The Chemin des Grands Crus in Volnay

At first glance, this is a peaceful hike through the vineyards, but it gains altitude with the charming, stony paths of the Montagne d'Auxey.

Details

2496770
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.76 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 10 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 271 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 267 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 423 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 252 m
  • ⚐ Country: France
  • ⚐ City: Volnay (21190)
  • ⚑
    Start/End: N 47.000916° / E 4.782174°
  • ❏
    IGN map(s): Ref. 3024OT, 3025SB
  • Hour-by-hour weather

Photos

Description of the walk

Parking at Place de la Mairie in Volnay.

(S/E) Turn left when leaving the car park, then left again onto Rue de la Combe at the church. Follow this street, which turns left after a steep slope, then right when you reach the first vineyards.
Stay on this cross-country track through the vineyard without joining the D973 road. You will reach a fork.

(1) Keep right, ignoring any side roads. Turn left at the end of the passage and then quickly right between the houses to reach Grande Rue and its four-way crossroads in the centre of the village of Monthelie.

(2) Follow Rue Cadette opposite, ignore the cul-de-sac on the left, then turn left at the T-junction. About 200 m after the crossroads, you will reach Rue du Dessous.
Turn left and keep right at the fork that follows to enter Rue d'Auxey.

(3) Turn left in front of the cross and immediately turn right until you reach the D973. Turn right heading west, leave the path on the right and continue to the next path at an isolated house.

(4) Go up to the right in front of the house. The path turns left; stay on it until you reach a four-way junction near the village of Auxey-Duresses. Turn right and continue to a fork a little further up.

(5) Leave theGR® which turns right and take a stony path to the left. Stay on this steep path which heads north-north-west. Ignore several crossroads and continue along the path which, further on, turns completely left between the fir trees as the slope becomes gentler. You will soon reach a five-way crossroads.
Turn right and continue straight downhill for a few hundred metres. Turn right at the bottom of the descent and you will soon reach a clearing with a motocross area. (FFMC sign)

(6) Leave the motocross track on your left. Keep to the right on the wide dirt track and quickly leave it (about 70 m after the FFMC sign) by turning left onto a smaller but clearly visible path.
Turn right after about 150 m. Keep to the path, which slopes gently downhill until it meets a perpendicular path just after a path branches off to the right.

(7) Turn left and then keep right at the next two crossroads. Soon after, turn right at the next fork.

(8) At the next intersection, go straight ahead and pass the Dolmen de la Pierre Brulée on your right. Cross the Avant-Dheune via a small bridge and join the D17.

(9) Follow the D17 to the right. At the junction with the D23, turn right towards Meursault.

(10) Just after the right-hand bend that follows, leave this road and take a steep path on the left. Continue straight ahead into the woods, heading south-east, to reach a five-way crossroads at the edge of the forest.

(11) Follow the track opposite, which gradually turns southwards, passing a chicken coop and quickly reaching a fork at a place called Sur Roches.

(12) Turn left along a grove with a small picnic area and stay on this road, which turns south until it crosses Rue du Mont. Turn left and stay on this lane until you reach the church to return to the town hall car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 286 m - Town hall car park - Église Saint-Cyr et Sainte-Julitte (Volnay)
  2. 1 : km 0.84 - alt. 293 m - Fork
  3. 2 : km 1.92 - alt. 290 m - Crossroads - Église Saint-Germain d'Auxerre (Monthélie)
  4. 3 : km 2.29 - alt. 258 m - Cross
  5. 4 : km 3.03 - alt. 258 m - D973 - Isolated house
  6. 5 : km 3.62 - alt. 292 m - Stony path
  7. 6 : km 5.74 - alt. 395 m - Motocross area (FFMC sign)
  8. 7 : km 7.19 - alt. 328 m - Crossroads at the edge of the woods
  9. 8 : km 8.27 - alt. 289 m - Intersection - Dolmen de la Pierre Brulée
  10. 9 : km 8.81 - alt. 277 m - Junction D17
  11. 10 : km 9.47 - alt. 278 m - Start of the trail
  12. 11 : km 10.51 - alt. 378 m - Five-way crossroads
  13. 12 : km 10.95 - alt. 373 m - Sur Roches
  14. S/E : km 11.76 - alt. 286 m - Town hall car park - Église Saint-Cyr et Sainte-Julitte (Volnay)

Notes

The large town hall car park is sometimes full. Parking is then possible along thefirst vineyards at the end of Rue de la Combe on the hike route itself.

