all. (Christmas · Mâcon) - **Friday 4 – Sunday 20 December 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Marchés de Noël de Cluny](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/marches-de-noel-de-cluny): Weekend Christmas markets in the historic Écuries de Saint-Hugues, in the heart of Cluny. (Christmas · Cluny) - **Saturday 12 – Sunday 13 December 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Marché de Noël de Tournus](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/marche-de-noel-de-tournus): A Christmas market of makers and local producers inside the abbey halls of Tournus. (Christmas · Tournus) - **A weekend in late March; the 2026 fair was held on 21 and 22 March.** · [Les Oenogourmandes](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/les-oenogourmandes-tournus): A wine and food fair in the medieval halls of Tournus abbey, every March. (Wine festival · Tournus) - **The third weekend of April, Saturday and Sunday; the 25th edition was held on 18 and 19 April 2026.** · [Printemps du Cru Viré-Clessé](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/printemps-du-vire-clesse): The whole Viré-Clessé appellation opens its cellars on the third weekend of April. (Wine festival · Viré) - **Friday 16 – Sunday 18 April 2027 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Salon des Vins de Mâcon](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/salon-des-vins-de-macon): A tour de France of wine in Mâcon, on the weekend of the historic Concours des Grands Vins de France. (Wine festival · Mâcon) - **A Thursday in May, from late afternoon into the evening; in 2026 it fell on 14 May.** · [Chardonnay Day à Chardonnay](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/chardonnay-day): The world's favourite white grape is toasted in the Mâconnais village that gave it its name. (Wine festival · Chardonnay) - **The week of Ascension in May; the 14th festival ran from 12 to 17 May 2026.** · [Festival Cluny Danse](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/festival-cluny-danse): Contemporary dance in the streets and theatres of Cluny over the Ascension week. (Culture · Cluny) - **A Saturday night in late May or early June; the 89th gala was held on 30 May 2026.** · [Grand Gala des Arts et Métiers de Cluny](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/grand-gala-de-cluny): A black-tie night in the abbey of Cluny, run by engineering students for more than 5,000 guests. (Culture · Cluny) - **A Friday and Saturday evening in late May; in 2026, Friday 29 and Saturday 30 May, from 6 pm to 1 am.** · [Les Mâcon Wine Note](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/macon-wine-note): Two evenings of Mâcon wines and live music at a pop-up wine bar on the banks of the Saône. (Wine festival · Mâcon) - **From late June to late August; the town's programme for 2026 ran from 24 June to 30 August.** · [L’Été Frappé](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/l-ete-frappe-macon): A free summer-long festival of concerts and shows in the streets and parks of Mâcon. (Music · Mâcon) - **A weekend in mid-June; the 2026 ride was on 13 and 14 June.** · [La Vélo Gourmande en Sud Bourgogne](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/velo-gourmande-en-sud-bourgogne): A gourmet cycle ride through the Mâconnais, with tastings and chefs' dishes at every stop. (Food & markets · Mâcon) - **Six days around the turn of July and August; the 2026 festival ran from 28 July to 2 August.** · [Festival de Lournand](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/festival-de-lournand): Six summer evenings of theatre, circus and music on a village square just north of Cluny. (Culture · Lournand) - **From mid or late July to about 10 August; the 2026 festival ran from 19 July to 10 August.** · [Les Grandes Heures de Cluny](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/grandes-heures-de-cluny): A summer festival of classical music in Cluny's churches, with a wine tasting after each concert. (Music · Cluny) - **A weekend in mid or late July; the 2025 weekend was held on 19 and 20 July.** · [Week-end médiéval de Brancion](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/week-end-medieval-de-brancion): Knights, archers and falconers bring the hilltop village of Brancion back to the Middle Ages for a weekend. (Tradition · Martailly-lès-Brancion) - **Late August; in 2026 it opened on 23 August in Ozenay, then ran from 26 to 29 August in Viré and Tournus.** · [Détours en Tournugeois](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/detours-en-tournugeois): Brass bands, street theatre and village dances between Tournus and the Mâconnais vineyards at the end of summer. (Culture · Tournus) - **About a week in the second half of August; the 2026 festival ran from 15 to 22 August.** · [Jazz Campus en Clunisois](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/jazz-campus-en-clunisois): One of France's oldest jazz festivals, pairing a week of concerts with a jazz summer school. (Music · Cluny) ## Guides - [Burgundy’s grape varieties: what grows where, and what each one gives](https://www.cote-privee.com/guides/burgundy-grape-varieties): Two great grapes, a handful of local ones, and the rules that decide where each may go. - [Burgundy wine tour itineraries from Beaune: half a day, one day, two days and three days](https://www.cote-privee.com/guides/burgundy-wine-tour-itineraries): Village routes from Beaune for half a day to three days, with timings, tastings and lunch stops. ## Questions ### Mâconnais: how far are its villages from Beaune? By road, 1 h to 1 h 10 from Beaune: Viré-Clessé is the nearest of its wine villages, Saint-Véran the farthest. ### Mâconnais: which wine tour goes there? Our full-day wine tour plus two hours from Beaune: 10 hours with a licensed private driver for €700 per car, up to 4 guests. Your driver plans the route and helps you book the tastings, which you pay to the domaines. → [Full-day wine tour plus two hours, €700](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/full-day) ### Mâconnais: which villages have premiers crus? Pouilly-Fuissé (22): 22 premiers crus in all, and no grand cru. ## Other wine regions - [Côte de Nuits](https://www.cote-privee.com/regions/cote-de-nuits) - [Côte de Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/regions/cote-de-beaune) - [Côte Chalonnaise](https://www.cote-privee.com/regions/cote-chalonnaise) - [Chablis & Auxerrois](https://www.cote-privee.com/regions/chablis) ## Book - [Book this tour](https://www.cote-privee.com/book?service=wine-tour&option=full&place=village:pouilly,village:vire,village:stveran): Full-day wine tour plus two hours, €700 · 10 hours · Per vehicle · 1–4 guests ## Sources - - - - --- Canonical page: