--- title: "Roche de Solutré: Walk to the Top and Prehistory Site" description: "A 493-metre limestone escarpment above the Pouilly-Fuissé vines, famous for its Ice Age hunters. About an hour up and down. Private driver from Beaune." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/roche-de-solutre lang: en updated: 2026-09-30 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/things-to-do/roche-de-solutre.png --- # Rock of Solutré (Roche de Solutré) > Rock of Solutré: a limestone escarpment rising above the Pouilly-Fuissé vineyards, famous for its Ice Age hunters. Rock of Solutré is in Solutré-Pouilly (Saône-et-Loire), 1 h 17 by road (105 km) from Beaune. Allow 1.5 to 2 hours · Private driver from Beaune: €280 one way for the whole car, up to 4 guests. The Roche de Solutré rises to 493 metres above the vineyards of Pouilly-Fuissé, its sheer cliff visible from far across the Mâconnais. With the Roche de Vergisson and the Mont de Pouilly, it forms the heart of the Grand Site de France Solutré Pouilly Vergisson. An easy path leads to the top for wide views over the vines. ## Key facts - Type: Nature & viewpoints - Where: Solutré-Pouilly · Saône-et-Loire - Location: 80 km south of Beaune · Mâconnais - Coordinates: 46.2987, 4.7181 - 1 h 17 from Beaune - Allow 1.5 to 2 hours - Solutré-Pouilly - Nearby: [Pouilly-Fuissé](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/pouilly-fuisse) - Official website: [rochedesolutre.com](https://rochedesolutre.com/) - From Beaune: ≈ 1 h 17 · 105 km - €280 one way from Beaune with a [private driver](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver) - Or add it to our [full-day wine tour plus two hours, €700](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/full-day). ## Getting there - [Private driver from Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver): 1 h 17 by road (105 km), €280 one way for the whole car. Coming by train or plane? [Transfers from stations and airports](https://www.cote-privee.com/transfers) Estimates per vehicle for up to 4 guests, tolls included. Your price is confirmed when you book. ## History People have hunted at the foot of the rock for at least 55,000 years, first Neanderthals and then modern humans, killing horses and reindeer in their thousands. Excavations began in 1866, and in 1872 the prehistorian Gabriel de Mortillet named a whole Palaeolithic culture after the site: the Solutrean, known for its fine flint blades shaped like laurel leaves. Solutré remains one of the richest prehistoric sites in Europe. In the Middle Ages a castle stood on the edge of the escarpment, until Duke Philip the Good ordered it dismantled in 1435. From 1946 to 1995 François Mitterrand climbed the rock every year, later on Whit Sunday, a ritual followed closely by the press during his presidency. In 2013 the site received the Grand Site de France label, which recognises the protection and care of exceptional landscapes. ## What you will see From the car park at the foot of the rock, a 4-kilometre loop with about 100 metres of climb leads to the summit, with reading panels along the way. It is easy but has many steps. At the top, the view takes in Vergisson and its rock opposite and the sea of vines. Small Konik Polski horses graze the slopes, keeping the rare limestone grassland open. ## Planning your visit Allow about an hour for the round trip on foot, more if you linger at the top. Wear shoes with grip, as the stone can be slippery. At the foot of the rock, the Maison du Grand Site has a café, exhibitions and walking information, and the prehistory museum is a short walk further up the path. Late afternoon light on the cliff is particularly fine. ## Did you know? The popular story that Ice Age hunters drove horses off the cliff comes from an 1872 novel by one of the excavators, Adrien Arcelin. The bones in fact lie far from the summit. ## Around Rock of Solutré What to combine with Rock of Solutré on the same day, nearest first. ### Villages - [Pouilly-Fuissé](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/pouilly-fuisse) (3 km away): Burgundy's great southern white, grown beneath the limestone cliffs of Solutré and Vergisson. - [Saint-Véran](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/saint-veran) (5 km away): Fresh Chardonnay from villages that wrap around Pouilly-Fuissé, beneath the Roche de Solutré. - [Viré-Clessé](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/vire-clesse) (19 km away): Two neighbouring villages of the Haut-Mâconnais, joined in one appellation for generous Chardonnay. ### Châteaux - [Château de Fuissé](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-fuisse) (2 km away): The Vincent family's historic estate in Pouilly-Fuissé, home of the appellation's only monopole premier cru. - [Château de Chasselas](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-chasselas) (3 km away): A three-towered castle with glazed-tile roofs in the Saint-Véran hills, long the heart of a wine estate. - [Château de Pierreclos](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-pierreclos) (4 km away): A medieval castle turned wine estate on a rocky spur near Solutré, full of Lamartine memories. ### Things to do - [Solutré Museum of Prehistory (Musée de Préhistoire de Solutré)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/musee-de-prehistoire-de-solutre), 1 km away: A half-buried museum at the foot of the rock, telling the story of Solutré's Ice Age hunters. - [Rock of Vergisson (Roche de Vergisson)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/roche-de-vergisson), 2 km away: Solutré's quieter twin, a limestone cliff above the village of Vergisson with views across the vineyards. - [Domaine Luquet Depuis 1878](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/domaine-luquet-fuisse) (3 km away): A family estate in the heart of Fuissé since 1878, with six generations of Pouilly-Fuissé and Saint-Véran. ### Restaurants - [L’O des Vignes](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/l-o-des-vignes-fuisse) (3 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): A Meilleur Ouvrier de France cooking in the heart of Pouilly-Fuissé. - [La Table de Chaintré](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/la-table-de-chaintre) (5 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): One menu a week, one husband-and-wife team, in a former village grocery near Mâcon. - [L’Auberge du Cep](https://www.cote-privee.com/restaurants/auberge-du-cep-fleurie) (12 km away · 1 MICHELIN star): A historic inn in the Beaujolais cru village of Fleurie, starred again since 2021. ### Guides about Rock of Solutré - [Wine tour itineraries from Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/guides/burgundy-wine-tour-itineraries) ## Questions about Rock of Solutré ### How far is Rock of Solutré from Beaune? Rock of Solutré is about 1 h 17 from Beaune by road (105 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €280 for the whole car, up to 4 guests. ### How long does a visit to Rock of Solutré take? For the visit, allow 1.5 to 2 hours. ### When is Rock of Solutré open? Opening days and times change during the year, so check the official website (rochedesolutre.com) before you go. Your driver can plan the day around them. ### Can a private driver take us to Rock of Solutré? Yes. Your driver collects you in Beaune or at your hotel in an electric Polestar 2 (up to 4 guests), waits while you visit and plans the rest of the day with you. The driver speaks English, French, Mandarin Chinese and Arabic. → [Full-day wine tour plus two hours, €700](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/full-day) ## Book - [Book a driver here](https://www.cote-privee.com/book?service=driver&place=sight:solutre): €280 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests ## Sources - - - - - - --- Canonical page: