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Solutre-Pouilly

Visit Solutre-Pouilly (Burgundy, France)

Solutre-Pouilly is a wine producing village in a scenic setting in the Burgundy countryside. It is in the Saone-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne.

This small wine producing village is dominated by the limestone cliff rising above the village.

Exploring Solutre-Pouilly

If you like wine then this is a good place to go. Solutré-Pouilly is surrounded on all sides by vineyards and practically every other house is a wine cave. There are dozens of them - literally.

Above the village and dominating the countryside around is a large limestone cliff - the Rock of Solutre. This rock is now one of the 'Grand Sites de France' both as a geographical phenomenon but also as a prehistoric site as evidence has been found here of the Solutrean paleolithic culture.

Solutre Museum, Archeology Park and Botanic Garden

There is a half hour walk to the top of the Rock of Solutre which became well known in the 1980s when Francois Mitterand made a ritual ascent every year.

The prehistoric remains found here are some of the richest in Europe which has led to the rock giving its name to a distinct culture of the Upper Palaeolithic period (20000-16000 BC). The rock was an important hunting site for more than 25 000 years and thousands of horses and reindeers were hunted and killed here.

Legend has it that herds of horses were driven to the top of the Rock of Solutre and then fell to their deaths from the cliff top but this is known to be untrue - they were ambushed and killed at the foot of the rock. This legend though did give rise to this dramatic picture by L Figuier in 1876.

As it was such a key hunting site many tools associated with hunting have been found here including 'laurel-leaf' shaped flints associated with the Soloutrean Palaeolithic people.

There is a museum at the foot of the Rock of Solutré with exhibits found here. The museum is built under a dome planted with vegetation in order not to detract from the dramatic physical location.

As well as the Archeologic Park the site is a Botanic garden and along a laid out walk it is possible to see many rare plant species as well as information about prehistoric hunting techniques. Of course there is also a magnificent view at the top of the cliff.

The Parc Archeologique and Botanic Garden are included in the entrance ticket for the museum.

Photos of Solutre-Pouilly

Click any picture to start the gallery

Address: Solutré-Pouilly, Mâcon-Sud, Mâcon, Saone-et-Loire, Burgundy, 71960 || GPS: latitude 46.2965, longitude 4.7247

Map of Solutre-Pouilly & places nearby



 

Highlights close by

More suggestions: Cormatin 28km; Tournus 33km; Dombes 39km; Trevoux 40km; Bourg-en-Bresse 40km; Oingt 40km; Theize 40km;

See lots more places to visit nearby and a more detailed map at places near Solutre-Pouilly.
See Burgundy and Saone-et-Loire (the region and department for Solutre-Pouilly) for more travel ideas...

Suggested tourist attractions to visit near Solutre-Pouilly, France

• Roche de Solutre / Roche de Vergisson - grand site of france
• Chapelle aux Moines (Berze-la-Ville) - religious monument (6km)
• Macon - ville fleurie 4* (8km)
• Eglise de Saint Blaise (Mazille) - religious monument (14km)
• Eglise de Jalogny (Jalogny) - religious monument (16km)
• Cluny - secteur sauvegarde (16km)
• Abbaye de Cluny (Cluny) - religious monument (16km)
• Vonnas - ville fleurie 4* (23km)
• Eglise de Saint Denis (Massy) - religious monument (23km)
• Parc du château de Laye - remarkable garden (26km)

The French version of this page is at Solutre-Pouilly (Francais)