This stage on the greenways of Southern Burgundy is lined with charming villages built around Romanesque churches. Here you join the Voie Bleue (Blue Way), laid out between Mâcon and Fleurville, before reaching the remarkable old town of Tournus. This stage, close to the Saône River, known since ancient times for its river mariners, offers fairly easy cycling.
Route details
The official starting point for the Voie Bleue is beside the marina on the north side of Mâcon. From Place Lamartine, follow the Saône quays and continue beside the river up to the bridge at Fleurville.
North of Fleurville, the provisional route is not officially laid out, but you can follow tracks and small roads beside the railway line up to the Saône quays at Tournus.
Note that to do the complete stage, you need to be an experienced cyclist and have a mountain bike.
At Fleurville, there is an alternative route you can take to Pont-de-Vaux, on a cycle track alongside a canal (4 km)
Gradients and elevation
Road types
Surface
Don’t miss
Mâcon: the elegant historic town centre – the colourful façades beside the Saône quays – the historic Saint-Laurent Bridge – Musée Lamartine (on a famous Romantic poet and politician) – Musée des Ursulines (fine arts museum) - Sancé: Romanesque church - St-Martin-Belle-Roche: Romanesque church - Tournus: a good town for a stop-over – the historic town centre – the major Romanesque church of Saint-Philibert – Hôtel-Dieu (historic hospital turned history and arts museum) - Musée du Vélo (bike museum).
Markets
Mâcon: daily except Sundays and Mondays
Pont-de-Vaux: Wednesday mornings
Tournus: Saturday mornings
