In-depth guide · CampingSpirit
Around 550 km from the Route des Grands Crus via the abbeys of Cluny and Autun, the lakes of the Morvan and the hill of Vézelay to Chablis: short stages between vineyard walls, towpaths and Romanesque portals.
The spirit of the route
Burgundy reveals itself slowly. Beyond Dijon the villages of the Côte nestle against a limestone slope, stone walls enclose vineyard plots whose names appear on labels around the world, and yet all you find are farm tracks, tractors and a church spire with brightly glazed tiles. From your sliding door you see mist over the Saône plain in the morning and the slopes turning copper in the evening, when the vine leaves change colour. Then everything goes quiet: to the south stand the abbeys of Cluny and Tournus, and in Autun a tympanum signed by a sculptor named Gislebertus. Beyond that begins the Morvan, a granite upland ridge of beech forest, pastures and reservoirs where your phone often falls silent. From the hill of Vézelay you look out over pilgrim routes, and at Fontenay all you hear is water in the abbey stream. A route for people who like to walk into villages, cycle to wine cellars and would rather stay a day longer.
Stage-by-stage plan
1Stage 1: Dijon to Beaune (Route des Grands Crus) (approx. 45 km)
- The drive
- From Dijon via Chenôve and Marsannay-la-Côte onto the signposted Route des Grands Crus (mostly the D122), which runs parallel to the D974 along the foot of the slope through Fixin, Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-Saint-Denis, Chambolle-Musigny, Vougeot and Vosne-Romanée to Nuits-Saint-Georges; from there take the D974 via Comblanchien, Corgoloin and Ladoix-Serrigny to Beaune. Flat to gently hilly, but narrow in the villages, with walls right up to the edge of the road and sharp corners. A full day with stops; driving time alone is a good hour.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Dijon: the Palais des Ducs with the free Musée des Beaux-Arts, the owl trail to the “Chouette” at Notre-Dame, and the covered market (Les Halles) on market-day mornings.
- Château du Clos de Vougeot in the middle of the walled vineyard, originally planted by the Cistercians of Cîteaux: a press house with medieval wine presses and the seat of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin.
- Gevrey-Chambertin and Vosne-Romanée on foot: the Grand Cru plots on the slope side of the road, the stone crosses by the vineyard parcels and the view over the Saône plain from the farm track above the villages.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: In Dijon: Camping du Lac Kir on the western edge of the city, with an attached aire for motorhomes, electric hook-up, sanitary facilities and service point; check the season and opening times in advance. In Beaune: the municipal campsite Les Cent Vignes about 1 km north of the old town, with hedge-separated pitches, electric hook-up and sanitary facilities, open seasonally. There is also the motorhome car park on Avenue Charles de Gaulle (Camper Park Beaune) about 1 km from the centre: barrier entry, up to a good 120 pitches according to Campercontact (other sources give fewer), vehicles up to about 10 m, maximum 7 days, water and electricity for a fee, waste disposal; the pitches are tight, and at weekends it fills quickly.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): French law applies on the Côte: parking with an overnight stay in the vehicle is allowed wherever parking is allowed and no municipal bylaw prohibits it – camping behaviour is not. In practice the small village car parks are intended for visitors to the vineyards, some carry height or motorhome bans, and the tracks between the vines are working roads for the winegrowers, not pitches. Nuits-Saint-Georges has a municipal aire (rue de Cussigny, open all year according to Camping-car.com) as a legal alternative.
- Insider tip for campers
- Do not drive a motorhome into central Dijon: the ZFE (low-emission zone) has applied inside the ring road (Rocade) since 1 January 2025 (ten municipalities, including Dijon, Chenôve, Marsannay-la-Côte and Longvic); driving bans are suspended under a general exemption (Arrêté of 27.09.2024, reviewed annually), but the Crit’Air sticker is still required. We could not confirm whether the exemption still applies unchanged in 2026 – check with Dijon Métropole. Use the park-and-ride sites (parkings relais) at the tram terminals or the campsite at Lac Kir and take the tram, bus or a bike into the old town; car parks have height restrictions. If the Route des Grands Crus becomes too narrow for a large vehicle, switch to the parallel D974 and walk to the villages.
