Côte de Nuits by E-Bike: Nuits to Gevrey and Back

A day loop of about 24 km by e-bike from Nuits-Saint-Georges, the halfway point of the cycle route. The story goes that Chambertin was a peasant's field, the champ de Bertin; Napoleon made it his favourite wine and drank it heavily watered. At Clos de Vougeot, Stendhal tells of a colonel who halted his regiment to salute the vines. A 14th-century cross marks Romanée-Conti, where a 1945 bottle sold for $812,500 in 2026. Back in Nuits, weigh two stories of why its 41 premiers crus include no grand cru, over a tasting you can spit, or syrups at the Cassissium.

What to do there

5 things to do

1. 1 Start at Nuits, halfway from Dijon to Beaune Adventure · Price: moderate

   Rent an e-bike where the cycle route splits evenly between Dijon and Beaune.

   Nuits-Saint-Georges sits halfway along the cycle route: 21.6 km north to Dijon, 24.40 km south to Beaune.

   Where: the tourist office, 3 rue Sonoys.

   What: rent one of its four e-bikes, size M or L: €45 a day, €30 a half-day. Book on +33 3 80 62 11 17.

   How: come by TER to Nuits-Saint-Georges station and rent here rather than bring bikes: TER takes no group bike bookings.

   Backup: Bourgogne Evasion by Active Tours also rents in Nuits, and the Gevrey-Chambertin office has two e-bikes at the same prices.

   Log Memory
2. 2 Read Bertin's Name in the Chambertin Slope History · Free

   Free, from the road below two grands crus: the story of a name.

   The story goes that a peasant named Bertin planted vines beside the monks' Clos de Bèze, and his champ de Bertin became Chambertin; a 1219 record already names a Campo Bertyun.

   Where: ride about 11 km north to Gevrey-Chambertin and stop on the D122 below the grands crus.

   What: Chambertin and Clos de Bèze lie side by side above you. Napoleon made Chambertin his favourite wine and, Frédéric Masson wrote in 1894, drank it heavily watered.

   How: free, from the roadside; stay out of the vine rows.

   Backup: the Halle Chambertin, an 1830 market hall, explains the climats in 15 interactive modules.

   Log Memory
3. 3 Count the Four Presses Inside Clos de Vougeot History · Price: low

   The monks' vat-house, a Renaissance wing and the story of a colonel's salute.

   Where: ride about 7 km back south to the château in the walled Clos de Vougeot, Rue de la Montagne.

   What: the Cîteaux monks walled the clos around 1330. Count the four huge presses in the vat-house, then find the Renaissance manor Dom Loisier, 48th abbot, added in 1551. Stendhal told the story, in 1838, of Colonel Bisson halting his regiment here to render military honours.

   How: self-guided €12 (ages 8–16 €5), no booking; English tours 11:30 and 15:30, €15. Daily 9:30–18:00 April to October, 10:00–17:00 November to March.

   Backup: the wall runs along the D974.

   Log Memory
4. 4 Stand at the Cross Below Romanée-Conti Wine · Free

   Free: 1.8 hectares of Romanée-Conti, seen from the lane end.

   Where: about 2 km south, west of Vosne-Romanée, a straight little road ends at a 14th-century cross in front of a stone wall.

   What: the 1.8 hectares behind it are Romanée-Conti, with Richebourg and Romanée-Saint-Vivant to its right and La Tâche to its left. The Abbey of Saint-Vivant held it in 1232; in 1760 the Prince de Conti outbid Madame de Pompadour for it. In March 2026 a 1945 bottle sold for $812,500.

   How: free; look from the cross and the road, never from inside the vines: the domaine takes no public visits.

   Backup: none needed.

   Log Memory
5. 5 Weigh Two Stories of the Missing Grand Cru Wine · Price: moderate

   Back in Nuits, at the house of Faiveley: taste, spit, or choose syrups.

   Nuits-Saint-Georges has 41 premiers crus and no grand cru. One story: Henri Gouges and the Marquis d'Angerville refused grands crus so no one would think they gave them to themselves. Another: in 2015 Thibault Liger-Belair said the owners of Les Saint-Georges avoided the higher grand cru taxes; Erwan Faiveley joined his bid to promote it.

   Where: Domaine Faiveley, 8 rue du Tribourg.

   How: book a tasting, 10:30 or 15:00; the house says the benefits go to the Château du Clos de Vougeot and the Musée Rodin. Spit or skip.

   Backup: the Cassissium, 8 Passage Montgolfier, pours syrups.

   Log Memory

Insider tips

• Rent in Nuits rather than bring bikes by train: TER takes no group bike bookings, and Paris–Dijon–Lyon trains need a free bike reservation.

• Route des Grands Crus road signs show a grape bunch on a wine-red background; north of Beaune the Voie des Vignes is an unofficial route on small roads.

• On a bike the alcohol limit is the same as in a car, 0.5 g/l of blood: spit at tastings, or skip them.