Tour of the Vézelien vineyards on the left bank of the Cure river

This route allows you to discover part of the Vézelay vineyard. There are 120 hectares of vineyards in the communes of Asquins, Saint-Père, Tharoiseau and Vézelay. During this walk, you'll discover numerous viewpoints over the basilica and the town of Vézelay. Take the opportunity to visit the medieval village of Vézelay, its basilica and ramparts.

Technical sheet

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.33 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 4h 05 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Return to departure point: Yes
  • ↗
    Vertical gain: + 282 m
  • ↘
    Vertical drop: - 282 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 279 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 146 m

Description of the walk

Park in Saint-Père, Rue du Gravier on the right bank of the Cure river, on the right after the last houses when coming from the town centre.

(S/E) Go towards the town centre and take the bridge over the Cure river on the left.

(1) Immediately turn left into Rue de la Mairie. Continue along Rue de l'Abbé Pissier. Take time to visit the Church of Notre-Dame. Pass the former Église Saint-Pierre on the left.

(2) Turn right onto Chemin de la Fontaine. Drive alongside the Val en Sel gîte, past the wash-house and continue on the main path (on the map, the path that is supposed to go right around a bend seems to have been abandoned).

(3) At the fork, turn right. Note on your right a fine view of the Vézelay hill.

(4) At the crossroads, continue straight on at the foot of Mont Liboeuf to a vineyard on your left. Ignore a start on the right, and continue along the path with a vineyard on your left.

(5) About 50m after leaving the vineyard on your left, turn left, heading North-East, and follow the vineyards again. At a T-junction, turn right.

(6) At the next junction, turn left. Ignore a footpath on your left and head gradually North.

(7) Fork at a hairpin bend to take the first track on the left, heading West. The path climbs along an overhanging vineyard on the left, before entering the forest.

(8) At the crossroads, follow the GR®°13 (Red and White markings) to the right. On the left is an old winegrower's hut hidden amidst the trees.

(4) At the bottom, continue almost straight ahead between two fields, heading North-North-West. Entering a wood, the path descends between remnants of drystone walls. After crossing the Ru du Val de Poirier, reach Vaufron. A freshwater spring emerges at the foot of the walls. Take the uphill path opposite. At a track coming from the right, turn left, then immediately right to continue uphill.

(9) When you reach the middle of the vineyards (with a view of the Colline Éternelle (eternal hill) on the right), turn left, heading South-West. At a crossroads, turn right. Ignore a path coming from the left, and go as far as the Vézelay campsite.

(10) At the T-junction, turn right, heading North-North-East. Ignore the track on the left and climb up. Turn right onto the Route de l'Étang between the houses, until you reach the D957. Follow this road to the left for about 50m.

(11) Turn right onto Chemin de la Corderie (Vézelay ramparts on the left).

(12) At a fork in the road above the basilica, turn right onto a small path that descends through a tunnel of vegetation. At the bottom, carefully cross the D951 and follow it to the left for about 20 metres. Turn right down a path through vineyards. At the bottom, reach the Fontaine Madeleine and its wash-house. Turn right and continue along the D958. At the crossroads with the D957, after leaving a cross on your left, turn left into Rue du Colombier.

(1) At the junction with the D957, turn left over the bridge over the Cure. Immediately turn right onto Rue du Gravier and return to the starting point (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 147 m - Parking on the edge - Cure (la)
  2. 1 : km 0.18 - alt. 148 m - Carrefour de la boucle - Route D957
  3. 2 : km 0.61 - alt. 152 m - Chemin de la Fontaine
  4. 3 : km 1.12 - alt. 186 m - Fork
  5. 4 : km 1.94 - alt. 216 m - Crossroads at the foot of Mont Liboeuf
  6. 5 : km 3.08 - alt. 247 m - Intersection
  7. 6 : km 4.07 - alt. 212 m - Cross
  8. 7 : km 5.06 - alt. 224 m - Left hairpin
  9. 8 : km 6 - alt. 266 m - Mont Liboeuf
  10. 9 : km 7.34 - alt. 241 m - Intersection
  11. 10 : km 8.2 - alt. 260 m - Vézelay campsite
  12. 11 : km 9.03 - alt. 253 m - Vézelay
  13. 12 : km 9.62 - alt. 263 m - Fork
  14. S/E : km 11.33 - alt. 147 m - Parking on the edge - Cure (la)

Practical information

A compass can be useful.

In the nearby area

On the way:
Notre Dame de Saint-Père church, Vaufron fountain, Vézelay ramparts, Madeleine fountain.

Nearby:
The Salt Fountains site and museum.
Vézelay basilica and medieval village.
The two Pierre-Perthuis bridges and the pierced rock.
Vauban's castle at Bazoches.
In Avallon, the historic town centre, the Saint-Lazare collegiate church, the clock tower, the house of the Sires de Domecy, the fortifications, the terraced gardens, and the museums (Avallonnais and costume).

 Always stay careful and alert while following a route. Visorando and the author of this walk cannot be held responsible in the event of an accident during this route.

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

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 16 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.4 / 5
Clarity of route map
4.5 / 5
Route interest
4.6 / 5
DidierE
DidierE

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : May 07, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A lovely walk that I preferred to the one on the right bank.
A good section through vineyards, but still close to Vézelay, with beautiful views of the town and basilica. Ideal for photos.
Passing through the town and being able to climb up to the basilica was a plus.

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Fabrice 77176
Fabrice 77176

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Jul 07, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

A very nice walk that I started from Vezelay, with superb views and varied landscapes.

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Valentinfelix
Valentinfelix

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Jun 14, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

A beautiful route with a mix of meadows, vineyards and villages.
A pleasant, easy walk with some very fine viewpoints, and a passage through Vezelay is a must.
Do it while enjoying the beautiful countryside

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Luc Ma
Luc Ma

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Aug 12, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

A beautiful walk with lovely views of Vézelay and a route alternating between forest and vineyards.

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peregrination
peregrination

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of walk : May 21, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : Yes

good circuit

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remi2000
remi2000

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : May 20, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

parish specific to Brittany with magnificent views of Vezelay and beautiful little climbs that make the charm of the hike bravo to the person who mapped out this route.

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epiluc91
epiluc91

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : Oct 26, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : No

A very pretty walk. The vines and woods are decked out in pretty colours at this time of year. There are a few climbs, but it's well worth it.....

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muripier
muripier

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Mar 28, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : Yes

We set off from Vézelay, not Saint Père. A small bug in the description at point 9: take the 2nd path on the left. All the paths are passable. In wet weather, some of the descents could be slippery.
Nice walk with great views of Vezelay.

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técitronmenth
técitronmenth

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of walk : Feb 19, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Clarity of route map : N/A
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Busy trail : No

Thank you for a lovely walk!
The description is particularly easy to follow, and we hardly used the map at all.
We extended the route a little with a visit to Vezelay and then picked up the trail again.

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mdre
mdre

Overall rating : 2 / 5

Date of walk : Aug 16, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Clarity of route map : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Busy trail : Yes

This walk is unfeasible as described!

The instructions are given in broken French and there are numerous errors between points 2 and 3. Fortunately, there is Vézelay as a reference point! There is surely a much nicer hike to be done around Vézelay, but... criticism is easy !!!!

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canto89
canto89

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of walk : Aug 01, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Busy trail : No

Hello,

Between points 2 and 3, you mention "the path seems abandoned". I can confirm that this path is impassable and condemned. So delete it from your description.

This hike takes you on two intersecting circuits, and takes you around and around Mont Liboeuf without interest, just to "pile on" the kilometres.

Nevertheless, the view of Vézelay saves the day...

Yours faithfully

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maryetfilou
maryetfilou

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : Sep 14, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Beautiful views all along the walk. We had a picnic at level 7 of the description before entering the forest, a magnificent view.

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Colbert50
Colbert50

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of walk : Jul 24, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Done with pleasure today despite the heatwave (8am - 11.15am)
Parking in the car park opposite Saint Père town hall.
It might be useful to specify the route near Mont Liboeuf where, to my great shame
where, to my great shame, I missed a fork in the road.
Saint Père by the north side of Mont Liboeuf and link to Vufron by road.
The rest was no problem
Very nice hike that I would do again to avoid making the same mistake.
Thanks to Omphora89450

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henri57
henri57 ★

Hello,

A small error at the end of the description (the Rue du Colombier is on the other side of the right, i.e. on the left.

It's been changed, thank you.

A+

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TDahlem
TDahlem

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of walk : Feb 19, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Clarity of route map : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A very fine route, complete and full of discoveries.
A small error at the end of the description (the Rue du Colombier is on the other side of the right, i.e. on the left).
Recommended for a good time in the sunshine, but should be avoided in wet weather (some descents can be dangerous).

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