2Stage 2: Beaune to Nolay via Meursault and La Rochepot (approx. 35 km)
- The drive
- From Beaune take the D973 to Pommard and Volnay, then leave it on narrow local roads to Meursault, and continue via Puligny-Montrachet and Saint-Aubin back onto the D973 and up the valley to La Rochepot and Nolay. Flat among the vines as far as Meursault, then twistier with the first climbs into the Hautes-Côtes. About an hour’s driving.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Hospices de Beaune (Hôtel-Dieu, founded in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin): the hospital ward with its bed alcoves, Rogier van der Weyden’s Last Judgement polyptych and the glazed roof tiles in the courtyard.
- Meursault with its village centre and the vineyard tracks towards Puligny-Montrachet – ideal by bike on the Voie des Vignes between Beaune and Santenay.
- Château de La Rochepot on its rocky spur above the village, with a colourful tiled roof; open seasonally, check opening times in advance.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: In Nolay, the municipal campsite Les Chaumes du Mont above the village and an aire for motorhomes with fresh-water and waste facilities. For more comfort: the campsite in Santenay at the southern end of the Côte de Beaune, near the Voie des Vignes, with electric hook-up, sanitary facilities and service point; check the season in advance.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): If you want to visit wine estates and stay at them, Burgundy has numerous winegrowers who take motorhomes for a night through networks such as France Passion or their own offers. Ask on the spot or through the relevant app and stay on the areas assigned to you – during the harvest the estates need their yards and access routes for tractors and trailers.
- Insider tip for campers
- In Beaune there is a large market around the Halles on Saturday mornings, and the old town inside the ramparts is then practically impassable for motorhomes – go on foot from your pitch only. Grape harvest: depending on the year, from late August into September, harvesting tractors, minibuses with pickers and grape trailers are on the move on the Côte, and the roads are muddy and slippery in the morning; drive slowly and do not park on working tracks. At wine tastings use the spittoon (crachoir): the limit in France is 0.5 per mille.
3Stage 3: Nolay to Cluny (via the Côte Chalonnaise) (approx. 90 km)
- The drive
- Via Santenay and Chagny into the Côte Chalonnaise, on minor roads through Rully, Mercurey and Givry, then on the D981 through the Grosne valley via Buxy, Saint-Gengoux-le-National and Cormatin to Cluny. A well-surfaced country road with gentle hills; the villages are sometimes narrow. Just under two hours.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Château de Cormatin with its Renaissance staircase, painted cabinets and garden on the bank of the Grosne.
- Taizé on the hill above the D981: the ecumenical community of brothers with its times of prayer; visitors welcome.
- Cluny: the remains of the abbey founded in 910, with the 3D reconstruction of what was once the largest church in the Western world, the Tour des Fromages as a viewpoint and the national stud.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Camping Saint-Vital in Cluny, on the edge of town across the Grosne right next to the Voie Verte and the open-air swimming pool, within walking distance of the abbey: electric hook-up, sanitary facilities, service point; open seasonally. There is also a small aire in Cluny on Chemin Georges Malere (at most 6 pitches according to Campercontact, vehicles up to about 8 m, maximum 48 hours, waste disposal only limited) as well as simple municipal motorhome car parks in the surrounding area, for example in Lournand; check the facilities in the apps.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): The old town of Cluny is narrow and studded with monuments historiques – wild camping is prohibited within 500 m anyway. During the day, park in the signposted car parks on the edge of town. In the open countryside of the Clunisois, field and forest tracks are off limits for overnight stays.
