Le Fond de Juis in Savigneux

Park in the church car park. This route is signposted with hiking posts; yellow paint markings will be introduced shortly.

(S/E) From the car park, turn left onto Rue de l’Église towards Ars-sur-Formans and the Route des Dombes, which you will follow to the right for about a hundred metres.

At the first junction, turn left onto the Route de Rancé, heading due south. Pass the ruins of the Priory of Montberthoud, founded around the year 1000, of which only part of the façade remains today, incorporated into another building. Continue to the Champ Marguerite junction.

(1) Turn right and follow the route alongside the Domaine de Fontanelle as far as La Rose.

(2) At a place called La Rose, follow the road as it bends to the left and continue due south to Champ Perret.
On your right, the Monts du Beaujolais come into view, and a distinctive red-brick building appears on your left: the Donjon de Juis.

(3) At the multi-way junction in Champ Perret, turn left towards Rancé, cross the D88 – from where you’ll have a view of the Château de Juis – and carry on straight ahead.

(4) Cross the bridge over the TGV line after the hamlet of Les Grandes Terres, then head slightly to the right towards the hamlet of Fond de Juis and Rancé, on the edge of the woods. Turn left to follow the banks of the Étang de la Dombes.

(5) At Fond de Juis, stop by the sluice gate of the pond and admire the unique spectacle of ducks and other birds performing graceful dances on the water. Then follow the path towards Rancé along the edge of the woods.

(6) At the stream, turn left, cross the Bois Chazel and join a road.

(7) As you leave the woods, take the road on the right until you reach the Baysses junction.

(8) At Les Baysses, turn left onto the path, cross a road and arrive at a fork near the hamlet of Les Éguets.

(9) At Les Éguets, head slightly to the left, cross a road and you’ll reach the railway line.

(10) Go under the railway line, turn right then left until you reach the first road on the left

(11) Take this road to reach Champ Marguerite, cross the bridge over the Ruisseau la Pierre and arrive at the D88.

(1) Turn right and follow the route back the way you came to reach the car park at Savigneux church (S/E).

Juis Keep: a listed monument, this 14th-century castle, built largely of red brick, forms an almost perfect square, with its four sides crowned by merlons. It is visible from the surrounding area thanks to a cylindrical corner turret.