We rode the voie des vignes route (route of vines, literally, I think) from Beaune, where we were staying in Bourgogne/Burgundy, to Santenay. About 14 miles (~22km) there on the route itself, and 10 miles (~16km) back mostly on the highway due to a mistaken turn out. We rented a bike from a place near the train station for 16 € each for the whole day. My bike had an amazing basket!
It took us a little bit to find the the route, but we managed to. There are some signs, not always clearly posted, indicating the direction one should take. The first photo shows what I think is the "official" start of the route with these nice stone posts. On first impression, the greenery and the lush rolling meadows were extremely gorgeous. Wow! We passed through a number of towns, namely Pommard, Volnay, Mersault, Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet, and last Santenay. The first town we got to, I thought, wow how gorgeous. Old little antiquated towns with ancient stone buildings. Perhaps I was enchanted for the next 2-3 more, and then as I got more tired and hot and grumpy, I was half secretly hoping Metroman would want to turn around, at the same time wanting to get to the "official" end of this route, so I was just like these towns suck. Objectively looking back at them, they were pretty, as were the hectares of rolling hills, but after a while they got the same. Also, the route was hilly, supposed "undulating" slopes (some more undulating than others), and I hopped (or rolled) off the bike to push going uphill a few times. I'm glad we made it to Santenay.
We did not try any wines. It was a Monday, lots of places did not look open, and I think we might have died if we consumed any alcohol.
On the way back, we turned out wrongly and ended up on the highway. It was a bit faster back which we were thankful for, but also a bit scary, but in the end we ended up back with no incident. On the way back we stopped by a gas station and I got a Magnum ice cream! Yum. I even got a chance to go to Carrefour to do some shopping and buy some crap!
I highly recommend biking the route if you are able as it is really pretty, but do not be too sad if you don't make it to Santenay. Know your limits!!
It took us a little bit to find the the route, but we managed to. There are some signs, not always clearly posted, indicating the direction one should take. The first photo shows what I think is the "official" start of the route with these nice stone posts. On first impression, the greenery and the lush rolling meadows were extremely gorgeous. Wow! We passed through a number of towns, namely Pommard, Volnay, Mersault, Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet, and last Santenay. The first town we got to, I thought, wow how gorgeous. Old little antiquated towns with ancient stone buildings. Perhaps I was enchanted for the next 2-3 more, and then as I got more tired and hot and grumpy, I was half secretly hoping Metroman would want to turn around, at the same time wanting to get to the "official" end of this route, so I was just like these towns suck. Objectively looking back at them, they were pretty, as were the hectares of rolling hills, but after a while they got the same. Also, the route was hilly, supposed "undulating" slopes (some more undulating than others), and I hopped (or rolled) off the bike to push going uphill a few times. I'm glad we made it to Santenay.
We did not try any wines. It was a Monday, lots of places did not look open, and I think we might have died if we consumed any alcohol.
On the way back, we turned out wrongly and ended up on the highway. It was a bit faster back which we were thankful for, but also a bit scary, but in the end we ended up back with no incident. On the way back we stopped by a gas station and I got a Magnum ice cream! Yum. I even got a chance to go to Carrefour to do some shopping and buy some crap!
I highly recommend biking the route if you are able as it is really pretty, but do not be too sad if you don't make it to Santenay. Know your limits!!
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