- Insider tip for campers
- The Voie Verte between Givry, Cluny and Mâcon, on an old railway line, is one of the oldest cycle routes in France: flat, tarmacked, with the Tunnel du Bois Clair near Berzé, which is closed in winter to protect the bats and is then bypassed. From Cluny, cycle to Cormatin and Taizé instead of looking for parking with the motorhome. Saturday is market day in Cluny.
4Stage 4: Cluny to Autun (approx. 95 km)
- The drive
- Across the hills of the Charolais on the D980 northwards via Salornay-sur-Guye and Montceau-les-Mines, then via Montcenis and the wooded heights to Autun. A well-surfaced country road, broad pastures with white Charolais cattle, around two hours. Optionally, first make the detour to Tournus on the Saône (a good 70 km there and back, not included in the total length).
- Highlights & must-sees
- Optional Tournus: the abbey church of Saint-Philibert with its tall nave of pink stone, one of the key buildings of Burgundian Romanesque; motorhome aire on the Quai de la Marine on the Saône.
- Autun: the cathedral of Saint-Lazare with Gislebertus’s Last Judgement tympanum and the capitals in the chapter house, plus the reclining Eve in the Musée Rolin.
- Roman Autun: the Porte d’Arroux, the great theatre and the enigmatic tower of the “Temple of Janus” across the river.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Camping de la Porte d’Arroux on the River Arroux near the Roman city gate, with electric hook-up and sanitary facilities; seasonal. For those passing through, Autun has a Camping-Car Park aire with fresh-water and waste facilities (access card of the network) (Rue de la Maladière, up to 36 pitches according to Campercontact, vehicles up to about 9 m, maximum 72 hours) as well as a municipal motorhome car park; check location and current status in the app.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Autun is a city of monuments historiques; stay overnight only on the designated motorhome areas. In the woods on the edge of the Morvan above the town, forest tracks have barriers and in autumn are hunting grounds – take “chasse en cours” signs seriously.
- Insider tip for campers
- The upper town around the cathedral has steep, narrow lanes – park below at the Promenade des Marbres or the Champ de Mars, observe height restrictions, and walk up. If you make the Tournus detour: the A6 (APRR) is a toll road, while the country road via Brancion and Chapaize, with the Romanesque church of Saint-Martin, is prettier and hardly longer.
5Stage 5: Autun to Lac des Settons (Morvan) (approx. 75 km)
- The drive
- From Autun take the D978 west and at Saint-Léger-sous-Beuvray climb up the Mont Beuvray, then on winding forest roads to Château-Chinon and north via Montsauche-les-Settons to the Lac des Settons. The first proper upland stretch: beech and spruce forest, climbs, narrow sections without a centre line, many bends. A good two hours.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Bibracte on the Mont Beuvray: the capital of the Aedui, where Vercingetorix was elected leader, with an archaeology museum and excavation sites under ancient beeches.
- Château-Chinon: the view from the Calvaire over the Morvan ridges and the Musée du Septennat with the state gifts to François Mitterrand.
- Lac des Settons at just under 600 m: dammed in the 19th century for timber floating to Paris, today with lakeside paths, bathing spots and a circuit trail around the lake.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Several campsites on the shore of the Lac des Settons, including Camping Les Mésanges and Camping Plage du Midi on the south shore, with electric hook-up, sanitary facilities and service point, plus the motorhome area at the Grand Pré de la Faye on the D193 (a former lakeside campsite, around 40 pitches, vehicles up to about 8 m, electric hook-up and service point; sources variously name the municipality or the Camping-Car Park network as operator). Most of the sites are open from spring to September; outside that period, check the current status in advance.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): The Morvan is a Parc naturel régional, not a national park: there are no blanket driving bans, but the lake shore, forest tracks and woodland car parks are not places to stay overnight, and the municipalities around the lake have assigned motorhomes their own areas. Be considerate of pastures and gates, and in autumn of driven hunts.