Always be cautious and plan ahead when you're outdoors. Visorando and the author of this route cannot be held responsible for any accidents occurring on this route.

The GR® and PR® markings are the intellectual property of the Fédération Française de Randonnée Pédestre.

Reviews and comments

4.4 / 5
Based on 10 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.2 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.3 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
brion chantal
brion chantal
• Edited:

i got lost in Monthélie because the street names aren't marked. We ended up walking 15 km instead of 11.

Machine-translated

grandsam78
grandsam78

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 12, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The route description lacked precision in certain places, which caused us to lose time. We were forced to use our GPS because the paper description was insufficient, and initially we only wanted to use the paper description.

Machine-translated

PasMai
PasMai

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 06, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant route with varied surroundings, alternating between vineyards, countryside and forest. The paths are stony, grassy or earthy, with little tarmac.
I recommend it.

Machine-translated

Ricco39
Ricco39
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 20, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

- At point (3): you can continue straight ahead on the road leaving the village until you reach the first "white" road on the left, which avoids having to stay on the D973 for a long time.

Machine-translated

KWC096
KWC096

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 12, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A route through vineyards full of young people busy pruning, weeding and treating the vines. The smell of sulphur and Bordeaux mixture – in short, life itself.

Machine-translated

achateau
achateau

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Dec 05, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A very pleasant route, alternating between vineyards and forests with beautiful views of the wine-growing villages of the Côte de Beaune.

Machine-translated

framboise71
framboise71

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 29, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hike done in the sunshine, through vineyards and woods. Varied landscapes, two short sections on roads but no major problems.

Machine-translated

Pedro49
Pedro49
• Edited:

Hello
We followed the well-marked yellow signs and combined the circular with the one in Pommard.
In my opinion, this should be added to your website.
Just be careful on the cycle path that passes through Pommard and goes towards Volnay, as it uses the same road and cyclists are known to be oblivious to their surroundings.
A public fountain in Pommard is welcome at the end of the hike.
Yours,
P. GRAVELEAU

Machine-translated

Martpou
Martpou

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 30, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A lovely walk in autumn. We were delighted by the beautiful autumn colours during the first part of the walk through the vineyards.

Machine-translated

alainlem
alainlem

What happened to you, Amédée? Did you find that little path 140 metres from point 6? Or has it disappeared?
Personally, I sometimes miss a turn and have to retrace my steps: that's what maps are for, and it's all part of the adventure for hikers.

To suggest that the explanations and even the route are unreliable (3/5) for such a minor issue is a bit rich, in my opinion!

Well... Best regards, of course.

Machine-translated

Amédée
Amédée

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 27, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

The description in point 6 after the motocross area needs to be improved, as the small path on the left is not obvious.

Kind regards.

Machine-translated

papimymamis
papimymamis

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Mar 29, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Changes to be made for greater ease in points 5 and 6
Point 5: to descend for a good kilometre,
Point 6: turn right above the motocross area, then as soon as you enter the woods, take the first small path on the left.

Just a few details, but it's a great, easy hike to get back into shape. At point 9, you can turn left to descend to Pommard, cross the town and follow the cycle path that takes you back to the starting point.
Thank you for this beautiful hike.

Machine-translated

ODB21
ODB21

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 14, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

This route can be completed without difficulty on a Sunday during hunting season, but should be avoided during periods of intense heat as it is very exposed.

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.