Mâcon & Cluny

Macon: Located 70 km north of Lyon on the right bank of the Saone river, Macon was founded 2 centuries BC and was called Mastico. Very quickly, the city becomes a crossroads of communication and flourished thanks to customs duties. Throughout its history, Macon built a rich heritage including the magnificent Saint-Pierre church, the museum of the Ursulines, and its medieval city center with its famous wooden house. Today Macon is a nice city with about 33 000 inhabitants. During your visit, take the time to stroll through its historic center and Saone river quays with their colorful façade buildings.

The Cluny abbey: it was founded in 910 by William of Aquitaine and its construction completed in the middle of the 12th century, at the time of its apogee. For five centuries, until the construction of St. Peter's in Rome, the Cluny abbey was the largest religious building in Europe. Cluny is the symbol of monastic revival or western culture. It is the most powerful abbey of Christianity during middle ages and played a great role in religious history and Romanesque art. Cluny Abbey was destroyed during the French Revolution and many of its stones were used to build houses in the neighbor city of Macon.

La Roche de Solutré: this limestone escarpment overlooking the town of Solutré-Pouilly is an emblematic site of the South Burgundy. Resulting from a rare geological phenomenon, this rocky spur culminates at 493 meters and offers from its summit breathtaking views of Macon region, the Saone Valley, the Bresse region and the Alps chain. Occupied by humans for at least 55 000 years, La Roche de Solutré was a hunting area, we found millions of bones of animals at is feet. In 1980’s, it became famous when President François Mitterrand made a tradition to climbed it once a year with journalists.

Macon Wines and vineyards: with 12500 acres, Macon region produces mainly white wines from the Chardonnay varietal and some young red wines from Gamay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris grapes. There are 42 villages in the Macon region, broken out into seven designations: Macon, Macon Superieur, Macon Village, Pouilly Fuissé, Pouilly Loche, Pouilly Vinzele, and Saint Veran. Pouilly Fuissé is the most famous Macon wine appellation: It’s a 100% chardonnay normally aged in oak barrel for a year.