- Insider tip for campers
- Fill up with fuel and shop before the Morvan: petrol stations are thin on the ground, and there are supermarkets in Autun, Château-Chinon and Saulieu. Mobile reception is patchy in the valleys – save maps offline. In autumn start early: in the valleys the mist lingers until late morning.
6Stage 6: Lac des Settons to Vézelay (approx. 55 km)
- The drive
- Via Montsauche-les-Settons and the heights of the northern Morvan to Quarré-les-Tombes, then through the Cure valley via Pierre-Perthuis and Saint-Père up to Vézelay. Winding country roads through woodland and pastures, short steep ramps. A good hour of driving time alone.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Quarré-les-Tombes: the Merovingian stone sarcophagi around the church.
- Pierre-Perthuis with its rock needle and the two bridges over the Cure – a short walk down into the valley.
- Basilica of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine in Vézelay (UNESCO World Heritage Site): the tympanum in the narthex, the bright nave with its striped transverse arches and the view from the terrace behind the choir over the Cure valley.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Camping de l’Ermitage at the foot of the hill, about 1 km below the village, small and simple with electric hook-up and sanitary facilities; seasonal. In Saint-Père, a good 2 km away, is the municipal campsite on the bank of the Cure; the Camping-Car Park aire planned there (La Corvée du Maupas, around 20 pitches) was most recently listed on the network’s website as “à venir” with no opening date – do not count on it.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): The hill of Vézelay is protected landscape and full of monuments historiques – wild camping is out of the question here. The car park at the foot of the village (Parking des cars, about 750 m from the village centre) charges motorhomes a separate, considerably higher rate, has no water or waste disposal and slopes slightly downhill; check the overnight rules at the pay machine – camping behaviour is expressly not allowed there.
- Insider tip for campers
- Do not drive up into the village: the main lane to the basilica is steep, narrow and unsuitable for motorhomes. Park the camper at the bottom or leave it at the campsite and walk up. Ask the municipality in advance for the market days in Vézelay. Vézelay is the starting point of the Via Lemovicensis to Santiago – allow for pilgrims on the country roads.
7Stage 7: Vézelay to Montbard (Abbaye de Fontenay) (approx. 70 km)
- The drive
- Via Avallon (old town on a rocky spur above the Cousin valley) and the D954 through the Auxois to Époisses, then across meadows and hedgerows to Montbard and 6 km further into the wooded valley of Fontenay. Quiet, well-surfaced country roads with long straights and gentle hills, a good 1.5 hours.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Abbaye de Fontenay (founded in 1118 by Bernard of Clairvaux, UNESCO World Heritage Site): church, cloister, dormitory with its roof timbers and the forge with a water-driven hammer – the most complete Cistercian complex in France.
- Château d’Époisses with its dovecote and the village of the same name, home of the washed-rind cheese.
- Canal de Bourgogne near Montbard: locks, lock-keepers’ houses and the towpath as a level cycle route, plus the Parc Buffon above the town.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Camping municipal Les Treilles in Montbard, close to the centre and the canal, with electric hook-up, sanitary facilities and service point; open seasonally. In Avallon, the municipal campsite Sous Roche in the Cousin valley, quiet below the old town, is an alternative.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Fontenay is privately owned and a World Heritage Site; the car park at the abbey is for visiting, not for overnight stays. The wooded valley is a protected area – no wild camping. On the canal, towpaths are closed to motor vehicles, even if the gravel looks inviting.
- Insider tip for campers
- Visit Fontenay early or late in the day, when the coaches have gone; the access road is narrow but passable for motorhomes. On the towpath of the Canal de Bourgogne you can cycle flat from Montbard to Buffon with its historic ironworks (Grande Forge) and on towards Rougemont – take water with you, as places to stop for refreshments are rare.
