Rock of Solutré (Roche de Solutré)
A limestone escarpment rising above the Pouilly-Fuissé vineyards, famous for its Ice Age hunters.
- Nature and viewpoint
- 1 h 17 from Beaune
- Allow 1.5 to 2 hours
- Solutré-Pouilly
€280one way from Beaune with a private driver
At a glance
- Nearby
- Pouilly-Fuissé
- Official website
- rochedesolutre.com
Getting there
Private driver from Beaune: 1 h 17 by road (105 km), €280 one way for the whole car.
Or add it to our full-day wine tour plus two hours, €700.
Coming by train or plane? Transfers from stations and airports →
About the place
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.
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.
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.
Planning your visit
Tips for 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.
Around here
What to combine with Rock of Solutré on the same day, nearest first.
Guides about Rock of Solutré
Questions
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.
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.
Sources
Rock of Solutré with a private driver
€280 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests