Beaujolais Golden Stones

The Pays des Pierres Dorees takes its name from a local limestone containing iron oxide and packed with small fossils, which weathers to ochre and gold and was used for everything: houses, churches, walls, towers. In late afternoon sun the villages read almost orange. Oingt is the best known, a car-free hilltop village with a tower to climb; Ternand, Bagnols, Charnay and Theize are quieter. This is southern Beaujolais, making Beaujolais and Beaujolais-Villages rather than the ten named crus further north, and the vineyards run right up between the villages on steep granite and limestone slopes.

What you actually see

• Oingt - a car-free hilltop village of golden stone with a tower.
• The stone colour - ochre limestone that goes gold in low sun.
• The vineyard slopes - Beaujolais vines between and below the villages.
• The smaller villages - Ternand, Bagnols, Charnay and Theize on the circuit.

When to go

April to October, with late afternoon light showing the stone at its best. Harvest is late August and September. Autumn colour on the vines is strong.

Honest expectations

A car is necessary and the roads are narrow and winding. Villages are small with few facilities and shut for long lunches. The named cru wines are grown further north, not here.

Nearby

Lyon lies south; the Beaujolais crus are north around Fleurie and Morgon.