8Stage 8: Montbard to Auxerre via Noyers and Chablis (approx. 85 km)
- The drive
- From Montbard west into the Armançon valley and over the heights to the Serein at Noyers, then down the Serein valley to Chablis and across the vineyards to Auxerre on the Yonne. Minor country roads, in places narrow without a centre line, quiet and easy to read. A good two hours. Optionally continue to Guédelon near Treigny (around 50 km to the south-west, not included in the total length).
- Highlights & must-sees
- Noyers: a medieval small town in a loop of the Serein with half-timbered houses, arcades and town wall – a circular walk along the river around the fortifications.
- Chablis: the Grand Cru plots on the right bank of the Serein, wine cellars in the centre of the town and the vineyard track above the town with a view of the slope.
- Auxerre: the Gothic cathedral of Saint-Étienne with its stained-glass windows and the Carolingian crypts of the Abbey of Saint-Germain; the Canal du Nivernais with its towpath cycle route begins at the quay. Optionally Guédelon, where a castle has been built since 1997 using medieval techniques (open seasonally, reopened in spring 2026; times at guedelon.fr).
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: In Chablis, the municipal campsite on the bank of the Serein with motorhome areas, electric hook-up and service point. In Auxerre, the municipal Camping d’Auxerre on the bank of the Yonne south of the old town, seasonal; fresh-water and waste facilities are also available at the motorhome station in the city. For Guédelon: Camping La Calanque at the lake of Bourdon near Treigny; check motorhome pitches in the surrounding area in the apps in advance.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): In Noyers the old town is reached through arched gateways and is unsuitable for motorhomes; park on the areas outside the gates, and the small campsite on the Serein is the legal place to stay overnight. In the Chablis vineyards, as on the Côte, working tracks must be kept clear, and overnight stays are possible only on campsites or with winegrowers who take motorhomes.
- Insider tip for campers
- Motorhomes do not fit through the gates of Noyers – do not let your satnav direct you into the old town. Chablis has a market on Sundays. From Auxerre, the towpath of the Canal du Nivernais upstream towards Vermenton and Clamecy makes a lovely day’s cycling; the journey home to the north runs on the A6 (APRR, toll) or toll-free on the N6/N77 – check Auxerre’s Crit’Air status beforehand.
Camping practice & local rules
Wild camping & overnight parking
- In France a motorhome counts as a vehicle: it may park – including with an overnight stay in the vehicle – wherever parking is allowed, for a maximum of 7 days in the same place, provided no municipal bylaw (arrêté municipal) prohibits it. Camping behaviour such as levelling legs, wedges, awning, table and chairs or draining water is forbidden outside campsites and aires. Blanket bans for an entire municipality are open to legal challenge, but individual car parks may be closed – and in the wine villages this often happens.
- Wild camping is prohibited, among other places, in Sites classés, within 500 m of monuments historiques and near drinking-water sources. On this route that affects almost every town: Beaune, Cluny, Autun, Vézelay and Fontenay are densely packed with protected buildings, Vézelay and Fontenay are also UNESCO World Heritage Sites, as are the “Climats” of the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune.
- The Morvan is a Parc naturel régional with forest, pastures and reservoirs: forest tracks are mostly closed, lake shores are not places to stay overnight, and autumn is the hunting season. Plan your nights on campsites, municipal aires or on wine estates that take motorhomes through networks such as France Passion – there without camping set-up and with respect for the working farm, especially during the harvest.
- Useful apps: park4night, Campercontact and the Camping-Car Park app (access card for its aires, for example in Autun). Reviews about height barriers and municipal bans are often more up to date than the signage shown on maps.
Waste disposal & supplies
- Fresh-water and waste facilities are called “aire de services” or “borne”; units from Euro-Relais, Flot Bleu and Aire Services are common, paid for with coins, tokens from the town hall or tobacconist, or by card. Many municipalities and supermarkets offer the station free of charge. In the Morvan the stations are far apart – set off full, carry on empty.
- Empty grey water and the cassette only at the borne; in wine-growing municipalities draining into ditches or vine rows is especially unpopular and gets reported.
- Water from bornes is usually drinking water; look for “eau potable” or “eau non potable”. Many small stations in the villages are switched off in winter because of frost.
- Gas: French exchange cylinders (butane/propane, such as Butagaz, Antargaz, Primagaz) are available at petrol stations and in supermarkets; foreign cylinders are not exchanged. LPG (GPL) pumps for filling refillable tanks (Dish or Euronozzle adapter) are found in Burgundy mainly on motorways and at larger supermarkets in Dijon, Beaune, Autun and Auxerre, and hardly at all in the Morvan.
Vehicle size & traffic rules
- Speed limits: motorhomes up to 3.5 t and combinations up to 3.5 t permissible gross combination weight drive as cars do – motorway 130 km/h (110 in rain), dual carriageway expressways 110 (100 in rain), other country roads 80 or 90 km/h where signposted, built-up areas 50. Combinations over 3.5 t: motorway and expressway 90, other roads 80. Motorhomes over 3.5 t up to 12 t: motorway 110, expressway 100, other roads 80 (even where cars may do 90), built-up areas 50; speed disc at the rear.
- Vehicles over 3.5 t, expressly including motorhomes, have had to carry “Angles morts” (blind-spot) stickers on both sides and at the rear since 2021; the fine for non-compliance is €135.
- Low-emission zones: the ZFE remain in place after the Conseil constitutionnel in May 2026 struck down their nationwide abolition; each Métropole sets the classes itself. Dijon has had a ZFE inside the Rocade since 1 January 2025; driving bans were initially suspended under a general exemption – check with Dijon Métropole before the trip. The Crit’Air sticker also applies to foreign vehicles; order it only via certificat-air.gouv.fr.
- Tolls: the A6 and A31 (APRR) are toll roads. Class 2 = over 2 m and under 3 m in height at no more than 3.5 t; class 3 = two axles and 3 m or more in height, or over 3.5 t; class 4 = three or more axles over 3.5 t, or 3 m or more. The A38 Dijon–Pouilly-en-Auxois is toll-free. Pay in cash, by card or with a télépéage tag.
- If bikes on a rear rack obscure the number plate or lights, a light bar with a repeated number plate is compulsory. Drink-drive limit 0.5 per mille (novice drivers 0.2) – spit at wine tastings or nominate a driver. Phoning at the wheel is forbidden even with a headset or earphone, and radar detectors are illegal. A warning triangle and a high-visibility vest for the driver are compulsory. The winter-equipment requirement of the Loi Montagne (1 November to 31 March) applies only in municipalities designated by the prefecture; according to Camping-car.com (2025/26 season), Nièvre, Yonne, Côte-d’Or and Saône-et-Loire were not on the list of 34 départements – still watch for signs at the entrance to towns (the requirement is then 3PMSF tyres or chains, €135).
CampingSpirit packing & preparation checklist
- Bikes (e-bikes if you like) with a light bar: the Voie des Vignes on the Côte de Beaune, the Voie Verte Givry–Cluny and the towpaths of the Canal de Bourgogne and Canal du Nivernais link wine cellars and abbeys better than any car park.
- Crit’Air sticker, ordered in good time via certificat-air.gouv.fr – required for Dijon, even if driving bans are suspended.
- A well-padded wine box or bottle holders for the lockers: on the cobbled lanes and farm tracks, things otherwise rattle at every pothole.
- Offline maps and a paper map of the Morvan: there are mobile reception gaps in the valleys, and satnavs like to send motorhomes through archways as at Noyers or along vineyard tracks.
- Good shoes and binoculars: for the climb up to Vézelay, the Mont Beuvray and birdwatching at the Morvan lakes.
- Dish or Euronozzle adapter for LPG filling stations and a second full gas cylinder – there are hardly any filling options in the Morvan.
As of 2026-09. Closures, fees and booking rules change: check official sources before you go.
